Top 200 Work Ethic Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Goal Quotes, Hard Work Quotes

2. “Monday, I grind. Tuesday, I grind. Wednesday, I grind. Thursday, I grind. Friday, I grind. Saturday, I grind. Sunday, I grind. And, that’s why I’m here today.”

— Eric Thomas

Also featured in: Success Quotes, Focus Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Goal Quotes, Hard Work Quotes

3. “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

— Vince Lombardi

Also featured in: Success Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Powerful Motivational Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Work

4. “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day. It is the accumulative weight of our disciplines and our judgments that leads us to either fortune or failure.”

— Jim Rohn

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Discipline Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Success, Prosperity Quotes

5. “No man needs sympathy because he has to work, because he has a burden to carry. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Friday Quotes for Work

6. “I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work.”

— Thomas A. Edison

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Hustle Quotes, Effort Quotes

7. “Those times when you get up early and you work hard; those times when you stay up late and you work hard; those times when you don’t feel like working, you’re too tired, you don’t want to push yourself, but you do it anyway; that is actually the dream. That’s the dream. It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Dedication Quotes, Passion Quotes

8. “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do – and I believe that.”

— Derek Jeter

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Commitment Quotes, Greatness Quotes, Practice Quotes

9. “You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Passion Quotes, Practice Quotes

10. “There are no shortcuts – everything is reps, reps, reps.”

— Arnold Schwarzenegger

Also featured in: Quotes About Strength, Hard Work Quotes, Motivational Workout Quotes

11. “Every single day must be excellent. You’ve got to give it all you’ve got!”

— Eric Thomas

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Success, Excellence Quotes

12. “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

Also featured in: Motivational Quotes, Positive Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Personal Responsibility Quotes

13. “Do your homework and know your business better than anyone. Otherwise, someone who knows more and works harder will kick your ass.”

— Mark Cuban

Also featured in: Strategy Quotes, Making Money Quotes, Competition Quotes, Small Business Quotes

14. “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”

— Jim Rohn

Also featured in: Positive Quotes, Success Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Discipline Quotes

15. “I’ve gotta breathe it, I’ve gotta eat it, I’ve gotta sleep it and until you get there you will never be successful in life. But once you get there I guarantee you, the world is yours. So work hard, and you can have whatever it is that you want.”

— Eric Thomas

Also featured in: Perseverance Quotes, Hard Work Quotes, Hustle Quotes, Dedication Quotes

16. “We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment. ”

— Jim Rohn

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Goal Quotes, Discipline Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Success

17. “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, and live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is how great spiritual giants are produced.”

— Swami Vivekananda

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes, Focus Quotes, Goal Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Success

18. “Energy and persistence conquer all things.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Also featured in: Perseverance Quotes, Persistence Quotes, Goal Quotes, Action Quotes

19. “Sometimes life’s going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did.”

— Steve Jobs

Also featured in: Startup Quotes, Success Quotes, Persistence Quotes, Powerful Motivational Quotes

20. “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

— Henry Ford

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Action Quotes, Interesting Quotes, Inspirational Business Quotes

21. “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”

— Lance Armstrong

Also featured in: Perseverance Quotes, Goal Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Never Give Up Quotes, Mental Strength Quotes

22. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

— Steve Martin

Also featured in: Success Quotes, Interesting Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work, Motivational Quotes for Success, Motivational Work Quotes

23. “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

— Vince Lombardi

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes, Business Quotes, Action Quotes, Short Motivational Quotes

24. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

— Aristotle

Also featured in: Philosophical Quotes, Intelligent Quotes, Important Quotes

25. “If you can’t stop thinking about it, don’t stop working on it.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Winning Quotes

26. “You don't get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”

— Jim Rohn

Also featured in: Motivational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Life Quotes

27. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

— Pelé

Also featured in: Positive Quotes, Success Quotes, Focus Quotes, Persistence Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work

28. “You want to be extra rigorous about making the best possible thing you can. Find everything that’s wrong with it and fix it. Seek negative feedback, particularly from friends.”

— Elon Musk

Also featured in: Excellence Quotes, Achievement Quotes, Productivity Quotes

29. “You will win if you don’t quit.”

— Les Brown

Also featured in: Positive Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Powerful Motivational Quotes, Coaching Quotes

30. “Discipline is the foundation upon which all success is built. Lack of discipline inevitably leads to failure.”

— Jim Rohn

Also featured in: Success Quotes, Discipline Quotes, Prosperity Quotes, Powerful Motivational Quotes

31. “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Also featured in: Perseverance Quotes, Meaningful Quotes, Deep Quotes, Inspiring Quotes

32. “How long should you try? Until.”

— Jim Rohn

Also featured in: Perseverance Quotes, Failure Quotes, Attitude Quotes

33. “Make time, not excuses.”

— Grant Cardone

Also featured in: Business Quotes, Time Quotes, Action Quotes, Powerful Motivational Quotes, Hustle Quotes

34. “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”

— Stephen King

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Discipline Quotes, Creativity Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Work

35. “There is only one thing in life you can control: Your own effort.”

— Mark Cuban

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Persistence Quotes, Effort Quotes, Inspiring Quotes

36. “Failure gave me strength. Pain was my motivation.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Persistence Quotes, Failure Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Motivational Monday Quotes

37. “If you want something, go get it. Period.”

— Chris Gardner

Also featured in: Startup Quotes, Persistence Quotes, Confidence Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work, Powerful Motivational Quotes

38. “There is no excuse for not trying.”

— Barack Obama

Also featured in: Persistence Quotes, Action Quotes, Motivational Monday Quotes, Positive Motivational Quotes, Motivational Quotes About Life

39. “Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

— Calvin Coolidge

Also featured in: Persistence Quotes, Life Lessons Quotes, Commitment Quotes, Determination Quotes

40. “Join The 5 am Club. Your most valuable hours are 5am-8am. They have the least interruptions.”

— Robin S. Sharma

Also featured in: Motivational Work Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Good Morning Inspirational Quotes

41. “You see, God helps only people who work hard. That principle is very clear.”

— Abdul Kalam

Also featured in: Personal Responsibility Quotes, Effort Quotes, Taking Action Quotes

42. “We don’t settle for anything less than excellence.”

— Steve Jobs

Also featured in: Inspirational Entrepreneurship Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Work, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Motivational Monday Quotes

43. “I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse.”

— Florence Nightingale

Also featured in: Success Quotes, Discipline Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Women, Life Lessons Quotes, Effort Quotes

44. “You can't be paralyzed by fear of failure or you will never push yourself. You keep pushing because you believe in yourself and in your vision. And you know that it is the right thing to do and success will come.”

— Arnold Schwarzenegger

Also featured in: Persistence Quotes, Confidence Quotes, Failure Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Empowering Quotes

45. “You are where you are and what you are because of yourself, nothing else. Nature is neutral. Nature doesn't care. If you do what other successful people do, you will enjoy the same results and rewards that they do. And if you don't, you won't.”

— Brian Tracy

Also featured in: Prosperity Quotes, Powerful Motivational Quotes, Impact Quotes, Personal Responsibility Quotes

46. “The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.”

— Vince Lombardi

Also featured in: Powerful Motivational Quotes, Inspirational Quotes for Work, Not Giving Up Quotes

47. “I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.”

— Vince Lombardi

Also featured in: Powerful Motivational Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Winning Quotes, Performance Quotes

48. “A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”

— Larry Bird

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Motivational Monday Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Winning Quotes

49. “No such thing as spare time, no such thing as free time, no such thing as down time. All you got is life time. Go.”

— Henry Rollins

Also featured in: Time Quotes, Live Life Quotes, Motivational Monday Quotes, Dedication Quotes

50. “If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”

— William H. McRaven

Also featured in: Inspirational Quotes for Work, Short Inspirational Quotes, Common Sense Quotes, Excellence Quotes