---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With imagination, you can put something…"
description: "\"With imagination, you can put something where nothing was.\" — Richard Ford"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png"
---

#  With imagination, you can put something where nothing was.

![“With imagination, you can put something where nothing was.” quote by Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png)

> “With imagination, you can put something where nothing was.”

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Imagination allows creation of novel ideas where none existed before, fostering innovation.

**In simple terms:** Imagination creates something from nothing.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate imagination daily.

Themes

creativity innovation possibility

Mood

hopeful energetic

Type

inspirational creative

When to use this quote

- product design
- writing
- teaching
- problem solving

Key Concepts

cognitive psychology artistic expression

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you turn imagined ideas into reality?
- What limits your imaginative process?

A Different Perspective

Imagination alone may not yield practical results.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/)

## Related 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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [“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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

## More by Richard Ford

> [Something will be there when the flood recedes. We know that. It will be those people now standing in the water, and on those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/something-will-be-there-when-the-flood-recedes-we-know-that-it-will/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [If you lose all hope, you can always find it again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/if-you-lose-all-hope-you-can-always-find-it-again/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [I started reading literature at 17 or 18, and I felt this extra beat to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-started-reading-literature-at-17-or-18-and-i-felt-this-extra-beat/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [I don't hate children. My wife and I just didn't think we would be good parents, and also by the time we got married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-don-t-hate-children-my-wife-and-i-just-didn-t-think-we-would-be/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [Writing never came naturally and I still have to force my hand to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/writing-never-came-naturally-and-i-still-have-to-force-my-hand-to-do/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [“Conversations with adults other than a person's parents had more of an outcome.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/conversations-with-adults-other-than-a-person-s-parents-had-more-of/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [Some people want to be bank presidents. Other people want to rob banks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/some-people-want-to-be-bank-presidents-other-people-want-to-rob-banks/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [In order to write novels for a living - it's not pathological, but I do think and worry and brood and fidget about stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/in-order-to-write-novels-for-a-living-it-s-not-pathological-but-i-do/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [There are more people in America that love guns and want guns for themselves and everyone else than there are not. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/there-are-more-people-in-america-that-love-guns-and-want-guns-for/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [That said, being dyslexic, I wasn't a great reader when I was kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/that-said-being-dyslexic-i-wasn-t-a-great-reader-when-i-was-kid/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [I'm an equal opportunity reader - although I don't much read plays. And since I was raised a Presbyterian, pretty much all pleasures are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/i-m-an-equal-opportunity-reader-although-i-don-t-much-read-plays-and/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [The pace of life feels morally dangerous to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/the-pace-of-life-feels-morally-dangerous-to-me/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [“to sit in the empty stands of a Florida ball park and hear the sounds of glove leather and chatter;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/to-sit-in-the-empty-stands-of-a-florida-ball-park-and-hear-the-sounds/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [“And what there is to learn from almost any human experience is that your own interests usually do not come first where other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/and-what-there-is-to-learn-from-almost-any-human-experience-is-that/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

> [“It was on such a night as this that the unhappy things came about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/it-was-on-such-a-night-as-this-that-the-unhappy-things-came-about/)

[Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

[Explore all 184 Richard Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/)

## 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": "With imagination, you can put something where nothing was.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Ford"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/with-imagination-you-can-put-something-where-nothing-was/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Imagination"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/with-imagination-you-can-put-something-where-nothing-was/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6df/richard-ford-2097_imagination_with-imagination-you-can-put-something-w_1800461.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“With imagination, you can put something where nothing was.” — Richard Ford",
                "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": "Richard Ford",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "With imagination, you can put something...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/with-imagination-you-can-put-something-where-nothing-was/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/with-imagination-you-can-put-something-where-nothing-was/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
