John Dos Passos Quotes

As a young boy growing up in Rohtak, India, I had no idea what my life's work would be. But my parents instilled in me something that I have never forgotten: that work must have a sense of purpose beyond mere financial gain; that to be meaningful, work should make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others.

I don't think I've ever been personally fulfilled performing. It's kind of a challenging thing; it's more of a sacrifice for the people that I love.

The good feeling I get from contributing rivals anything I felt on the Olympic stand in Albertville.

A man should never neglect his family for business.

I had to work and it never occurred to me not to. But then it's never really been about the money.

My father worked all the time.

It seems to me that it's every man's obligation to make what contribution he can. You live each day as best you can. That, to me, is what makes life interesting.

I'm not looking for a paycheck.

The first duty of a human being is to assume the right functional relationship to society - more briefly, to find your real job, and do it.

The truest drive comes from doing what you love.

Happiness is the natural flower of duty.

Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.

I'd rather be useful than rich. It's more essential to feel you're doing something that's worth doing, rather than making a lot of money.

You have not found your place until all your faculties are roused, and your whole nature consents and approves of the work you are doing.

I don't want to work to make money. I want to work to work.

A man should have duties outside of himself; without them, he is a mere balloon, inflated with thin egotism and drifting nowhere.

We're passing on something of ourselves to others. I feel that's what makes our life full of meaning. It's hard to have meaning in a closet, encapsulated by nothing. I think you really have to expand yourself and your life and do what you can for other people.

I do work that I feel I have something to contribute to.

I don't have to work; I need to work.

When you have balance in your life, work becomes an entirely different experience. There is a passion that moves you to a whole new level of fulfillment and gratitude, and that's when you can do your best... for yourself and for others.

I never considered myself an entertainer. I always felt I had to be connected to something meaningful, or it wasn't worth doing.

Everybody I hang with - the ranchers, the farmers, the cops, the teachers, the plumbers, everybody I hang with - they've got an alarm clock. They get up, they put their heart and their soul into being the very best that they can be. They want to be an asset to their families and their neighborhood. They want to be productive members of society.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Success is feeling good about the work you do throughout the long, unheralded journey that may or may not wind up at the launch pad. You can't view training solely as a stepping stone to something loftier. It's got to be an end in itself.

I have so much in my life. I want to be of value to the world.