Toni Morrison Quotes

When you finish a thing you ought to be able to say to yourself: 'There, I am willing to stand for that piece of work. It is not pretty well done; it is done as well as I can do it; done to a complete finish. I will stand for that. I am willing to be judged by it.'

I never want to put my name on something that I don't love or wouldn't wear myself.

I have a conscience about my work and try to turn out a good piece of craftsmanship.

I had a clear vision: if I take up an assignment, I'll do full justice to it; otherwise I'll walk away.

I'm continuing to prepare very well because I have my responsibility and my (pride) as a man and an athlete.

Doing something the right way is something I take pride in.

We should learn to take genuine pride in a job well done and not expect praise for one simply carried out.

Dad always told me that if you're going to work on something, it might as well be something you're proud of.

The whole idea is whatever you do, have fun with it; try to make sure that it's quality and something you don't mind putting your name on.

I deserve to do quality work.

My approach has always been to make things we were proud of.

A foreman, if he's got a conscience, and delights in his work, will do his business as well as if he was a partner. I wouldn't give a penny for a man as 'ud drive a nail in slack because he didn't get extra pay for it.

Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best, which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things.

It is the privilege of any human work which is well done to invest the doer with a certain haughtiness. He can well afford not to conciliate, whose faithful work will answer for him.

I did as well as I knew how and have nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm not ashamed of anything that I've done because when I did it, I was passionate about it and I was doing it for a reason.

I've always been able to make choices that don't embarrass me.

I will not do work that isn't done well or right. Stuff happens - things break, contractors don't come through - but I don't want to be responsible for not doing something correctly.

What we make testifies who we are. People can sense care and can sense carelessness. This relates to respect for each other and carelessness is personally offensive.

When you're doing a job, you go out there and do it to the best of your ability and you don't think about awards and things like that.

I think you always take pride in how you play.

There is no job a man can do that is undignified - if he does it well.

When you're a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you're not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You'll know it's there, so you're going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back.

Honestly, if I was looking at myself and I cheated, then I'd just think, 'Wow, how disappointing, I actually thought you were better than that.' It's about me and about the kind of man I want to be.

If I feel that I'm not able to do my best work - whether that's my own fault or as a result of an editorial situation - then I need to stop doing it. I would rather not do something than do it badly or ineffectively. It's the only way I can live with myself and do right by the fans in the long haul.