100 Quotes About Hard Work to Spark Motivation

Quotes about hard work for motivation

What does hard work mean? To me, working hard is the keystone to career and professional development. So what do quotes have to do with motivation? In my career development journey, quotes have inspired me to keep pushing forward.

So, I’ve compiled a list of the top quotes about hard work and I hope they bring you motivation, too. Scroll to the end to see how I put quotes into action to help achieve my goals.

Here’s what this list includes:

• Top hard work quotes
• Quotes on hard work and success
• Hard work Motivational Quotes
• Hard work woman quotes
• Hard work and dedication quotes
• Quotes on hard work vs. smart work
• Hard work pays off quotes
• Motivational Quotes about hard work and perseverance

This post may contain affiliate links which means if you make a purchase, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, please read my disclosure policy.

Top quotes about hard work

“There is no substitute for hard work.” -Thomas A. Edison

“A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” – Colin Powell

“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” -Sam Ewing

“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck. I’ve never banked on it and I’m afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.” -Lucille Ball

“You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you’re doing. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.” -Alan Alda

“I think people really underestimate the power of just wanting to do it, and hard work, and competitive spirit, and preparation.” -Joe Burrow

“If you’re not willing to put in the hard work, to endure and fail, there’s no point. You win only if you’re willing to do whatever it takes.” -Hidilyn Diaz

“Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit.” -Helena Rubinstein

“Work hard for what you want because it won’t come to you without a fight. You have to be strong and courageous and know that you can do anything you put your mind to. If somebody puts you down or criticizes you, just keep on believing in yourself and turn it into something positive.” -Leah LaBelle

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” -Theodore Roosevelt

“Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them.” -Ann Landers

“There is no substitute for hard work. Never give up. Never stop believing. Never stop fighting.” -Hope Hicks

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it” -Thomas Jefferson.

Quotes on hard work and success

“Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.” -Virat Kohli

“I’m always asked, ‘What’s the secret to success?’ But there are no secrets. Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.” – Dwayne Johnson

“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” -Stephen King

“Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” -Henry David Thoreau

“Enjoy your sweat because hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but without it you don’t have a chance.” -Alex Rodriguez

“The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity.” – Joshua Waitzkin

“There is no substitute for hard work. There is no such thing as an overnight success or easy money.” -Henry Sy

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” – Dwayne Johnson

“I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but should get you pretty near.” -Margaret Thatcher

“The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work.” -Vince Lombardi

“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.” -Pele

“It sounds simple telling people to work hard and never quit, but to really execute and demonstrate those principles takes discipline and faith. Those are the two factors that I believe separate the good from the great, the successes from the failures.” -Nipsey Hussle

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” -Robert Collier

Hard work motivational quotes

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

“Dreams are lovely, but they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” -Shonda Rhimes 

“Stay positive and happy. Work hard and don’t give up hope. Be open to criticism and keep learning. Surround yourself with happy, warm and genuine people.” -Tena Desae

“The only recipe is hard work, persistence, and belief.” -Julen Lopetegui

“Talent without working hard is nothing.” -Cristiano Ronaldo

“Stay true to yourself, yet always be open to learn. Work hard, and never give up on your dreams, even when nobody else believes they can come true but you. These are not cliches but real tools you need no matter what you do in life to stay focused on your path.” -Phillip Sweet

“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.” -Donovan Bailey

“Dreams can become a reality when we possess a vision that is characterized by the willingness to work hard, a desire for excellence, and a belief in our right and our responsibility to be equal members of society.” -Janet Jackson

“Work hard, stay positive, and get up early. It’s the best part of the day.” -George Allen, Sr.

“Believe in yourself, and the rest will fall into place. Have faith in your own abilities, work hard, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish.” -Brad Henry

“If you continue to work hard, let that be the fuel to your fire.” -Pitbull

“Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.” -Conan O’Brien

Hard work woman quotes

“I never dreamt for success. I worked for it.” -Estee Lauder

“There are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success…but if you just focus on the work and you don’t let those people sidetrack you, someday when you get where you’re going…you’ll know that it was you and the people who love you that put you there.” -Taylor Swift

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” -Ayn Rand

“We learned about dignity and decency—that how hard you work matters more than how much you make…that helping others means more than just getting ahead yourself.” -Michelle Obama

“Write your own part. It is the only way I’ve gotten anywhere. It’s much harder work, but sometimes you have to take destiny into your own hands.” -Mindy Kaling

“Do not whine…do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.” -Joan Didion

“Whenever I feel bad, I use that feeling to motivate me to work harder. I only allow myself one day to feel sorry for myself. When I’m not feeling my best I ask myself, ‘What are you gonna do about it?’ I use the negativity to fuel the transformation into a better me.” -Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” -Dolly Parton

“You can have unbelievable intelligence, you can have connections, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But in the end, hard work is the true, enduring characteristic of successful people.” -Marsha Evans

“She wraps herself in strength, carries herself with confidence and works hard, strengthening her arms for the task at hand.” -Proverbs 31:17

“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint—and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” -Oprah Winfrey

“I strongly believe if you work hard, whatever you want, it will come to you.” -Beyoncé Knowles-Carter

Hard work and dedication quotes

“With hard work and dedication, anything is possible.” -Timothy Weah

“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” -Jesse Owens

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

“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

“If you care about what you do and work hard at it, there isn’t anything you can’t do if you want to.” -Jim Henson

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.” -Gaile Devers

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen.” -Frank Lloyd Wright

“My father had a very simple view of life: you don’t get anything for nothing. Everything has to be earned, through work, persistence and honesty.” -Grace Kelly

“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.” – Arnold Palmer

“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” -Peter Drucker

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.”  -Calvin Coolidge

“To succeed, work hard, never give up and above all, cherish a magnificent obsession.” -Walt Disney

“The harder I work the more I live.” -George Bernard Shaw

Quotes on hard work vs. smart work

“Don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many people are simply busy being busy.” -Robin Sharma

“Working smart is harder than working hard. It’s just less visible, and we care too much about what others see.” -Shane Snow

“The essential question is not ‘How busy are you?’ but ‘What are you busy at?” -Oprah Winfrey 

“So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.” -Caterina Fake

“Be humble, ambitious, and always strive to be the most competent worker wherever you find yourself. Don’t just work hard; think smart, work smart.”  -Emmanuel Apetsi

“The combination of hard work and smart work is efficient work.” -Robert Half

“I don’t believe in luck or in hard work without the so-called ‘work smart’. It’s not all about how you work hard but it’s about how you manage your time, resources, mind to work together for a better output.” -Jayson Zabate

“The early bird gets the first worm, but the wisest bird gets the fastest one.” -Matshona Dhliwayo

“Measure progress — not the time that you’re working.” -Frank Sonnenberg

“Those who work hard, work alone. Those who work smart, work as a team.” -Utibe Samuel Mbom

“Work hard but work smart. Always. Every day. Nothing is handed to you and nothing is easy. You’re not owed anything. No job or task is too small or beneath you. If you want to get ahead, volunteer to do the things no one else wants to do and do it better. Be a sponge. Be open and learn.” -Bobbi Brown 

“Work smart, play hard. Life is about balance, so don’t let the pursuit of success make you forget the joy of living.” -Emmanuel Apetsi

Hard work pays off quotes

“The hard work definitely paid off and hard work always does.”  -Gabby Douglas

“Happiness is the real sense of fulfillment that comes from hard work.” -Joseph Barbara

“The best possible way to prepare for tomorrow is to concentrate with all your intelligence, all your enthusiasm, on doing today’s work superbly today. That is the only possible way you can prepare for the future.” -Dale Carnegie

“Laziness pays off overnight, however hard work pays off throughout your life.” -Ahmed Ali

“I started at the bottom and worked my way up. I think that shows hard work pays off. A good thing takes a while.” -Cesaro

“Hard work pays off. The harder you work, the more people will notice.” -Sydney Sweeney

“Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to do the work. I live by that. You grind hard so you can play hard. At the end of the day, you put all the work in, and eventually it’ll pay off. It could be in a year, it could be in 30 years. Eventually, your hard work will pay off.” -Kevin Hart

“Hard work pays off if you’re patient enough to see it through.” -Michael Chandler

“There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be mistakes. But with hard work, there are no limits.” -Michael Phelps

“Hard work always pays off, whatever you do.”  -Dustin Lynch

“I’ve learned that anything in life worth having comes from patience and hard work.” -Greg Behrendt

“Nothing will work unless you do.” -Maya Angelou

Motivational quotes about hard work and perseverance

“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” -Vince Lombardi

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” -Newt Gingrich

“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” -Steve Jobs

“The big talent is persistence.” -Octavia E. Butler

“If four things are followed – having a great aim, acquiring knowledge, hard work, and perseverance – then anything can be achieved.” A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

“Dreams can come true, but there is a secret. They’re realized through the magic of persistence, determination, commitment, passion, practice, focus & hard work. They happen a step at a time, manifested over years, not weeks.” -Elbert Hubbard

“I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude.” -Michael Jordan

“If you really want something, and really work hard, and take advantage of opportunities, and never give up, you will find a way.” -Jane Goodall

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” Walter Elliot

“You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.” -Marian Wright Edelman

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” -Thomas Edison

“Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. Most of all, other people can’t stop you. Only you can stop you.” -Jeffrey Gitomer

“Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.” -Kobe Bryant

Putting Quotes into Action

Quotes are great motivators, but in order to succeed, we need to put them into action. All of the people quoted above were successful and famous for a reason. They showed up everyday and worked hard. 

Whether you’re looking to make a career move or you’re building your own business, these quotes can help make a difference. Wherever you’re at in your journey, take action now to be better today and even better tomorrow.

Here are some ideas for putting these hard working quotes into action. 

• Pick your favorite quote or quotes, write it down and pin it to your workspace.
• Write a quote at the top of your to do list every day.
• Use a quote as a daily journal prompt throughout the week.
• Share your favorite quote on your social media channels. Ask friends and followers to comment with their favorite career development quote or a personal tip.
• Put your favorite quote at the bottom of your email signature to inspire others. 

Final Thoughts

I hope these top quotes about working hard will help motivate and inspire you to take action in your career or business. Remember, there is no set formula for success in career or life. Make your own success plan, work hard and take steps to be better than you were yesterday.

No matter what your goals look like, you can achieve them! I hope you feel motivated to take the next step in your professional development journey.

What quote from above is your favorite? Are there any hard work motivational quotes you love that I missed? Let me know in the comments below.