Quotes by Mike Rowe

“When you were with him, you always felt you were in the right place, doing the right things. He enjoyed his life and brought life to the people he met.”

“Im a B-list celebrity trying to give it an honest look. They see me do actual work. ... I try to be the viewer with a microphone.”

“I rarely do anything on the show by myself. I dont want it to be about me. Squatting in the sewer in San Francisco, its really hot, were up to our knees in a river of (excrement). Rats and cockroaches are all over. I would never, ever walk into that environment, except for the fact that the guy who does it every day is squatting next to me.”

“FYI, the Honey Truck driver, a great guy named Les, used to be a psychiatrist. He quit his practice to clean septic tanks for a living.”

“We are proud of the work Activision has done to help make this excellent program possible, and it is an honor to witness the Tomorrows Leaders youth graduate to the next stage of their lives. We have confidence that these youth will positively impact Los Angeles in ways unimagined before this program.”

“This is a great dirty job for us. Its in the kinder, gentler area.”

“Everything here is messy. Like most things, you can keep yourself pretty clean if you try, but the people who are really good at it and really love it are usually up to their arms in it.”

“Its great. Here, you get to eat your mistakes. Chocolate makes things better, thats why this is so great. It makes life just a little bit better for just about everybody.”

“The band makes sure that nobody has more fun than we do. We have lots of fun. Im not kidding. You stick a microphone in front of us, and we just have a ball.”

“We passed, we shared the ball and we were unselfish. I thought that today would have been me, me, me. Im glad it wasnt. There were a lot of kids passing the ball, being unselfish, which for our program is huge.”

Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs.

Spend a few hours every week studying American history, human nature, and economic theory. Start with “Economics in One Lesson.” Then try Keynes. Then Hayek. Then Marx. Then Hegel. Develop a worldview that you can articulate as well as defend. Test your theory with people who disagree with you. Debate. Argue. Adjust your philosophy as necessary.

The thing that makes Dirty Jobs different is that its one of the few shows that portrays work in a way that doesnt highlight the drudgery. Instead, it highlights the humor.

My mothers dad dropped out of the eighth grade to work. He had to. By the time he was 30, he was a master electrician, plumber, carpenter, mason, mechanic. That guy was, to me, a magician. Anything that was broken, he could fix. Anybody anywhere in our community knew that if there was a problem, Carl was there to fix it.

I come from a blue collar family, but my personal life isnt. I didnt get the gene that my grandfather had in spades. He was a local hero. Built the church that I went to. Built the house I grew up in. Steamfitter, pipefitter, electrician, mechanic and plumber. I wanted to do those things. But it just didnt come easy.

I wouldnt wish any specific thing for any specific person - its none of my business. But the idea that a four-year degree is the only path to worthwhile knowledge is insane. Its insane.

Im looking forward to the future, and feeling grateful for the past.

“Happiness does not come from a job. It comes from knowing what you truly value, and behaving in a way that’s consistent with those beliefs.”