Does anyone know any good quotes about how every-day hard work is more important than traditional heroism?

Question

I'm looking for a quote that acknowledges that getting up and going to work each day is sometimes a lot more important/harder than flashy heroics.

For someone who is going to have to do a job that they really dont want to do next year, but have to do.

Many thanks.

Answer 1

Stevie Smith's poem about how easy Jesus had it compared to an every day man comes to mind. I think it's called "Was He Married?" This is what I can remember of it--

Was he married, did he try

To support as he grew less fond of them

Wife and family?

No,

He never suffered such a blow.

Did he feel pointless, feeble and distrait,

Unwanted by everyone and in the way?

From his cradle he was purposeful,

His bent strong and his mind full.

Did he love people very much

Yet find them die one day?

He did not love in the human way.

Did he ask how long it would go on,

Wonder if Death could be counted on for an end?

He did not feel like this,

He had a future of bliss.

Did he never feel strong

Pain for being wrong?

Or perhaps Auden's sonnet "The Novelist." Auden sees the novelist as superior to the poet because he must suffer in the quotidian way you describe:

Encased in talent like a uniform,

The rank of every poet is well known;

They can amaze us like a thunderstorm,

Or die so young, or live for years alone.

They can dash forward like hussars: but he

Must struggle out of his boyish gift and learn

How to be plain and awkward, how to be

One after whom none think it worth to turn.

For, to achieve his lightest wish, he must

Become the whole of boredom, subject to

Vulgar complaints like love, among the Just

Be just, among the Filthy filthy too,

And in his own weak person, if he can,

Must suffer dully all the wrongs of Man.

Answer 2

These quotes are my favorites:

The best prize life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens.

Always aim for achievement.

Success is more attitude than aptitude.

The way you do your work is a portrait of yourself.

Duty can be a delight if seen as a divine opportunity.

Success is a journey, not a destination.

There are four steps to accomplishment:  1)  plan purposely, 2)  prepare prayerfully,  3)  proceed positively, 4)  pursue persistently.

You can't direct the wind, but you can adjust your sail.

He who wants to move mountains starts by carrying away small stones.

Answer 3

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted” - David Bly

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” - Anatole France

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” - Brian Littrell

“Little by little one walks far” - Peruvian Proverb