--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Magic is what we invent when we want…" description: "\"“Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we can't have.”\" — Sarah Addison Allen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png" --- # Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we… ![“Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we can't have.” quote by Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png) > ““Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we can't have.”” [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovation arises when we create solutions for seemingly impossible desires. **In simple terms:** We invent magic for unattainable wishes. Key Takeaway Create possibilities beyond perceived limits. Themes imagination desire innovation Mood hopeful creative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - product design - art projects - personal goals - social initiatives Key Concepts creative problem solving psychology hope Questions to Reflect On - What “impossible” desire could you pursue? - How does imagination reshape reality? A Different Perspective May overlook practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent/) [Invent Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent-want-2605513/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Magic Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic-invent-5039247/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-think/) ## Related quotes > [Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we cant have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-something-we-think-we-cant-have/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I want you to invent it. I want you to have that skill. To create your own reality. Your own set of laws. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-want-you-to-invent-it-i-want-you-to-have-that-skill-to-create-your/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [It is just as likely that as I invent what I want to say, you will invent what you want to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-is-just-as-likely-that-as-i-invent-what-i-want-to-say-you-will/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I've been falsely accused of drawing too much from real life. But I am a petty thief - I take little things. And, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-ve-been-falsely-accused-of-drawing-too-much-from-real-life-but-i-am/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I cannot assume you will understand me. It is just as likely that as I invent what I want to say, you will invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-cannot-assume-you-will-understand-me-it-is-just-as-likely-that-as-i/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Walk with me, hand in hand through the neon and styrofoam. Walk the razor blades and the broken hearts. Walk the fortune and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/walk-with-me-hand-in-hand-through-the-neon-and-styrofoam-walk-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Why is it that, when we want to think outside the proverbial box, we often put ourselves in one? We gather our team in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/why-is-it-that-when-we-want-to-think-outside-the-proverbial-box-we/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [You have to invent life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/you-have-to-invent-life/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [“To invent something is to find it in what previously exists.”14”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-invent-something-is-to-find-it-in-what-previously-exists-14/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We can invent only with memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alphonse-karr/we-can-invent-only-with-memory/) [Alphonse Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alphonse-karr/) > [Remember. Or, failing that, invent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-wittig/remember-or-failing-that-invent/) [Monique Wittig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-wittig/) > [You can only really invent something if you connect yourself to the real world - whatever that means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/you-can-only-really-invent-something-if-you-connect-yourself-to-the/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [“China it! Why invent the wheel when it has already been invented!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/china-it-why-invent-the-wheel-when-it-has-already-been-invented/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [The function of the artist is to invent, not to chronicle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-function-of-the-artist-is-to-invent-not-to-chronicle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Sitting at the old patio table she’d cleared of leaves, she smiled and leaned back. The stars looked twisted in the limbs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sitting-at-the-old-patio-table-she-d-cleared-of-leaves-she-smiled-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## More by Sarah Addison Allen > [“It feels like he's taken your heart, doesn't it?…Like he's reached in and pulled it out from you. And I bet he smiles like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/it-feels-like-he-s-taken-your-heart-doesn-t-it-like-he-s-reached-in/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Sitting at the old patio table she’d cleared of leaves, she smiled and leaned back. The stars looked twisted in the limbs of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sitting-at-the-old-patio-table-she-d-cleared-of-leaves-she-smiled-and/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Nothing is really broke, so it's not like I can fix it. I just have to keep trying to find what I'm looking for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/nothing-is-really-broke-so-it-s-not-like-i-can-fix-it-i-just-have-to/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Sometimes people who had been together for a long time got to imagining that things used to be better, even when they weren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/sometimes-people-who-had-been-together-for-a-long-time-got-to/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“There was such a feeling of peace around them, it was soft and pink and smelled of butter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/there-was-such-a-feeling-of-peace-around-them-it-was-soft-and-pink/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“The two giant oaks in the front yard looked like flustered ladies caught mid-curtsy, their starched green leaf-dresses swaying in the wind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/the-two-giant-oaks-in-the-front-yard-looked-like-flustered-ladies/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [Men. You can't live with them, you can't shoot them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/men-you-can-t-live-with-them-you-can-t-shoot-them/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“After awhile, all the men wanted his opinion, and all the girls were in love with him. He made certain of it. Because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/after-awhile-all-the-men-wanted-his-opinion-and-all-the-girls-were-in/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [People adapt. People change. You can grow where you're planted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/people-adapt-people-change-you-can-grow-where-you-re-planted/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She wasn’t sure exactly when it happened when she had realized that she could only make one of them happy. 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She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-opened-her-eyes-slowly-and-saw-that-a-pale-lavender-moth-had-come/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [How could someone with a life this full feel this empty?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/how-could-someone-with-a-life-this-full-feel-this-empty/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“Her life was monotonous, but it kept her out of trouble.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/her-life-was-monotonous-but-it-kept-her-out-of-trouble/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [“She knew him in that way you can only know a person you remember as a child, like if you cracked away the adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/she-knew-him-in-that-way-you-can-only-know-a-person-you-remember-as-a/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) [Explore all 362 Sarah Addison Allen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) ## More Innovation quotes > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I believe that one defines oneself by reinvention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-believe-that-one-defines-oneself-by-reinvention/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“In the innovation age customer experience is key. Your impression defines their expression”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fela-durotoye/in-the-innovation-age-customer-experience-is-key-your-impression/) [Fela Durotoye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fela-durotoye/) > [“Incrementalism never allows innovation to flourish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-ratna/incrementalism-never-allows-innovation-to-flourish/) [Abhishek Ratna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-ratna/) > [I have tremendous admiration for companies with the kind of pioneering spirit and innovation eBay has demonstrated from day one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/i-have-tremendous-admiration-for-companies-with-the-kind-of/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/) [Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/) > [Why is it that, when we want to think outside the proverbial box, we often put ourselves in one? We gather our team in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/why-is-it-that-when-we-want-to-think-outside-the-proverbial-box-we/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [We have to be innovative, we have to be fresh, we have to be new. People are counting on that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-barthel/we-have-to-be-innovative-we-have-to-be-fresh-we-have-to-be-new-people/) [Sarah Barthel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-barthel/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [I'd take garbage, and I'd glue them together and create inventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-makosinski/i-d-take-garbage-and-i-d-glue-them-together-and-create-inventions/) [Ann Makosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-makosinski/) > [“Some innovations just don’t attract enough economic or social demand: just as supersonic flight and manned space flight stagnated after the 1970s, today (in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-j-rees/some-innovations-just-don-t-attract-enough-economic-or-social-demand/) [Martin J. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-j-rees/) > [We're focused on providing innovations in software, driving the continuous improvement for a much better experience, and there's a lot going on here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-re-focused-on-providing-innovations-in-software-driving-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Other things being equal, it is the person who can lift his work up to the plane of the intuitional and inspiration who achieves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanwood-cobb/other-things-being-equal-it-is-the-person-who-can-lift-his-work-up-to/) [Stanwood Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanwood-cobb/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) [Browse all 4,437 Innovation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we can't have.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Addison Allen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-something-we-think-we-can-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Innovation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-something-we-think-we-can-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/sarah-addison-allen-810_innovation_magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-som_2234431.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Magic is what we invent when we want something we think we can't have.” — Sarah Addison Allen", "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": "Sarah Addison Allen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Magic is what we invent when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-something-we-think-we-can-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/magic-is-what-we-invent-when-we-want-something-we-think-we-can-t-have/#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 } } ] } ```