--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was better for me when I could imagine…" description: "\"It was better for me when I could imagine greatness in others, even if it wasn't always there.\" — Charles Bukowski" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/charles-bukowski-73_greatness_it-was-better-for-me-when-i-could-imagin_2153066.jpg" --- # It was better for me when I could imagine greatness in… ![“It was better for me when I could imagine greatness in others, even if it wasn't always there.” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/charles-bukowski-73_greatness_it-was-better-for-me-when-i-could-imagin_2153066.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/charles-bukowski-73_greatness_it-was-better-for-me-when-i-could-imagin_2153066.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23f/charles-bukowski-73_greatness_it-was-better-for-me-when-i-could-imagin_2153066.jpg) > “It was better for me when I could imagine greatness in others, even if it wasn't always there.” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the tendency to project greatness onto people, even when it may not exist, reflecting optimism or self‑deception. **In simple terms:** Imagines others as great, even if not. Key Takeaway Balance optimism with realistic expectations. Themes perception optimism self‑deception Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - mentoring - creative collaboration Key Concepts projection idealization hope Questions to Reflect On - Do you often idealize others? - How do you handle unmet expectations? A Different Perspective Risk of disappointment when reality contradicts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-imagine-1069607/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Greatness Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness-wasn-388384/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-greatness-3989343/) ## Related quotes > [Chicago is an incredibly great city, but it was clear to me that greatness wasn't being spread to all our neighborhoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-lightfoot/chicago-is-an-incredibly-great-city-but-it-was-clear-to-me-that/) [Lori Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-lightfoot/) > [“Imagine the greatness this world would know if kindness were as contagious and enduring as the common cold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/imagine-the-greatness-this-world-would-know-if-kindness-were-as/) [Richelle E. 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I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. 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Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. 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