--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Adventure does not exist. It exists only…" description: "\"Adventure does not exist. It exists only in the mind of the man who pursues it, and as soon as his fingers graze it, it vanishes to appear much further..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg" --- # Adventure does not exist. It exists only in the mind of… ![“Adventure does not exist. It exists only in the mind of the man who pursues it, and as soon as his fingers graze it, it vanishes to appear much further off, in another form, at the limits of the imagination.” quote by Pierre Mac Orlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg) > “Adventure does not exist. It exists only in the mind of the man who pursues it, and as soon as his fingers graze it, it vanishes to appear much further off, in another form, at the limits of the imagination.” [Pierre Mac Orlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adventure exists only in imagination; it retreats as soon as we try to grasp it. **In simple terms:** Adventure is mental. Key Takeaway Seek inner adventure. Themes adventure imagination illusion Mood dreamy thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - travel planning - creative writing - goal setting Key Concepts Existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do you chase imagined goals? - What holds you back? A Different Perspective May lead to frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) ## Related quotes > [If adventure does not wait on the doorstep, climb out through the window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loesje/if-adventure-does-not-wait-on-the-doorstep-climb-out-through-the/) [Loesje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loesje/) > [“Nobody is allowed to tell me where the limits of my imagination are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nobody-is-allowed-to-tell-me-where-the-limits-of-my-imagination-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [There's no limits other than my imagination, which is fantastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misha-green/there-s-no-limits-other-than-my-imagination-which-is-fantastic/) [Misha Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misha-green/) > [The only thing that limits us is our imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-johansson/the-only-thing-that-limits-us-is-our-imagination/) [Erik Johansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-johansson/) > [“Blinded by the limits of our own imagination, historically we have found it difficult to envisage another entity with capabilities that rival our own”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margi-prideaux/blinded-by-the-limits-of-our-own-imagination-historically-we-have/) Margi Prideaux > [“The problem is not so much that the world limits your imagination as your imagination limits the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/the-problem-is-not-so-much-that-the-world-limits-your-imagination-as/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [The limits of your imagination are not the boundaries of my universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-myers/the-limits-of-your-imagination-are-not-the-boundaries-of-my-universe/) Paul Myers > [But I'm never gonna get to a point in my life where what it costs to shoot a movie is going to determine what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/but-i-m-never-gonna-get-to-a-point-in-my-life-where-what-it-costs-to/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [There's no such thing as im-POSSIBLE, Hiccup, only im-PROBABLE. The only thing that limits us are the limits to our imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-cowell/there-s-no-such-thing-as-im-possible-hiccup-only-im-probable-the-only/) [Cressida Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-cowell/) > [“Questioning a genius with logic limits his imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vasilios-karpos/questioning-a-genius-with-logic-limits-his-imagination/) [Vasilios Karpos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vasilios-karpos/) > [Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/science-may-set-limits-to-knowledge-but-should-not-set-limits-to/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [When something is such a creative medium as the web, the limits to it are our imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/when-something-is-such-a-creative-medium-as-the-web-the-limits-to-it/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [“The world exists because your mind exists. If your mind didn’t exist, there would be no world. As you look at these words, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/the-world-exists-because-your-mind-exists-if-your-mind-didn-t-exist/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [All civilization in a sense exists only in the mind. Gunpowder, textile arts, machinery, laws, telephones are not themselves transmitted from man to man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-l-kroeber/all-civilization-in-a-sense-exists-only-in-the-mind-gunpowder-textile/) Alfred L. Kroeber > [“Beauty in things exists in the mind that contemplates them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/beauty-in-things-exists-in-the-mind-that-contemplates-them/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) ## More by Pierre Mac Orlan > [The greatest field of photography, for the literary interpretation of life, consists, to my mind, in its latent power to create, as it were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/the-greatest-field-of-photography-for-the-literary-interpretation-of/) [Pierre Mac Orlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/) > [When you have a taste for exceptional people, you always end up meeting them everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/when-you-have-a-taste-for-exceptional-people-you-always-end-up/) [Pierre Mac Orlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/) > [ \[Documentary photography\] is unwittingly literary, because it is nothing other than an observation of contemporary life apprehended at the right moment by an artist… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/documentary-photography-is-unwittingly-literary-because-it-is-nothing/) [Pierre Mac Orlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/) > [There are more adventures on a chessboard than on all the seas of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/there-are-more-adventures-on-a-chessboard-than-on-all-the-seas-of-the/) [Pierre Mac Orlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/) [Explore all 5 Pierre Mac Orlan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) Kevin McLeod > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Adventure does not exist. It exists only in the mind of the man who pursues it, and as soon as his fingers graze it, it vanishes to appear much further off, in another form, at the limits of the imagination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre Mac Orlan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only-in-the-mind-of-the-man-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adventure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only-in-the-mind-of-the-man-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fa/pierre-mac-orlan-59102_adventure_adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only_1137242.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Adventure does not exist. It exists only in the mind of the man who pursues it, and as soon as his fingers…” — Pierre Mac Orlan", "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": "Pierre Mac Orlan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-mac-orlan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Adventure does not exist. It exists...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only-in-the-mind-of-the-man-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-mac-orlan/adventure-does-not-exist-it-exists-only-in-the-mind-of-the-man-who/#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 } } ] } ```