Quote Atlassourced quotes & context
Source identified
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Read & copy the quotation
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

Theodore Roosevelt

Download image (JPG)

Source
Labor Day Address
Date
1903
Meaning

Meaning of “Far and away the best prize that life…”

Work is valuable not merely because it is difficult, but because the difficulty is attached to something judged worth doing.

Source context

Where does it come from?

Speech at Syracuse, New York, September 7, 1903.

Primary / edition source ↗

Customize your imageTen designs · Square or portrait · Preview and share
Themes

Ideas connected with this quotation

BusinessCalmDiscipline Quotes About Habits, Practice & ConsistencyEffortHard WorkInspirational Quotes About Hope, Courage & PossibilityLifeMeaning of Life Quotes About What Makes Life MatterMotivation For LifeMotivational Quotes for Action, Effort & PersistencePatiencePeaceProductivityPurpose Quotes About Direction, Duty & Meaningful WorkResponsibilitySelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentShortSuccessMotivation For WorkPassionWork Ethic
Related quotations

Continue through nearby ideas

Source identified
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Read & copy

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

Proverbs · King James Bible — Proverbs 6:6 · 1611
Meaning & context

The proverb uses the ant as an example of self-directed preparation, turning observation of repeated practical behavior into a lesson about disciplined habits.

Source details

Proverbs 6:6 in the King James Version; the following verses describe the ant preparing food without an overseer.

↓ Download image (JPG)

Source identified
Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.
Read & copy

“Ambition, energy, industry, perseverance, are indispensable requisites for success in business.”

P. T. Barnum · The Art of Money Getting · 1880
Meaning & context

The sentence presents business success as a compound result of sustained energy and persistence rather than a single clever idea or fortunate moment.

Source details

The Art of Money Getting, in Barnum’s discussion of thorough work and business effort.

↓ Download image (JPG)

Source identified
The master-word is Work
Read & copy

“The master-word is Work”

William Osler · The Master-Word in Medicine · 1903
Meaning & context

Osler makes sustained work the organizing principle of his address to medical students, emphasizing disciplined practice over brilliance without application.

Source details

The Master-Word in Medicine, address delivered October 1, 1903 at the opening of the new buildings of the University of Toronto Medical Faculty; reviewed against the represented 1903 John Murphy pamphlet, Internet Archive identifier b28060805. ‘The master-word is Work’ is Osler’s organizing refrain and is followed by his appeal to write the word on the heart and forehead. This remains historical professional rhetoric rather than an endorsement of unsafe working hours or workaholism.

↓ Download image (JPG)