80+ Motivational Quotes About Hard Work to Help You Reach Your Goals

Intro

Success is never easy, and even the most committed individuals sometimes struggle to stay on track. It’s tough for businesses to keep their employees consistently motivated, and even seasoned entrepreneurs face moments when challenges feel insurmountable. When motivation wanes, I turn to one of my favorite sources of inspiration: motivational quotes.

These quotes remind me why I love what I do and reignite my drive to reach the goals I’ve set for myself. Whether you need motivation to keep yourself going or want to inspire your team, I’ve compiled over 100 motivational quotes about hard work. Use these to stay focused, and remember that the road to success is paved with effort and persistence.

Let’s dive in.

Short Quotes About Hard Work

1. "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard." — Tim Notke

2. "Success is no accident." — Pele

3. "Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going." — Sam Levenson

4. "You are your greatest asset." — Tom Hopkins

5. "The only way to achieve the impossible is to believe it is possible." — Charles Kingsleigh

6. "There is no substitute for hard work." — Thomas Edison

7. "Work until your idols become your rivals." — Drake

8. "Success is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." — Colin Powell

9. "If people knew how hard I worked, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful." — Michelangelo

10. "The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action." — Alexander Graham Bell

Inspirational Quotes About Working Hard

11. "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary." — Vidal Sassoon

12. "Success isn’t always about greatness; it’s about consistency." — Dwayne Johnson

13. "Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted." — David Bly

14. "It always seems impossible until it’s done." — Nelson Mandela

15. "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other." — Walter Elliot

16. "Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds." — Gordon B. Hinckley

17. "The only thing standing between you and success is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible." — Joel Brown

18. "Work hard in silence, let success be your noise." — Frank Ocean

19. "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." — Zig Ziglar

20. "Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." — Winston Churchill

Encouraging Quotes

21. "The best way out is always through." — Robert Frost

22. "It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop." — Confucius

23. "Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict." — William Ellery Channing

24. "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up." — Thomas Edison

25. "When you feel like quitting, think about why you started." — Anonymous

26. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts." — Winston Churchill

27. "Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’" — Mary Anne Radmacher

28. "Tough times never last, but tough people do." — Robert H. Schuller

29. "The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it." — Molière

30. "Believe you can and you’re halfway there." — Theodore Roosevelt

Hard Work Pays Off Quotes

31. "Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out." — Robert Collier

32. "Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice." — Henry Ford

33. "The price of success is hard work." — Vince Lombardi

34. "Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen." — Conan O’Brien

35. "Luck is not chance, it’s toil; fortune’s expensive smile is earned." — Emily Dickinson

36. "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it." — Henry David Thoreau

37. "Dreams don’t work unless you do." — John C. Maxwell

38. "Success is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." — Colin Powell

39. "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." — Thomas Jefferson

40. "Do not whine… do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone." — Joan Didion

Funny Motivational Quotes

41. "People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing—that’s why we recommend it daily." — Zig Ziglar

42. "Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?" — Edgar Bergen

43. "The elevator to success is out of order. You’ll have to use the stairs… one step at a time." — Joe Girard

44. "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." — Dalai Lama

45. "I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific." — Lily Tomlin

46. "Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there." — Will Rogers

47. "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." — Thomas Edison

48. "Doing nothing is very hard to do… you never know when you’re finished." — Leslie Nielsen

49. "Hard work never killed anyone, but why take the risk?" — Anonymous

50. "A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure." — Henry Kissinger

Deep Quotes About Success and Perseverance

51. "Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." — Samuel Johnson

52. "Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." — John D. Rockefeller

53. "The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." — Thomas Paine

54. "Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle." — Napoleon Hill

55. "Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful." — Albert Schweitzer

56. "The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same." — Colin R. Davis

57. "Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success." — Napoleon Hill

58. "I failed my way to success." — Thomas Edison

59. "There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs." — Zig Ziglar

60. "Success is not how high you have climbed, but how you make a positive difference to the world." — Roy T. Bennett

Quotes About Perseverance and Hard Work

61. "Fall seven times, stand up eight." — Japanese Proverb

62. "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other." — Walter Elliot

63. "Through perseverance, many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure." — Benjamin Disraeli

64. "Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance." — Samuel Johnson

65. "Keep going. Everything you need will come to you at the perfect time." — Anonymous

66. "Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit." — Conrad Hilton

67. "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will." — Vince Lombardi

68. "Energy and persistence conquer all things." — Benjamin Franklin

69. "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." — Booker T. Washington

70. "Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." — Newt Gingrich

Team Quotes on Hard Work

71. "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." — Michael Jordan

72. "Teamwork makes the dream work." — John C. Maxwell

73. "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." — Helen Keller

74. "None of us is as smart as all of us." — Ken Blanchard

75. "The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison." — James Cash Penney

76. "Individual commitment to a group effort—that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." — Vince Lombardi

77. "Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." — Henry Ford

78. "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." — Booker T. Washington

79. "The way to achieve your own success is to be willing to help somebody else get it first." — Iyanla Vanzant

80. "None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful." — Mother Teresa

Conclusion

Reaching your goals takes more than just talent and ambition—it requires hard work, determination, and the right mindset. These quotes serve as a reminder that, although the road to success may be long, perseverance, grit, and focus will help you overcome challenges along the way. Whether you’re motivating yourself, your team, or your organization, let these quotes inspire you to keep pushing forward, and remember that the effort you put in today will pay off in the future. Keep hustling, stay driven, and success will follow.