109 Best Effort Quotes That Aren't Hard Work

Martha Martins
Sep 19, 2023 By Martha Martins
Originally Published on Mar 18, 2021
These teamwork quotes about effort will motivate you to do better.

Are you a believer in putting continuous effort into everything you do?

In order to get great achievements and fulfill our dreams, we must use all of our potential. Motivational effort quotes and self-discipline quotes are the best way to remind us to always put in that extra little bit of effort.

Effort itself is defined as making a continuous and determined attempt to achieve something. Great effort can be understood as a remarkable level of work being put into achieving something. Are you looking for famous quotes about making an effort quotes or team effort quotes? Read on to find out more!

If these effort quotes inspire you to do everything with a little more passion and effort, why not look at these do what you love quotes and co-worker quotes too?

The Best Effort Quotes

In effort quotes, every person’s definition of effort is different. Having dreams, having the potential to do something, and actually achieving that goal are all different things, and effort is needed to reach them. These effort quotes might give you the push that you need to attain your full potential. Check out these quotes about effort to find inspiration!

1. “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”                                                  

– Aeschylus.

2. “Ideas don’t work for people unwilling to do the work.”                                      

– Robin Sharma.

3. “Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.”                                                                                                    

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.  

4. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”                                                                                                        

– Abraham Lincoln.

5. “… only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and… courage… we move on to better things.”                                            

– Theodore Roosevelt.

6. “… if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.”                                                                                                                    

– Larry Bird.

7. “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”                                                                                                                              

- John F Kennedy.

8. “Success is dependent on effort.”                                                                                            

– Sophocles.

9. “Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt.”                                                

– José Ortega y Gassett.

10. “Always make a total effort...”                                                                                                                                      

– Arnold Palmer.

11. “… a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn into a glorious success.”                                                                                            

– Elbert Hubbard.

12. “What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

- Samuel Johnson.

13. “If a task is once begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”                                                                

- Unknown*.

14. “Make every effort matter, and always make the following effort better than the last one."                                                                                          

- Hermann J Steinherr.

15. “The best effort of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence."                                                                                                                

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

16. “Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit."                                                                                                                                  

-Napoleon Hill.

17. “Failure is something many people take great efforts to avoid but failure is essential for growth and learning."                                          

- Maxwell Maltz.

18. “Hard work isn't what you think it is. It's more about love..."                                                              

- Michael Crews.

19. “Hard work is a precious gift. If you're able to work hard… then success will surely be yours."                                                          

- Michael Crews.

20. “Success is more of a lifestyle but a lifestyle with purpose. When your life is prioritized… you will begin to prosper."                                                                                                            

- William A. McLean.

21. “You control your life. You control your path to success.”                            

- Garrett Pierson.

22. “Sometimes our actions are much more meaningful than words…”                                                                                                                          

- Catherine Pulsifer.

Inspirational Effort Quote Ideas

Are you lacking in motivation to put the effort in? Don't worry, motivation can be seized from effort quotes! Read on to find the best achievement quotes to inspire you.

23. “The elevator to success is not running; you must climb the stairs.”                                                                                                                        

– Zig Ziglar.

24. “The only thing that has kept me around is my effort.”                                

– Ray Lewis.

25. “Just try to be the best you can be; never cease trying to be the best you can be… in your power.”                                                              

- John Wooden.

26. “… nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.”                                                                                                                      

- George Bernard Shaw.

27. “Do the work. Everyone wants to be successful, but nobody wants to do the work.”                                                                                                  

– Gary Vaynerchuk.

28. “Most people never run far enough... Give your dreams all you’ve got… you’ll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you.”                                                                                                                                

– William James.

29. “For every disciplined effort there is a multiple reward.”                            

– Jim Rohn.

30. “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”                                                                                                              

– Napoleon Hill.

31. “In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result.”                                  

– James Allen.

32. “I have always said that my inspiration is society, the world we live in.”                                                                                                                              

- Vikrant Massey.

33. “Men are made stronger on realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm.”                                                            

– Sidney J Phillips.

34. “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”                                                

Marcus Aurelius.

35. “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.”                                                                                                                                  

– Sam Ewing.

36. “We are all self-made, but only the successful will admit it.”

– Earl Nightingale.

37. “Confidence is not something that comes out of nowhere.  It is the result of… practice, constant work, effort, and determination.”                                                                                                                      

– Anurag Prakash Ray.

38. “Once a task is just begun, never leave it till it's done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all.”                                                                                                              

- Quincy Jones.

39. “… not a person on my team… beat me to the ball every play.  That ain’t got nothing to do with talent… everything to do with effort, and nothing else.”                                                                                                                              

– Ray Lewis.

40. “Every day of my life, I make an effort. Like, everything's an effort - a good effort.”                                                                                                

- Finn Jones.

41. “Since self control is vital… boost your motivation to maintain healthy habits.”                                                                                              

- Amy Morin.

Popular Effort Quotes

People all around the world often look to effort quotes to help them reach their full potential. Why not check out these popular effort quotes to inspire you?

42. “Plough deep while sluggards sleep.”                                                          

– Benjamin Franklin.

43. “All things are difficult before they are easy.”                                          

- Thomas Fuller.

44. “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.”                                                                                                  

– Mahatma Gandhi.

45. “Unwearied ceaseless effort is the price that must be paid for turning faith into a rich infallible experience.”                                                

– Mahatma Gandhi.

46. “Success in anything will always come down to this: focus & effort.”                                                                                                                                  

– Dwayne Johnson.

47. “The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.”                                                              

- Helen Keller.

48. “A great thing can only be done by a great person; and they do it without effort.”                                                                                                        

- John Ruskin.

49. “The bitter and the sweet come from the outside, the hard from within, from one's own efforts.”                                                                        

- Albert Einstein.

50. “People put so much effort into starting a relationship and so little effort into ending one.”                                                                            

- Marina Abramovic.

51. “Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.”                                                                          

– Michael Jordan.

52. “The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.”                                                                        

– Colin Powell.

53. “Hard work is the price we must pay for success… you can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”                              

– Vince Lombardi.

54. “Quality is never an accident. It is… result of intelligent effort.”                                                                                                                            

- John Ruskin.

55. “Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self control; these three alone lead life to sovereign power.”                                                                            

- Alfred Lord Tennyson.

56. “If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you.”

– Michael Jordan.

57. “The key to being successful in life and with your business is focus, knowing how and where to focus your time and efforts.”                              

- Pat Williams.

58. “Men are made stronger on realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm.”                                                      

- Sidney J Phillips.

59. “The value of a man resides in what he gives...”                                                                                            

– Albert Einstein.

60. “The only two things in this world you can control are your effort and your attitude."                                                                                              

- Sue Enquist.

Funny Effort Quotes

Effort quotes are not always serious! These effort quotes say it with a pinch of humor.

61. “About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age.”                                                                                                                              

– Gloria Pitzer.

62. “Success is a ladder you cannot climb with your hands in your pockets.”                                                                                                                

– Unknown*.

63. “The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.”                        

– Sarah Brown.

64. “People are rewarded in public for what they’ve practiced for years in private.”                                                                                                    

– Anthony Robbins.

65. “Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.”                                      

– Henry J. Kaiser.

66. “Just because the office is casual doesn't mean you shouldn't make an effort.”                                                                                          

- Tan France.

67. “It can be a shock for people to realize it still takes time & effort to realize a dream."                                                                                            

- Steve Supple.

68. “I don't know where you get the spark to start, only how to fan it into an inferno once you have it.”                                                                                        

– Nick Winter.

Quotes About Making An Effort

Put simply, effort amounts to success. Effort quotes are motivational gifts for growth, so why not try to reach happiness with guidance from these quotes about making an effort?

69. “Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”                                                                                                            

- Theodore Roosevelt.

70. “Continuous effort– not strength or intelligence  – is the key to unlocking our potential.”                                                                                              

- Winston Churchill.

71. “Hope is wishing for a thing to come true. Faith is believing it will come true. Work is making it come true.”                                                  

-Dr. Norman Vincent Peale.

72. “The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.”                                                                                                         

Emile Zola.

73. “No one succeeds without effort... Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.”                                                                                

- Ramana Maharshi.

74. “Life can be boring unless you put some effort into it.”                              

- John C. Maxwell.

75. “The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.”                                                                      

– Vince Lombardi.

76. “I am a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”                                                                                                        

– Thomas Jefferson.

77. “The amount of effort you put in is the amount of results you end up with.”                                                                                                          

– Catherine Pulsifer.

78. “There is often a much simpler way of doing things – if you make the effort to look for it.”                                                                                

– Edward de Bono.

79. “You get what you give. Next time you want something, give it all you got never forget.”                                                                                    

– Rachana Rachel Carter.

80. “A great accomplishment… just the starting point for the next leap forward.”                                                                                                          

- Harvey Mackay.

81. “When we make the effort for each other, it makes the difference.”                                                                                                                    

- Kylian Mbappe.

82. “No one knows how big your potential is… when you start.”      

- Muggsy Bogues.

83. “Children are our future we must take care of them with maximum effort.”                                                                                                        

- Naomi Campbell.

84. “Work is a different… than relationships. You can't take the skills… and apply them to your relationships.”                                                                                                                            

- Tracy McMillan.

Short Effort Quotes

These wise effort quotes are short and sweet. They provide some inspiration for us all.

85. “Much effort, much prosperity.”                                                                      

– Euripides.

86. “Winning is not everything, but the effort to win is.”                              

– Zig Ziglar.

87. “The one thing that matters is the effort.”                                                    

– Antoine De Saint-Exupery.

88. “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”                            

- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

89. “A sequence works in a way a collection never can.”                                      

- George Murray

90. “… keep your dreams big and your worries small.”                                                                                                                            

― Gail Lynne Goodwin.

91. “There is no substitute for work.”                                                                        

– Vince Lombardi

92. “One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.”                                                                                                                            

– John Wanamaker.

93. “Nothing comes merely by thinking about it.”                                            

- John Wanamaker.

94. “The only discipline that lasts is self discipline.”                                      

– Bum Philips

95. “I never dreamed about success.  I worked for it.”                                      

– Estee Lauder.

96. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”                                                                                                                                

– Robert Collier.

97. “What you get from life will be direct proportion to what you give to life.”                                                                                                            

– Gail Lynne Goodwin.

98. “To know that we’re making a change, that’s all that matters.”                                                                                                                                      

- Anthony Frasier.

99. “Effort is only effort when it begins to hurt.”                                                      

- Jose Ortega Y. Gasset.

100. “Much good work is lost for the lack of a little more.”                                            

– Edward H. Harriman.

101. “It takes a lot of effort to do things effortlessly.”                                              

- Alexander Den Heijer.

102. “Always make the needed effort to bring success into your reality.”                                                                                                                              

- Jason Edward Shiffman.

103. “Every effort in life is marked down as a win or loss.”                              

- Edward Bennett Williams.

104. “You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself.”                                                                                                                          

– Harvey S. Firestone.

105. “Expect only the best from life and take action to get it.”                                                                                                                

- Catherine Pulsifer.

106. “Create your own flow of abilities, then swim in the stream you choose.”                                                                                                                            

- Marilyn Atkinson.

107. “Self control is true power.”                                                                            

- Marco Pierre White.

108. “Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.”                                                                                                        

– Jim Rohn.

109. “With self discipline, most anything is possible.”

– Theodore Roosevelt.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for the best effort quotes that aren't hard work, then why not take a look at these do the right thing quotes or work in progress quotes too?

*Do you know where this quote originated? Please email us to let us know at hello@kidadl.com.

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Written by Martha Martins

Bachelor of Arts specializing in Linguistics

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Martha MartinsBachelor of Arts specializing in Linguistics

Martha is a full-time creative writer, content strategist, and aspiring screenwriter who communicates complex thoughts and ideas effectively. She has completed her Bachelor's in Linguistics from Nasarawa State University. As an enthusiast of public relations and communication, Martha is well-prepared to substantially impact your organization as your next content writer and strategist. Her dedication to her craft and commitment to delivering high-quality work enables her to create compelling content that resonates with audiences.

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