85 Work Ethic Quotes to Inspire You to Do Better

Take your performance to the next level with these work ethic quotes.

The work ethics of a company or organization determine the productivity and efficiency of its workers. It is an essential factor that affects the success of the company.

So, if you need some guidance in having a solid work ethic, then these quotes are perfect for you!

We hope that this collection can help you step up your attitude in the workplace.

Develop a positive work ethic by reading our complete collection below.

Let’s get started.

And don’t forget to check out these success quotes.

Best Work Ethic Quotes

1. “Developing a good work ethic is a key to success. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you’re a janitor or taking your first summer job because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.” – Tyler Perry

2. “Don’t work until you’re tired. Work until you’re done.” – Anonymous

3. “Ethics is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious. It involves not only our thinking but also our feeling.” – Valdemar Setzer

4. “I never feared about my skills because I put in the work. Work ethic eliminates fear. So if you put forth the work, what are you fearing? You know what you’re capable of doing and what you’re not.” – Michael Jordan

5. “Choices and decisions must be supported by your passion, resolve, and a productive work ethic. If these meet opportunity, your success has finally come!” – Archibald Marwizi 

6. “The best way to learn is by doing. The only way to build a strong work ethic is getting your hands dirty.” – Alex Spanos

7. “At the end of the day, you are solely responsible for your success and your failure. And the sooner you realize that, you accept that, and integrate that into your work ethic, you will start being successful. As long as you blame others for the reason you aren’t where you want to be, you will always be a failure.” – Erin Cummings

8. “If you’ve got the confidence and the work ethic, you can make any dream come true.” – Bret Hart

9. “Do not worry about who gets the credit or praise of the work done. Continue work to give your best. Your reward may come unexpectedly.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

10. “Live by the creed that a strong work ethic, playing by the rules, and doing things the right way will bring about opportunities for success and, ultimately, happiness.” – Nick Saban 

11. “Keep working even when no one is watching.” – Alex Morgan

12. “Even though your time on the job is temporary, if you do a good enough job, your work there will last forever.” – Idowu Koyenikan

13. “There’s a lot that’s out of your control, but the one thing that you can control is your work ethic.” – Christen Press

14. “Your reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions.” – Maria Razumich-Zec

15. “You don’t get what you wish for. You get what you work for.” – Anonymous

Inspirational Work Ethic Quotes

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

17. “If you can’t outplay them, outwork them.” – Ben Hogan

18. “Today, I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t.” – Jerry Rice 

19. “You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself.” – Napoleon Hill

20. “You have to have a work ethic, and you have to be educated in what you’re doing. You have to take it seriously. It doesn’t mean that everything you do has to be serious, but you’ve got to have the tools.” – Jakob Dylan 

21. “Who you are tomorrow begins with what you do today.” – Tim Fargo

22. “Face your problems head-on. Do what you have to do to take care of it. Develop a good work ethic.” – George Chuvalo

23. “All roads that lead to success have to pass through hard work boulevard at some point.” – Eric Thomas

24. “Push yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.” – Anonymous

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

26. “If you’re going to preach dedication, work ethic, teamwork, unselfishness, and being part of a team to accomplish a common goal, you have to live it. You can’t just talk about it.” – Chris Mullin

27. “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

28. “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” – Mohandas Gandhi

29. “You can control two things—your work ethic and your attitude about anything.” – Ali Krieger

30. “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained in sudden flight but, they while their companions slept, they were toiling upwards in the night.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Also read: Work-Life Balance Quotes

Work Ethic Quotes to Help You Step up Your Game

31. “I never took the work less than serious. My work ethic is ingrained in me, but I’ve always had a sense of humor about myself.” – George Hamilton

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

33. “Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.” – Tim Duncan

34. “A lot of people in our generation like to make excuses about little things that really don’t hinder them from doing what they want to. It always comes down to the work ethic.” – Shaquem Griffin

35. “Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.” – Anonymous

36. “The essence of professionalism is the focus upon the work and its demands, while we are doing it, to the exclusion of all else.” – Steven Pressfield

37. “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness and the willingness to work hard for 22 minutes to make sense of something that most people would give up on after 30 seconds.” – Alan Schoenfeld

Also read: Grind Quotes

Encouraging Quotes About Work Ethic

38. “There may be people that have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” – Derek Jeter

39. “Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate, and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.” – Paulo Coelho

40. “Change starts with you. When you step up, you invite others to step up too.” – Mandy Hale

41. “Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan.” – Margaret Thatcher

42. “Believe passionately in what you do, and never knowingly compromise your standards and values. Act like a true professional, aiming for true excellence, and the money will follow.” – David Maister

43. “If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” – Malcolm Gladwell

44. “Working hard becomes a habit, a serious kind of fun. You get self-satisfaction from pushing yourself to the limit, knowing that all the effort is going to pay off.” – Mary Lou Retton

45. “Work harder than you think you did yesterday.” – Alex Elle

Also read: Encouraging Quotes, Positive Quotes

Work Ethic Quotes That Will Pump You Up

46. “Talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.” – Patrick Suskind

47. “Have a clear plan or strategy to translate your success philosophy into desired results. Adopt an effective work ethic, with a laser-focus and requisite execution strategies to produce results.” – Archibald Marwizi

48. “People don’t understand that when I grew up, I was never the most talented. I was never the biggest. I was never the fastest. I certainly was never the strongest. The only thing I had was my work ethic, and that’s been what has gotten me this far.” – Tiger Woods

49. “Without ambition, one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

50. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” – Abraham Lincoln

51. “Success isn’t overnight. It’s when every day, you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up.” – Dwayne Johnson

52. “There is no magic wand that can resolve our problems. The solution rests with our work and discipline.” – Jose Eduardo dos Santos

Work Ethic Quotes to Motivate You to Work Even Harder

53. “Without hard work and discipline, it is difficult to be a top professional.” – Jahangir Khan

54. “The first qualification for success, in my view, is a strong work ethic.” – Henry Ford

55. “When I was young, I observed that 9 out of 10 things I did were failures. So I did 10 times more work.” – George Bernard Shaw

56. “The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Work is the key to success, and hard work can help you accomplish anything.” – Vince Lombardi

57. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” – Kevin Durant

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

59. “Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they’re making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as a punishment, and that’s the difference.” – Lou Holtz

60. “If your dream is a big dream, and if you want your life to work on the high level you say you do, there’s no way around doing the work it takes to get you there.” – Joyce Chapman

61. “I work very hard, and I play very hard. I’m grateful for life, and I live it. I believe life loves the lover of it. I live it.” – Maya Angelou

62. “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

63. “Trying hard and working hard is its own reward. It feeds the soul. It affirms your will and your power, and it radiates from you, lighting the way for all those who see you.” – Charles M. Blow

64. “It’s not about money or connections. It’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone.” – Mark Cuban

Powerful Quotes on Work Ethic

65. “You can’t have a million-dollar dream with a minimum-wage work ethic.” – Stephen Hogan

66. “Set your goals high, and don’t stop ’till you get there.” – Bo Jackson

67. “Working hard is great, being lazy sometimes is great, but failed potential is the worst.” – Campbell Scott

68. “Ideas don’t work for people unwilling to do the work.” – Anonymous

69. “I never viewed myself as particularly talented. Where I excel is a ridiculous, sickening work ethic. You know, while the other guy’s sleeping, I’m working.” – Will Smith

70. “Hard work is an essential element in tracking down and perfecting a strategy or in executing it.” – Charlie Munger

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

72. “A dream does not become reality through magic. It takes sweat, determination, and hard work.” – Colin Powell

73. “If people don’t know you for your words ethic, you ain’t working.” – Anonymous

74. “I have a work ethic. If I say I am going to do something, I do it.” – Viggo Mortensen

75. “Your expectations should never be higher than your work ethic.” – Inky Johnson

More Work Ethic Quotes You’ll Learn From

76. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder

77. “I am just an average man, but by God, I work harder than the average man.” – Winston Churchill

78. “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” – Michelangelo

79. “Three rules of work—one, out of clutter, find simplicity. Two, from discord, find harmony. Three, in the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

80. “Talent is never enough. With few exceptions, the best players are the hardest workers.” – Magic Johnson

81. “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” – David Bly

82. “If you have built castles in the air; your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” – Henry David Thoreau

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

84. “Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.” – Dwayne Johnson

85. “I learned the value of hard work by working hard.” – Margaret Mead

Did the Collection Teach You About the Right Attitude in the Workplace?

It is essential to create harmony in the workplace. Any organization that works toward a common goal needs its members to be team players, disciplined, and hard workers. 

Without the proper work ethic, they will never reach success. We hope we were able to help out people who aspire to be better and more efficient workers with quotes that highlight the traits someone needs to have a strong work ethic. 

But, just reading and knowing about the right attitude is not enough. Remember that you need the will to practice and apply it in your performance because only the people who want to be better can succeed in life. 

Did these quotes inspire you? Which is your favorite work ethic quote? Comment down below!

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Karen Danao

Hi, I’m Karen, a content curator and writer for Quote Ambition; I’m also a marketing and advertising professional. Beyond the keyboard and the screen, I’m someone who’s out to enjoy every bit that life has to offer!

Poetry, philosophy, history, and movies are all topics I love writing about! However, my true passion is in traveling, photography, and finding common ground to which everyone from different cultures can relate.

With the many places I’ve been to, I found that love, inspiration, and happiness are some things that bring people together. No matter how different we are on the outside, I’m a true believer that our emotions don’t lie; if you dig deep into our psyche, we’re all the same inside.

This belief was further amplified when I joined Quote Ambition. Through the quotes I’ve read, collected, organized, and written about, I found that humans are resilient, creative, and compassionate.

We take from each others’ hearts and courage, and it’s through our individual experiences that we learn how to rise above our challenges and pain. In so many ways, Quote Ambition is a platform that allows people from all over the world to gain the inspiration they need anytime, anywhere!

You can find me on MuckRack and LinkedIn.