20 Awesome Quotes for Finding Your Passion In Work

Shane Snow
Mission.org
Published in
4 min readFeb 16, 2018

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Ask yourself: If you could do anything for 8 hours a day for the rest of your life, and money were no object, what would you do?

Each new year (and sometimes month!) gives me the excuse to reflect on what I’m doing with my life and what I’ve done since the last milestone. Am I excited to do what I’m doing every day? And if not, is it me, or something else?

The most important thing for me as a startup founder is knowing that every person I work with is excited to show up to work every day, that each is doing what he or she loves. The most amazing words I could ever hear one of our team member say (and I’m humbled to overhear it occasionally!), is, “This is the best job I’ve ever had.” And if it’s not, I’d rather help him or her find that job than help us do what we love at his or her own expense.

I’m not saying anything loads of great thinkers haven’t already said. But sometimes it’s important to remind ourselves why we’re doing what we’re doing, and to take inventory of our dreams.

As such, below are some of my favorite mushy, inspirational quotes about the intersection of passion and work:

20 Quotes

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Hard work is painful when life is devoid of purpose. But when you live for something greater than yourself and the gratification of your own ego, then hard work becomes a labor of love.” — Steve Pavlina

Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night.” — Marian Wright Edelman

Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.” — John R. Wooden

Dream big and dare to fail.” — Norman Vaughan

Build your own dreams, or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” — Farrah Gray

It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot

Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” — Les Brown

And in case you’re a procrastinator like me, a bonus quote:

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb

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Shane Snow
Mission.org

Explorer, journalist. Author of Dream Teams and other books. My views are my own. For my main body of work, visit www.shanesnow.com