Movie Quotes to Get You Through Your Day Job

Most people do not get to do their dream job. That is the reality of our society. So most of us have a day job that pays the bills, feeds the family and pays the rent that does not fulfill us. Some lucky people have a side hustle and some even luckier ones are able to turn that into a career.

Well, for the rest of us, work can turn into a marathon where we eagerly count the minutes to our next break or the end of a shift. This can be extremely demoralizing and be bad for your work performance. Well, I found that some nerd movie quotes can really help get me through my day.

I say some as mantras, over and over again until my brain accepts them as true. Others are just so bad-ass that I am motivated just a little bit more to work. And some are just true.

So here is my list of the top nerd movie quotes to get through my day job. Hope they can help you too.

(FYI, these are in no particular order)

1. “I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!” Watchmen 2009

This is one that definitely falls into the bad-ass category. The line is by Jackie Earle Haley, who plays Rorschach in the film. Rorschach is barely a super hero as he murders the bad people he catches. He is finally caught and put in prison. While in their the inmates try and jump him, but he manages to utterly destroy them.

He screams the line out loud in a harsh growl that is just so ridiculously alpha male that it can get anybody's blood up. When a bad customer or Karen gets in your face, thinking this quote can really bring a smile to your face. Of course we don't want to actually hurt Karen or Darren, but imagining you screaming what you really feel into their face can be extremely cathartic. My wife came up with putting this one on the list and she is totally right.

Even a screaming boss or an annoying coworker can get this quote going in your head. Just remind yourself you are a goddamn bad-ass and they are the ones stuck in an office or store with you.

2. “You want the job after this job, but you need this one first.” Transformers Dark of the Moon 2011

This one is super motivational when you are wondering “Why the hell am I still working here?”. Most jobs are not actually dead-end jobs, they just feel that way. Almost every job can lead to a higher paying or better position elsewhere. If there is not, maybe you do need to evaluate where you want to work.

This quote is from John Malkovich's Bruce Brazos character from Transformers Dark of the Moon and is a severely understated performance. Malkovich is interviewing Shia Lebouf's Sam Witwicky character for a job at his tech company. When he learns that the job is in the mail room, Sam turns to leave and gives a speech about how he wanted to matter again, as he had saved the world twice before.

This impresses Brazos, who delivers this quote to motivate Sam to get his butt in gear and take the starter job to get where he wants to go. The character may be a psychotic creep, but he definitely has a few good lines in the movie.

We all need to get through our starter jobs to get where we want to go. It may not be pretty, but it will get the job done if we are motivated and willing to put in the effort. Very rarely do we get to be Bill Gates and find the golden goose right off the bat. The goal is to find a goal, whether it be fulfillment or financial gains and see if we can plot a path to that through our current job.

I currently work as a box packer at Amazon. I see a path through a job in HR or management to get to a point where I do not have to punish my body for work. If I keep on getting denied (they haven't said no to me quite yet) it will probably be time to move on to another job. I don't want to as I like the company, but I need to think of my goals and financial security first.

Everyone should think the same way. If Bruce can see the path, so can you.

3. “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” The Empire Strikes Back 1980

Short and sweet, Yoda quotes are. This one is super famous as said by Frank Oz playing everyone's favorite little green Jedi. In the movie, Luke has all but given up trying to free his X-Wing from the swamp. Yoda tries a little harsh wisdom to get him to put his full effort into the work. Of course Lke fails and Yoda pulls the craft from the swamp after Luke walks out.

“I can't believe it.” Exclaims Luke upon seeing the craft safe and on stable land.

“That is why you fail.” Yoda solemnly responds.

This applies in most aspects of our lives. Everybody needs to believe that they are going to succeed in order for them to actually pull it off. If you go into a task thinking you are only going to put effort into it, you will almost surely not get your best result. If you go into it with the mindset of completing the task, your success is more likely assured.

Try is a word I associate with people looking for an excuse to fail. I am guilty of it as well. If I feel like I put in a good effort, then I don't feel so bad if I were to fail. Well as in most things in life, we don't learn from success, we learn from failure. Trying different solutions grows our brain by forming new brain connections that may actually be useful later on.

This quote is great motivation if you find yourself criticized for a task or starting to flag in your performance. If you look at it as a math problem, you either solve it, or you don't. The numbers don't care that you tried. You fail until you succeed.

We may not succeed at first, but throw enough brain power and failures at a problem and most times, we can overcome any obstacle.

4. “Never give up! Never surrender!” Galaxy Quest 1999

This is one of my favorites which is from my favorite comedic Star Trek rip off (sorry Orville, I still love you!). My Dad used to say this all the time, especially when myself or one of my brothers was facing a tough task or having a bad time. He had a way of saying it with such force behind it that you couldn't help but be motivated.

This is said from Tim Allen's Jason Nesmith as Peter Quincy Taggart at multiple points in the film. The blow hard actor has a tough time adjusting to being an actual commander after pretending to be one for years and it seems that his character's most famous line is a mantra for him to proclaim victory or get him through the hard times. It can do the same for you.

It is a beast of a quote, as it is simple and direct. If you are given a task, you work at it until you complete it. Simple. Asking for help is not surrender, nor is trying to think outside the box. You are only truly defeated until you have given up.

I have had a rough go of the last 8 years or so of my life. My wife had a stroke and is currently on dialysis and will likely need heart surgery. I lost 2 great jobs through the company being sold. The Covid-29 and Black Lives Matter events have been stressful. Add to that the fact that I am not in a job I like and it can be pretty depressing around my home.

What I will never do is give up. I gave up once in my life in something that mattered. It was the last few lengths of a swimming race my senior year in college. I told myself I had already put in great efforts and that it was ok for me to just get second during the race. I regret it EVERY day of my life. I will never give up on something big like that ever again.

True surrender is never an option. Otherwise, a surrender can be a way to tackle the problem form a long term approach or different angle. If you are completely destroyed, how will you solve the problem or complete the task?

I find that if I used this quote as a mantra it works the best. It got me to this point in the article at least! Just keep saying it until you believe it!

5. “Life finds a way.” Jurassic Park 1993

This is one that I struggled with putting on here. This movie is very personal for me, as it was the theme for my wedding. Our tagline was “A wedding 65 million years in the making” in reference to our long engagement. It is also my second favorite movie. I wasn't sure it applied until I thought about hw it could be used.

The line is said by Jeff Goldblum's Ian Malcolm as he struggles to relate his concerns and theories to the rest of the group. He is implying that life will overcome all obstructions place before it, even a group of all female animals reproducing. It ends up being a minor plot point in the movie, but in the book the movie is based off of there are hundreds of feral animals in the park.

What people sometimes think is that we are above nature, or at least separate from it. It makes us feel special, but also isolates us from the rest of the life on the planet. As nature will find a way, so will we as human workers.

I like to think of life as completely tenacious. The kudzu plant is a prime example. A simple shred of root will allow a whole new plant to grow. It is extremely hard to eradicate and like bamboo, grows extremely quickly. Be like kudzu and bounce back from any defeat to find victory.

It is inevitable that you will triumph, but the work needs to be put in to adapt to any situation.

6. “Why so serious?” The Dark Knight 2008

Now this one I can get behind. I was a very serious child and wanted to reinvent myself a little when I went off to college. So I decided to take life a lot less serious. I would laugh more. You know what? It worked! College is always a time to reinvent yourself, so if you are heading there, try and take the opportunity.

The quote is from Heath Ledger's brilliantly portrayed Joker when he is relating one of his many lies about how he got the scars around his mouth. It is meant as a crack at the characters who are taking their lives too seriously and how foolish they are. I take it to mean more about how you cannot go through life being so focused on your goals that you forget to laugh.

Laughing is great for mental and physical health. It releases endorphins, puts people at ease socially and builds up strong lungs and muscles too. It really does sometimes take a good laugh to put things in perspective. Even depression can be helped with laughing.

If you are too serious in life you also run into too much mental anguish. If you fail at a task or something bad happens, you just end up running in mental circles, spiraling down into a pit of despair f you take it too seriously. But if you can laugh, you can turn a disaster into victory.

There is an example of a businessman in a Zoom meeting whose cat walks in front of his camera. Instead of panicking, the businessman just removes his cat and says “Sorry for the interruption folks, but the cat's out of the bag!”. Everybody laughs and some of the tension is released.

Don't be so serious, or you could snap like the Joker and nobody wants that.

I hope some of these quotes resonate with you, the reader. You may apply them in situations I haven't thought of. If that happens, good for you! Just getting through your day is no way to live and hopefully some of this helps bring a little joy at work.