120 Positive Work Quotes for Motivation, Less Stress and a Boost of Energy Right Now

Work can take on many forms.

It can be enjoyable and thrilling, and, at times, even fulfilling.

However, it can also be frequently daunting, demanding more motivation than you feel you have.

In this post, I’m excited to share 120 of the most compelling, motivational, humorous, and uplifting quotes related to work.

My wish is that these timeless insights will revitalize your energy, invigorate your motivation, and bring you a few chuckles if you’re feeling overwhelmed or pressured right now.

Uplifting Work Quotes for Immediate Motivation

“Begin where you are. Utilize what you have. Do what you can.”
– Arthur Ashe

“You don’t have to be extraordinary to start, but you have to start to be extraordinary.”
– Zig Ziglar

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, create a door.”
– Milton Berle

“Excellence is not a skill; it’s an attitude.”
– Ralph Marston

“Success is not the end; failure is not fatal. It’s the determination to continue that matters.”
– Winston S. Churchill

“You miss 100% of the shots you never take.”
– Wayne Gretzky

“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, anything is possible.”
– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“The only way to excel is to love what you do.”
– Steve Jobs

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
– Oscar Wilde

“The future hinges on what you do today.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“Believe you can, and you’re already halfway there.”
– Theodore Roosevelt

“Your talent defines what you can achieve. Your motivation determines how hard you’re willing to try. Your attitude shapes how well you perform.
– Lou Holtz

“In a gentle way, you can impact the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

“The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.”
– Peter Drucker

“Whatever you are, be a good one.”
– Abraham Lincoln

“Things may come to those who wait, but they are usually left by those who hustle.”
– Abraham Lincoln

“The only limit to realizing our dreams for tomorrow will be the doubts we have today.”
– Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Transform your wounds into wisdom.”
– Oprah Winfrey

“The true tragedy in life is not the inability to achieve your goal, but the absence of a goal to strive for.”
– Benjamin E. Mays

“All our aspirations can be realized if we have the bravery to chase them.”
– Walt Disney

Concise Positive Work Quotes for a Fabulous Day

“Work hard. Be kind.”
– Conan O’Brien

“Focus on the positives.”
– Zig Ziglar

“Dreams do not materialize unless you work hard for them.”
– John C. Maxwell

“Be so remarkable that you can’t be overlooked.”
– Steve Martin

“Dream big and don’t fear failure.”
– Norman Vaughan

“Make each day your masterpiece.”
– John Wooden

“Impossible is the opinion of the unwilling.”
– John Keats

“Every moment is a new beginning.”
– T.S. Eliot

“Happiness is a choice, not a chance occurrence.”
– Jim Rohn

“Quality means doing it right when no one is watching.”
– Henry Ford

“Illuminate tomorrow with today’s efforts.”
– Elizabeth Barrett Browning

“Do or do not. There is no try.”
– Yoda

“The harder I work, the more alive I feel.”
– George Bernard Shaw

“Impossible is merely an opinion.”
– Paulo Coelho

“It’s tough to outdo someone who refuses to give up.”
– Babe Ruth

“Make it happen.”
– Gary Vaynerchuk

“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
– Steve Jobs

“Create your own future.”
– Peter F. Drucker

“Dream even bigger.”
– Tony Hsieh

“Mindset is everything.”
– Charles Swindoll

Witty and Uplifting Work Quotes for a Good Laugh and Stress Relief

“I always get to work late, but I make up for it by leaving early.”
– Charles Lamb

“To succeed in life, you need a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone.”
– Reba McEntire

“I pick a lazy person for a tough job because they’ll find an easier way to do it.”
– Bill Gates

“I work for myself, which is enjoyable. Except when I call in sick, I know I’m just making excuses.”
– Rita Rudner

“People say motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does a shower – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
– Zig Ziglar

“I always aspired to be someone, but I later realized I should have been more specific.”
– Lily Tomlin

“If you think you’re too small to be impactful, you’ve never been in a dark room with a mosquito.”
– Betty Reese

“Television is not representative of reality. In real life, people have to leave the coffee shop and head to their jobs.”
– Bill Gates

“Every day, I check the Forbes list of the richest Americans. If I’m not listed, I get to work.”
– Robert Orben

“The brain is an incredible organ; it starts working as soon as you wake up in the morning and continues until you arrive at the office.”
– Robert Frost

“Many of life’s setbacks are endured by those who didn’t realize how close they were to success when they quit.”
– Thomas Edison

“Nothing is impossible. The very word says ‘I’m possible!’”
– Audrey Hepburn

“I’m an early bird and a night owl. So I’m wise, and I have worms.”
– Michael Scott (from the TV-show The Office)

“Age doesn’t matter unless you’re a cheese.”
– Billie Burke

“All you need in life is ignorance and self-confidence, and then success is guaranteed.”
– Mark Twain

“Hard work has never harmed anyone, but why take the risk?”
– Edgar Bergen

“A diamond is just a piece of coal that did well under pressure.”
– Henry Kissinger

“The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
– Vidal Sassoon

“If at first, you don’t succeed, skydiving certainly isn’t for you.”
– Steven Wright

“The closest a person ever gets to perfection is when filling out a job application form.”
– Stanley J. Randall

Inspiring Hard Work Quotes to Help Realize Your Dreams

“Hard work outshines talent when talent doesn’t put in the effort.”
– Tim Notke

“Success is no random occurrence. It is driven by hard work, persistence, learning, determination, sacrifice, and most importantly, love for what you do or aspire to do.”
– Pele

“The gap between the impossible and the feasible lies in a person’s resolve.”
– Tommy Lasorda

“The effort put in always pays off; hard work is never in vain.”
– Gabby Douglas

“Remarkable things come from effort and commitment. No excuses are allowed.”
– Kobe Bryant

“Talent is less valuable than salt; what differentiates a talented person from a successful one is sheer diligence.”
– Stephen King

“If you do the work, you’ll reap the rewards. There are no shortcuts in life.”
– Michael Jordan

“I firmly believe that if you work hard, whatever you desire will come to you.”
– Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

“A dream becomes reality not through magic, but through effort, commitment, and hard work.”
– Colin Powell

“Success isn’t solely about greatness. It’s about consistency. Persistent hard work leads to success, and greatness follows.”
– Dwayne Johnson

“I believe in luck, and the harder I work, the more of it I seem to have.”
– Thomas Jefferson

“The only way to reach the impossible is to trust that it’s achievable.”
– Charles Kingsleigh

“Chop your own wood; it will warm you twice.”
– Henry Ford

“Without work, nothing flourishes.”
– Sophocles

“The taste of your own hard work is the sweetest reward.”
– Deepika Padukone

“If people knew the strenuous effort behind my mastery, it wouldn’t seem as impressive at all.”
– Michelangelo

“Doing your best at this moment prepares you for the next opportunity.”
– Oprah Winfrey

“The three vital components for achieving anything worthwhile are hard work, resilience, and common sense.”
– Thomas Edison

“Diamonds are simply coal that adhered to their tasks.”
– Malcolm Forbes

“Success has no mysteries; it is the outcome of preparation, diligent work, and learning from setbacks.”
– Colin Powell

Motivational Work Quotes for Overcoming Setbacks and Tough Days

“Never give up on something you can’t stop thinking about.”
– Winston Churchill

“I’ve missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost nearly 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted with the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed countless times in my life, and that is why I succeed.”
– Michael Jordan

“The best path forward is always through the challenge.”
– Robert Frost

“When everything appears to be against you, and the odds seem insurmountable, never give up; it’s often at that very moment that the tide will turn.”
– Harriet Beecher Stowe

“I haven’t failed. I’ve just discovered 10,000 methods that didn’t work.”
– Thomas Edison

“Strength emerges not from victory. Your hardships shape your strengths. It’s when you face difficulties and choose not to surrender that true strength is born.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger

“Most of the major accomplishments in the world have been achieved by individuals who continued striving when all seemed hopeless.”
– Dale Carnegie

“The true glory in living is not in never falling, but in rising every time we stumble.”
– Nelson Mandela

“Perseverance isn’t a lengthy race; it consists of numerous short races one after the other.”
– Walter Elliot

“It’s not that I am exceptionally clever; it’s just that I persevere longer with problems.”
– Albert Einstein

“Don’t mistake a single defeat for a final defeat.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald

“A curve in the road isn’t the end of the road; it’s simply a turn to be made.”
– Helen Keller

“We must acknowledge that we won’t always make the right choices, and that we’ll experience failures from time to time – realizing that failing is not the contrary of success; it’s part of success itself.”
– Arianna Huffington

“Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it.”
– Charles R. Swindoll

“Our greatest vulnerability lies in surrendering. The surest path to success is to try just one more time.”
– Thomas Edison

“Cultivating success from failures. Discouragement and setbacks are sure stepping stones to achievement.”
– Dale Carnegie

“You are never too old to set another objective or to dream a new dream.”
– C.S. Lewis

“No one achieved worth-while success who didn’t, at some point, find themselves perilously close to failure.”
– Napoleon Hill

“Challenges fortify the mind similar to how workouts build the body.”
– Seneca

“Adverse times never endure, yet resilient individuals surely do.”
– Dr. Robert Schuller

Empowering Work Quotes for Success and Achieving Your Ideal Life

“Success tends to come to those who are so occupied that they aren’t seeking it.”
– Henry David Thoreau

“Success appears to be intertwined with action. Successful people continue to progress. They make mistakes but never quit.”
– Conrad Hilton

“Aspiring for success without hard work is akin to trying to reap a harvest without planting seeds.”
– David Bly

“The greatest form of revenge is unparalleled success.”
– Frank Sinatra

“True success is moving from one setback to the next without losing enthusiasm.”
– Winston Churchill

“Success is the collective result of minor efforts, consistently applied every day.”
– Robert Collier

“A critical key to success is unwavering self-belief. And at the heart of that self-belief is thorough preparation.”
– Arthur Ashe

“Happiness is the true foundation of success. If you love what you do, success will follow.”
– Albert Schweitzer

“Self-confidence and hard work will forever lead you to success.”
– Virat Kohli

“I’ve learned that success should not be measured by your accomplishments but by the hurdles you overcame in the journey to succeed.”
– Booker T. Washington

“All paths leading to success require some journey down hard work boulevard at some point.”
– Eric Thomas

“If everyone moves forward in unity, success will manage itself.”
– Henry Ford

“Success is simply a few basic disciplines applied consistently over time.”
– Jim Rohn

“Aim not to become a individual of success, but rather a person of value.”
– Albert Einstein

“The secret to getting ahead is to simply get started.”
– Mark Twain

“Genuine fulfillment emanates from hard work.

— Joseph Barbara

“Through determination, individuals can achieve success through what began as inevitable failure.”
– Benjamin Disraeli

“Your work will occupy a significant portion of your life; the only way to find true satisfaction is to engage in work you believe to be worthy.”
– Steve Jobs

“The elevator to success is currently out of order. You’ll need to take the stairs one step at a time.”
– Joe Girard

“Success is defined as doing our utmost with what we have. Success comprises the doing, not the acquiring; in the striving, not the victory.”
– Zig Ziglar

Craving more motivation for your work? Then explore these hard work quotes, the funny work quotes to lighten the mood, and these motivational work quotes.