Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

There is no joy equal to that of being able to work for all humanity and doing what you're doing well.

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.

No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity

And every human being is precious.

Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.

I've always felt I want to be of service to the world somehow. I haven't yet figured out how to do it, and I may never figure out how to do it.

My share of the work may be limited, but the fact that it is work makes it precious.

What is my life if I am no longer useful to others.

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

I don't know what my calling is, but I want to be here for a bigger reason. I strive to be like the greatest people who have ever lived.

The question I asked Georges has now become a general one - You, who thought you were superfluous, who thought there was no place for you in society, not only are you not superfluous, you are needed and so those who were beggars become givers.

Man is more interesting than men. God made him and not them in his image. Each one is more precious than all.

It's important to ask yourself, How am I useful to others? What do people want from me? That may very well reveal what you are here for.

Remember that you are needed. There is at least one important work to be done that will not be done unless you do it.

As to what we call the masses and the common men—there are no common men. All men are at last of a size.

The greatest object in the universe, says a certain philosopher, is a good man struggling with adversity; yet there is still a greater, which is the good man that comes to relieve it.

Our net worth is ultimately defined not by dollars but rather by how well we serve others.

Basically, I should feel at the end of the day that I am doing something worthwhile.

Everybody is important. Everybody has something to give.

Human lives are human lives.

What is important is how much service you can give to the world and how much better you can make things. These are important things. These are all that are important. A bank account never measured the worth of a man. His ability to help measured his worth and that's all. A bank account can assist one to help but where it ceases to do that it becomes useless.

When you stop giving and offering something to the rest of the world, it's time to turn out the lights.

Life is a mission, not a career. A career is a profession, a mission is a cause. A career asks, What's in it for me? A mission asks, How can I make a difference?

What preys on my mind is simply this one question: what am I good for, could I not be of service or use in some way?

By and large a good rule for finding out is this: the kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work a) that you need most to do and b) the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant commercials, the chances are you've missed requirement b).