40 Best Labor Day Quotes & Inspiring Sayings About Hard Work

Labor Day is a day to honor the works and contributions made by laborers in every career force.

This year, Labor Day falls on September 6, and may be a bit more solemn than it in years past as we are still working our way through a confusing pandemic, with many people still out of work or working from home.

Everyone in the workforce deserve praise for their courage and bravery, especially frontline workers, as well as some much-needed rest. In between whatever celebrations you may have planned, take some time to reflect and thank the people who work hard and carry on with these motivational Labor Day quotes.

What is Labor Day and why do we celebrate it?

First recognized all the way back in 1894, Labor Day is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday of September to honos the achievements and hard work of American citizens.

The first Labor Day parade technically took place on September 5, 1882, when workers took a day off of work to march in New York City.

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Today, we continue to take that day off to appreciate hard work with parties and parades.

40 Labor Day Quotes to Celebrate Your Hard Work

1. “Nothing ever comes to one that is worth having except as a result of hard work.” — Booker T. Washington

2. “No human masterpiece has been created without great labour.” — Andre Gide

3. “Take rest. A field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” — Ovid

4. “Nothing will work unless you do.” — Maya Angelou

5. “Dare to be honest and fear no labour.” — Robert Burns

6. "Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams.” — Donovan Bailey

7. “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.” — Oprah Winfrey

8. “I’ve heard of nothing coming from nothing, but I’ve never heard of absolutely nothing coming from hard work.” — Uzo Aduba

9. “You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.” — Lionel Messi

10. “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” — Martin Luther King, Jr

11. “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” — Theodore Roosevelt

12. “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” — Confucius

13. “There is precious little hope to be got out of whatever keeps us industrious, but there is a chance for us whenever we cease work and become stargazers.” — H.M. Tomlinson

14. “A man is not paid for having a head and hands, but for using them.” — Elbert Hubbard

15. “Before the reward there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy.” — Ralph Ransom

16. “Just try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar, all right?” — Michelle Obama

17. “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.” — Aristotle

18. “Labor Day is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race or nation.” — Samuel Gompers

19. “It is labor indeed that puts the difference on everything.” — John Locke

20. “When you put a lot of hard work into one goal and you achieve it, that’s a really good feeling.” — Derek Jeter

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21. “As we celebrate Labor Day, we honor the men and women who fought tirelessly for workers’ rights, which are so critical to our strong and successful labor force.” — Elizabeth Esty

22. “To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.” — Pearl S. Buck

23. “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

24. “It doesn’t matter how great your shoes are if you don’t accomplish anything in them.” — Martina Boone

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

26. “Your friends will believe in your potential, your enemies will make you live up to it.” — Tim Fargo

27. “Concentrate on your job and you will forget your other troubles.” — William Feather

28. “Inspiration usually comes during work, rather than before it.” — Madeleine L’Engle

29. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me?” — Ayn Rand

30. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” — Paulo Coelho

31. “Work isn’t to make money; you work to justify life.” — Marc Chagall

32. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

33. "Entrepreneurs average 3.8 failures before final success. What sets the successful ones apart is their amazing persistence." — Lisa M. Amos

34. "You may only succeed if you desire succeeding; you may only fail if you do not mind failing.” — Philippos

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

36. "The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus." — Bruce Lee

37. "In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle contain it or stand against it." — Jane Smiley

38. "I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well." — Diane Ackerman

39. "To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can't just accept the ones you like." — Mike Gafka

40. “Maybe your idea will be a huge success. Maybe it’ll be a small flame. Don’t you owe it to yourself to find out?” — Bianca Bass

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Isabell Tenorio is a writer who covers astrology, pop culture, love and relationship topics.