55 Inspiring Labor Day Quotes From MLK Jr., Eleanor Roosevelt and More
It's easy to think about the upcoming autumn season as the sun starts to fade on summer come late August, but there's one holiday that can't be overlooked before we jump into the seasons of scarecrows, pumpkin carving and fall decor.
When Labor Day comes around on the first Monday in September, many might consider it the "unofficial end of summer," but it's so much more than that. This year, on September 2, we'll be reflecting on a day that celebrates the labor movement, recognizing the millions of hardworking Americans who stood up for workers' rights and whose determination laid the foundation for our working lives today. If you're a fan of the five-day work week, weekends off and the eight-hour standard workday, you've got union organizers to thank for that, and that's what Labor Day honors.
And whether you celebrate the day off with backyard barbecues, a beach day, shopping sales or simply by resting and relaxing, take some time to think on the holiday's history with our favorite Labor Day quotes. Use these inspirational words from presidents, world leaders, politicians, celebrities and more to remember the roots of the early September holiday, use them as an Instagram caption of a picture of you on our day off or simply get inspired and refer to them as conversation starters.
Gail Devers
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.
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Thomas Edison
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Bette Davis
To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is gravy.
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Conan O’Brien
It’s not easy, but if you accept your misfortune and handle it right, your perceived failure can become a catalyst for profound reinvention.
'A League of Their Own'
It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.
Abraham Lincoln
Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.
Aristotle
Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.
Dale Carnegie
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
Vince Lombardi
There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.
Martin Luther King Jr.
No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
William Feather
Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.
Booker T. Washington
I have learned that 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.
Estée Lauder
I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.
Greek Proverb
Work is no disgrace; the disgrace is idleness.
Helena Rubinstein
Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit.
John Locke
All wealth is the product of labor.
Joseph Joubert
Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.
Luc de Clapiers
The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of pleasures.
Mahatma Gandhi
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.
Margaret Mead
I learned the value of hard work by working hard.
Mark Cuban
It’s not about money or connections — it’s the willingness to outwork and outlearn everyone when it comes to your business. And if it fails, you learn from what happened and do a better job next time.
Eleanor Roosevelt
I have a firm belief in the ability and power of women to achieve the things they want to achieve.
Émile Zola
The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.
Honoré de Balzac
All happiness depends on courage and work.
Mickey Rooney
You always pass failure on your way to success.
Beverly Sills
There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.
Oprah Winfrey
The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.
Ovid
Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.
Oprah Winfrey
Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.
Pearl S. Buck
To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.
Ralph Ransom
Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy.
Shirley Chisholm
If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.
Wayne Gretzky
The highest compliment that you can pay me is to say that I work hard every day, that I never dog it.
Abraham Lincoln
Don't worry when you are not recognized, but strive to be worthy of recognition.
Thomas Jefferson
I'm a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.
Brené Brown
We fail the minute we let someone else define success for us.
Carol Mosley Braun
Magic lies in challenging what seems impossible.
Donovan Bailey
Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams.
Mokokoma Mokhonoana
There is more to life than making a living. Do not work more than you live.
Mother Teresa
The miracle is not that we do this work, but that we are happy to do it.
Sophocles
Without labor nothing prospers.
Theodore Roosevelt
It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.
Samuel Goldwyn
No person who is enthusiastic about his work has anything to fear from life.
Robert Burns
Dare to be honest and fear no labor.
Maya Angelou
Nothing will work unless you do.
Victor Hugo
A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor.
Henry Ford
There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. —
Mark Twain
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is the lightning that does the work.
Liza M. Wiemer
Perseverance is the act of true role models and heroes.
Elbert Hubbard
A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them.
Theodore Roosevelt
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Tony Robbins
The only thing that’s keeping you from getting what you want is the story you keep telling yourself.
Thomas Edison
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
Ken Poirot
Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want.
Kevin Durant
Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.
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