15 Inspiring Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes on Work, Leadership & Purpose

Today, we honor and remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest Civil Rights activists and leaders in American history.

After his assassination on April 4, 1968, we are left to remember MLK through his inspiring words and speeches. The words of MLK transformed millions of lives and live on as a reminder of Dr. King’s soaring vision for a more just America where all people are equal.

Most of all can recall at least a handful of Dr. King’s quotes from memory, but you might not be as familiar with his quotes on the value of meaningful work and the importance of leading with purpose. So here are 15 of the most impactful quotes from Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes that every modern worker and coach needs to know:

1. “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”
2. “Whatever your life’s work is, do it well.”
3. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others”
4. “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?”
5. “If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of Heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.”
6. “The time is always right to do what is right.”
7. “If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
8. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”
9. “We must set out to do a good job, irrespective of race, and do it so well that nobody could do it better.”
10. “Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can’t ride you unless your back is bent.”
11. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
12. “We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society.”
13. “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
14. “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
15. “If you can’t fly then run. If you can’t run then walk. If you can’t walk then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

The question “what are you doing for others?” is something the 1Huddle team takes seriously. 

That’s why we have donated over $1 million in platform and services to our community of nonprofits, associations, and critically important programs, and donate one percent of total working time to community and nonprofit work.

It’s also why we’ve added a new game on Martin Luther King Jr. life and legacy to the 1Huddle Game Shop.

To honor MLK, we will provide free access to our Martin Luther King Jr. game to anyone who emails us their favorite Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes by the end of the day. Just email sam@1huddle.co to start playing now!

And if you want to find out more about the work 1Huddle is doing in our community, check out our Social Impact page.