The entrepreneurial journey isn’t for the faint of heart. Between managing inventory, handling customer service, and navigating the ever-changing digital landscape, running a small business demands everything you’ve got—and then some.
But here’s the thing: every successful entrepreneur who came before you faced the same uphill battle. They encountered setbacks, weathered failures, and pushed through moments when quitting seemed like the easier option. What separated these successful people from those who gave up? An unwavering commitment to hard work.
Whether you’re launching your first business or scaling an existing one, these quotes about hard work will remind you that success isn’t just about having a great idea—it’s about the relentless effort you put in every single day.
Inspirational quotes about hard work
If you’re struggling with motivation, you’re not alone. Successful people throughout history have had to overcome obstacles and put in relentless effort to get ahead. So if you’re looking for some inspiration, quotes about hard work might be just what you need:
1. “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” —Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple
2. “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” —Stephen King, author
3. "Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." —Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence
4. “We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work.” —Thomas Edison, prolific inventor
5. "The minute you get away from fundamentals—whether it’s proper technique, work ethic, or mental preparation—the bottom can fall out of your game, your schoolwork, your job, whatever you’re doing." —Michael Jordan, basketball player
6. “Hard work pays off. Hard work beats talent any day, but if you’re talented and work hard, it’s hard to be beat.” —Robert Griffin III, football player
7. “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.” —Harry Golden, writer
8. “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” —Peter Drucker, manager and author
9. “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” —Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, professional wrestler and entertainer
10. “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty. … I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” —Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States
11. “Enjoy your sweat because hard work doesn’t guarantee success, but without it, you don’t have a chance.” —Alex Rodriguez, baseball player
12. “Do not give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” —Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and author
13. “If you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” —Conan O’Brien, comedian
14. “Genius is one percent inspiration, 99% perspiration.” —Thomas Edison, prolific inventor
15. “The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” —Tommy Lasorda, baseball player and manager
16. “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” —Walter Elliot, politician
17. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” —Robert Collier, self-help author
18. “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.” —Gail Devers, runner
19. “The only thing standing between you and outrageous success is continuous progress.” —Dan Waldschmidt, author and businessman
20. “Confidence and hard work is the best medicine to kill the disease called failure. It will make you a successful person.” —A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, scientist and statesman
21. “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” —Thomas Edison, prolific inventor
22. “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” —Walt Disney, founder of The Walt Disney Company
23. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” —Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States
24. “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, comedian and actor
25. “Happiness is the real sense of fulfillment that comes from hard work.” —Joseph Barbara, animator and cartoonist
26. “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.” —Lance Armstrong, cyclist
27. “An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. And an artist takes it personally.” —Seth Godin, entrepreneur
28. “If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl; but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.” —Martin Luther King Jr., activist and minister
29. “Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. … There are many times when you are better off practicing than playing; but most people just don’t understand that.” —Larry Bird, basketball player
30. “The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work.” —Vince Lombardi, American football coach
31. “There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” —Derek Jeter, baseball player
Hard work quotes from successful ecommerce entrepreneurs
It’s not just notable athletes, business leaders, and historic activists who have touted the importance of hard work to achieve success. Here are some motivational quotes about hard work and success from people who run small businesses and ecommerce stores:
1. “It takes time, it takes dedication, and the first few years are hard. You have to put in that hard work to see … the fruits of your labor.” —Becca Stern, Mustard Made
2. “Running is hard; running a business is really hard, but hard work prepares you for greatness. Continuing to put in the hard work, just like running, it’s going to eventually pay off.” —Monica Devreese, rabbit
3. “I think it’s a good mix of knowing what you’re doing, a little bit of luck, and just a lot of hard work—because at the end of the day, that’s what it is. If you’re there and you’re doing the most you can for 18 hours a day, 15 hours a day, I think that’s the best advice I can ever give to somebody.” —Artem Kuzmichev, Transformer Table
4. “I feel like there’s no such thing as an overnight success. I’ve been working in the same industry for 23 years at this point. So I don’t think it’s an overnight success. That said, I think I worked really hard. And I still feel like I work really hard, but then I think there are certain parts that come a little bit easier because of that.” —Amy Liu, Tower 28
5. “It’s [about] doing all the research, and doing your due diligence, but then putting up a boundary, [because if] you do too much of it, you get analysis paralysis.” —Jash Mehta, Pop & Bottle
6. “There’s a deep, deep grind that happens around fulfillment in these peak seasons, and … it’s really hard work. So we’ve just been lucky in a lot of ways that we’ve tried to run a business where we would want to work.” —Chris Sherman, Island Creek Oysters
7. “Make sure you have a really strong inner circle to help pull you up. … [Entrepreneurship is] a tough journey. It’s not sexy and it takes a lot of grit and perseverance to break through.” —Evan Quinn, Hiyo
Hard work quotes FAQ
How can a quote inspire you?
Reading quotes from successful individuals can help you maintain a positive attitude and remember that even the most accomplished people have faced setbacks and challenges. Inspiring words help your own challenges seem surmountable, so you can stay focused and remember to put in consistent effort, just like the generations of successful people before you.
What is a good quote about hard work?
One great quote about hard work comes from author Stephen King, who wrote, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”
What’s a good quote to motivate someone?
If you’re looking for success quotes to help with confidence, self belief, or getting through hard times, Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “If you can’t fly, then run; if you can’t run, then walk; if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
