Worked Hard Quotes

“Every creative journey begins with a problem. It starts with a feeling of frustration, the dull ache of not being able to find the answer. We have worked hard, but we've hit the wall. We have no idea what to do next.”

— Jonah Lehrer

“The thing about the Lexington International Bank ladder was that it was very long, and climbing it was very exhausting, and so Andrew Brown didn't have a lot of time to think about whether he really wanted to get to the top of it-and besides, since so many other people were climbing too, the view from the top must be worth it.
So he kept going. He worked hard. He put his heart and mind and soul into it. There was an opening for a position half a rung higher than he already was. With a promotion, he might get two hours a week of a secretary's time. He'd go to more important meetings, with more senior people, and have the opportunity to impress them, and if he did he might be promoted again and then ... well, of course eventually he'd be running the whole office. It's important to have a dream: otherwise you might notice where you really are.”

— Naomi Alderman

“I will never apologize for who I am. I've worked hard to evolve and I'm proud of my triumphs.”

— Alexandra Elle

“But 'I worked hard on this' doesn't exempt you from criticism. Those harsh reviews aren't about anyone being out to get me. It's not an Authors vs. Reviewers thing. It's people taking the time to express their opinions because they care about this stuff.
[Us vs. Them vs. Grow the Hell Up (Blog post, September 1, 2013)]”

— Jim C. Hines

“Elite runners are genetically gifted, sure, but without intense training, those gifts are wasted. Their training creates a strong work ethic that leaves humility in its wake. There are no short cuts in marathoning, so anyone who is a marathoner has worked hard.”

— Jeff Horowitz

“History pays no heed to the unspectacular citizen who worked hard all day and walked at night to a humble home with dust on his tunic and his flat cap. But in the end the builders have had the better of it. The miracles they accomplished in stone are still standing and still beautiful, even with the disintegration of so many centuries on them, but the battlefields where great warriors died are so encroached upon by modern villas and so befouled by the rotting remains of motorcars and the staves of oil barrels that they do not always repay a visit.”

— Thomas B. Costain

“His intelligence was just something he'd been born with. Luck of the draw, like being beautiful. It was a rationalization to say that he'd worked hard. It was like being given a fine knife and taking the trouble to polish and sharpen it: it's great that you make the effort, but someone had to give you the knife.”

— Adelle Waldman

“I felt like a trophy child, someone he had around to show off. It felt like it was more important that his daughter was perfect-but, I was his daughter and I was neither of those things. I worked hard to get my grades, and I tried so hard to meet his expectations, but I failed. Over and over again, I fell short. I didn't measure up. That feeling never faded.”

— H.M. Ward

“His gut clenched. He'd thought she was different. Thought she appreciated the man he was, not the out-of-all-proportion legend the sensationalists depicted. Was that what she wanted? Some larger-than-life hero? If so, he didn't stand a chance. She'd never be satisfied with a humble mule trainer. He'd worked hard to put life as a bounty hunter behind him. He wouldn't be that man again. Not even for her.”

— Karen Witemeyer

“Women have worked hard; starved in prison; given of their time and lives that we might sit in the House of Commons and take part in the legislating of this country.”

— Ellen Wilkinson

“I know I am extraordinarily lucky to be doing what I am doing. I have worked hard along the way and I have been blessed too. I have had a great life.”

— Gary Lineker

“Throughout the 40 years I've been in Washington, I've always worked hard, particularly with regards to the budget issues.”

— Leon Panetta

“People think I've got a problem with the press. Actually I have no problem with the press, but just like in football there are a handful who cause problems because they're disrespectful, they're lazy, and above all - and this is what really gets to me - they haven't worked hard to get there.”

— Gordon Strachan

“My father was a very disciplined singer who worked hard at his craft, and I was around that growing up.”

— Bobby McFerrin

“I wasn't the best waitress in the world, but I was cheerful and worked hard.”

— Lucy Alibar

“I'm in great shape, back-in-my-football-days shape. I've worked hard to get to this point.”

— Brian Jordan

“I know the Hall of Fame is the more sought-after thing. But I'm getting a bigger charge out of my uniform number being put away. Everything I worked hard for and wished for came true.”

— Hal Newhouser

“It seems the EPA has worked hard to devise new regulations that are designed to eliminate coal mining, coal burning, usage of coal.”

— Hal Rogers

“I've said for a long time, clearly the - a, a critical key to success in the region is going to be Pakistan and our relationship with Pakistan, which was one that was broken in the late '80s and which we've worked hard to restore.”

— Michael Mullen

“When I play it I look out and see people hold on to each other and dance or just couples leaning into each other and kiss. And I'll go: 'You know, I could have worked hard at school and been a dentist. But I'm so glad I didn't.' Because when I look out and see that I feel like the Pied Piper of love.”

— Chris Isaak

“I know I always worked hard on making sure we came out with the best possible product and of course we were working with four other people, you have to balance that as well.”

— Chris Squire

“President Obama is a principled man who has worked hard to put healthcare and a good education in the reach of millions of Americans and believes that everyone who works hard and plays by the rules, should have a fair shot at the American dream.”

— Cristina Saralegui

“My father was a CPA. He worked hard in the aircraft industry, and would come home more and more infrequently. He was about to leave my mother, which he did when I was 15.”

— Jeremy Irons

“I have worked hard to improve my consistency in my driving, irons, short game, and putting.”

— Natalie Gulbis

“I paid my dues. I have crawled to gigs. I have served people coffee. I worked hard selling all these records out the back of my car. Girl, I'm ready to sell one the real way now.”

— Valerie June

“I've worked hard all my life. You have to if you want to get things done.”

— Doris Lessing

“The people of Canada have worked hard to build a country that opens its doors to include all, regardless of their differences; a country that respects all, regardless of their differences; a country that demands equality for all, regardless of their differences.”

— Paul Martin

“I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy.”

— Haile Gebrselassie

“I was from a tough neighborhood, and we didn't have a lot of money, but my dad worked hard, and my mom is good at budgeting things. That made me appreciate things.”

— Imelda May

“There are men who work hard, digging for gold: he worked hard, digging for pity. The misery of the world was his mine. Pain everywhere was an occasion for goodness always.”

— Victor Hugo

“I had real plans for my next decade and felt I'd worked hard enough to earn it. Will I really not live to see my children married? To watch the World Trade Center rise again? To read - if not indeed write - the obituaries of elderly villains like Henry Kissinger and Joseph Ratzinger?”

— Christopher Hitchens

“Mom raised me all by herself, and although we went through our share of lean years, she always worked hard to make our home warm and welcoming.”

— Candice Olson

“To tell you the truth, I prefer just your average, run-of-the-mill, everyday jackass with his glass-eyed, slack-jawed obliviousness to the guys who try to hijack my cool by reading poetry and listening to halfway-good music. I worked hard for my cool. I got my ass kicked in middle school for my cool. I came by this shit honestly.”

— John Green

“I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop themselves. Sometimes I've wondered what I could have done with their talent. On the other hand, the tag that I was too small and slow made me work hard.”

— Steve Largent

“I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled, and thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them.”

— Tiger Woods

“I want to be an example of a guy who made something of himself out of nothing. A guy who overcame the odds of a tough childhood, who worked hard, who didn't let his surroundings get the best of him and lead him to jail or the graveyard. Where I ended up - being a comedian, a TV star, and a movie actor - might be unique, but my story is not.”

— Tracy Morgan

“I'm sick. It's true. It isn't going to go away. All my life, I've thought that if I just worked hard enough, it would. I've always thought that if I just pulled myself together, I'd be a good person, a calm person, a person like everyone else.”

— Marya Hornbacher

“I didn't want to be the rebel who was bottom of the class, so I worked hard. They wanted me to stay on for A-Levels, but football came calling - that was my real love.”

— Frank Lampard

“This is your captain speaking, so stop whatever you're doing and pay attention. First of all I see from our instruments that we have a couple of hitchhikers aboard. Hello, wherever you are. I just want to make it totally clear that you are not at all welcome. I worked hard to get where I am today, and I didn't become captain of a Vogon constructor ship simply so I could turn it into a taxi service for a load of degenerate freeloaders. I have sent out a search party, and as soon as they find you I will put you off the ship. If you're very lucky I might read you some of my poetry first. Secondly, we are about to jump into hyperspace for the journey to Barnard's Star. On arrival we will stay in dock for a seventy-two-hour refit, and no one's to leave the ship during that time. I repeat, all planet leave is canceled. I've just had an unhappy love affair, so I don't see why anybody else should have a good time. Message ends.”

— Douglas Adams

“All these freshmen have come in here and worked hard from the beginning. I can't say enough good things about them. They were the No. 1 recruiting class in the country and they're confidant. They know they are the best. That doesn't mean they slack off. They work really hard. Now it's time to go out there and compete.”

— Alex Bregman

“I've always felt that if I worked hard enough and continued to refine my craft, while staying curious about our times and our world, I just might have something to contribute.”

— Jerry Pinkney

“When friends tell you how awesome you look, drop the "I still have more to go" crap. You worked hard and you deserve the compliment!”

— Jillian Michaels

“I've worked hard with my body, just in case someone needs me to play third or short. I'm happy to go back to short, it's my natural position. I'm here to help and here to do whatever the manager wants me to do.”

— Miguel Tejada

“The Church worked hard at it night and day during nine centuries and imprisoned, tortured, hanged, and burned whole hordes and armies of witches, and washed the Christian world clean with their foul blood. Then it was discovered that there was no such thing as witches, and never had been. One doesn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Who discovered that there was no such thing as a witch - the priest, the parson? No, these never discover anything.”

— Mark Twain

“My grandparents came worked hard, and I believe they never regretted their decision to come here and make a new start.”

— Samuel Alito

“Im not the kind of person to just sit back and lose something I worked hard on, so, naturally, Ive taken steps to be further involved in a process when most actors arent.”

— Amber Heard

“I'm an unbelievable designer. I don't know how I know and just do these things. I just start sketching and then I just know the colors and I always know the forecast. I know green and purple are going to be hot. I was born to be a designer. I worked hard to be a tennis player, I don't work hard to be a designer.”

— Serena Williams

“The people who are filing for bankruptcy in increasing numbers every year, it's not the poorest. It's not the people at the economic fringes. It's people who worked hard and played by the rules.”

— Elizabeth Warren

“I didn't work hard for success. I worked hard because that's what is in me. I showed up in this world somehow knowing that you have to work hard. You can't just have a thought. You have to follow the thought through.”

— Wayne Dyer

“Onstage, it's all just a heightened and more elaborate version of me. When you're standing onstage, your adrenaline is going, your enthusiasm is at full tilt, and the excitement helps elevate you're attitude. I've always wanted to be as close to myself offstage, being funny with my buddies, and that's what I've worked hard on - being authentic to who I really am.”

— Dane Cook