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Career Lessons From Famous Comedians

This article is more than 9 years old.

I love quotes. I love comedy. I love to help people with their careers. Here are 10 quotes from famous comedians that relay all the career advice you need:

Louis CK: “I’m bored” is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless, it goes on forever, inwardly, do you understand? The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say “I’m bored.”

Why I love this for career advice (even though he meant this for his children): If you recognize your life is amazing, that gratitude is a career advantage.

Joan Rivers: If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.

Why I love this for career advice: There are multiple paths into your dream job. Or you can make your own dream job by launching a business. Persistence pays off.

Jerry Seinfeld: To me, if life boils down to one thing, it's movement. To live is to keep moving.

Why I love this for career advice: Keep your skills, expertise and network updated. If you don’t need to update your resume with anything new in the last year, you’re not growing professionally. Review these seven reasons why your career has stalled, and resolve to keep it moving.

Lucille Ball: Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.  You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.

Why I love this for career advice: Before you can convince your dream employer to hire you or your current boss to promote you or your ideal customer to buy from you, you need to convince yourself. Confidence attracts, and there are ways to become more confident even if you don’t feel that way right now.

Stephen Colbert: Now there are very few rules to improv, but one of the things I was taught early on is that you are not the most important person in the scene — everybody else is. You cannot win in improv. And life is an improvisation.

Why I love this for career advice: Your boss, colleagues and team will love you when you make them look good. Strong allies at all levels are critical to career advancement. But this doesn’t mean you need to lose out on credit due; know how to showcase your value even as you help others do their work.

Lily Tomlin: For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.

Why I love this for career advice: Don’t underestimate the benefits of regular rest, enough sleep, and actually taking your vacation. You need space to be creative. And, yes, you can take time off and not fall completely behind in your work.

Chris Rock: Having money doesn’t make you rich. Having options makes you rich

Why I love this for career advice: People with the best careers have multiple opportunities to choose from. If you’re going for your next job, have multiple leads in play and aim for multiple job offers.

George Carlin: Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is

Why I love this for career advice: Make career decisions based on your values, interests and needs right now. Don’t let someone else guilt you into poor choices. You can translate your interests, whatever they are, to a viable career option.

Will Ferrell: Aren't we all striving to be overpaid for what we do?

Why I love this for career advice: You want to be paid for your value. This means you need to promote yourself and negotiate. Not all people will do this and may resent you for being overpaid. Embrace your inner Will Ferrell!

Steve Martin: A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

Why I love this for career advice: Not all observations have to be motivational or brilliant. Oftentimes, just the facts suffice.

If you love quotes as much as I do, I post a new one every Wednesday on my personal blog. What are your favorite comedic quotes?

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is co-founder of SixFigureStart® career coaching. She has worked with executives from American Express , Citigroup , Condé Nast, Gilt, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and other leading firms. She’s also a stand-up comic, so she’s not your typical coach. Connect with Caroline on Google+.