--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our thoughts and imagination are the only…" description: "\"Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.\" — Orison Swett Marden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png" --- # Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to… ![“Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.” quote by Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png) > “Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.” [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Our mental boundaries shape what we can achieve; expanding imagination removes those barriers. **In simple terms:** Mindset limits possibilities. Key Takeaway Expand imagination to broaden horizons. Themes mindset creativity potential Mood hopeful inspirational Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - personal growth - goal setting Key Concepts psychology self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What mental habits limit you? - How can you cultivate a broader imagination? A Different Perspective Imagination alone may not overcome external constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [Our thoughts and imaginations are the only real limits to our possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imaginations-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The only real limits on your success in life are the limits you set on yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakare/the-only-real-limits-on-your-success-in-life-are-the-limits-you-set/) [Bakare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakare/) > [Doing any job for too long limits your possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zaslow/doing-any-job-for-too-long-limits-your-possibilities/) [Michael Zaslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zaslow/) > [Think outside the box.I think that there is no box at all.Let your creativity,thoughts and imagination fly...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewshycrazyness/think-outside-the-box-i-think-that-there-is-no-box-at-all-let-your/) [EwshyCrazyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewshycrazyness/) > [Love has no boundaries and passes over borders,just thoughts and imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-has-no-boundaries-and-passes-over-borders-just-thoughts-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Assumptions are negative thoughts of the imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/assumptions-are-negative-thoughts-of-the-imagination/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-brown/the-only-limits-to-the-possibilities-in-your-life-tomorrow-are-the/) [Les Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-brown/) > [Limits are possibilities. ... Formal restrictions, contrary to what you might think, free you up by allowing you to concentrate on purer ideas. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/limits-are-possibilities-formal-restrictions-contrary-to-what-you/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [“Your mind, your thoughts, your imagination will create the life and the world you want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-hoggatt/your-mind-your-thoughts-your-imagination-will-create-the-life-and-the/) [Tasha Hoggatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-hoggatt/) > [Imagination is the real and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/imagination-is-the-real-and-eternal-world-of-which-this-vegetable/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“I also mistakenly believed that the scariest stories came from imagination, not real life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/i-also-mistakenly-believed-that-the-scariest-stories-came-from/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [His imagination was always more real than the reality of daily life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/his-imagination-was-always-more-real-than-the-reality-of-daily-life/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [It would be easier for people to grasp that gender, sex, and sexual orientation are different things if we had as much imagination in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yance-ford/it-would-be-easier-for-people-to-grasp-that-gender-sex-and-sexual/) [Yance Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yance-ford/) > [ If you are to do justice to \[the great roles\], you must fly up to them - rather than dragging them down to you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-guskin/if-you-are-to-do-justice-to-the-great-roles-you-must-fly-up-to-them/) Harold Guskin > [If you create a visual that actually captures the imagination, that's not real. It will look real, and that will spread at such lightning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/if-you-create-a-visual-that-actually-captures-the-imagination-that-s/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) ## More by Orison Swett Marden > [“We can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things, and upon objects which elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-can-so-educate-the-will-power-that-it-will-focus-the-thoughts-upon/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The hatred thought cannot live an instant in the presence of the love thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-hatred-thought-cannot-live-an-instant-in-the-presence-of-the-love/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“About as poor business as one can engage in is that of going through life with one's eyes so fixed upon what others have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/about-as-poor-business-as-one-can-engage-in-is-that-of-going-through/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“We tend to get what we expect, and if we expect nothing we get nothing. The stream cannot rise higher than its fountainhead;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-tend-to-get-what-we-expect-and-if-we-expect-nothing-we-get-nothing/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There never will be a trust in excellence or a combination in superiority. As long as you can do a thing a little better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-never-will-be-a-trust-in-excellence-or-a-combination-in/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/most-men-fail-not-through-lack-of-education-or-agreeable-personal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/something-greater-than-wealth-grander-even-than-fame-that-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The universe is one great kindergarten. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-universe-is-one-great-kindergarten-everything-that-exists-has/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The moment man cuts himself off from living connection with the human race and its needs, he begins to die from poor circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-moment-man-cuts-himself-off-from-living-connection-with-the-human/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“There is something inside of a man which protests against doing that which tends to injure another, that which does not square with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-something-inside-of-a-man-which-protests-against-doing-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A good system shortens the road to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/a-good-system-shortens-the-road-to-the-goal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Keep fear out of your child's mind, as you would keep poison out of his body; for fear is the deadliest of mental poisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/keep-fear-out-of-your-child-s-mind-as-you-would-keep-poison-out-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Explore all 396 Orison Swett Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“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/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orison Swett Marden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f3/orison-swett-marden-711_imagination_our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-onl_2806496.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our thoughts and imagination are the only real limits to our possibilities.” — Orison Swett Marden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Orison Swett Marden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our thoughts and imagination are the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/our-thoughts-and-imagination-are-the-only-real-limits-to-our/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```