--- title: What 7 Things Can Geniuses Teach Us About Being More Creative? description: Keep lots of ideas banging around in your head canonical: https://time.com/3423723/7-things-geniuses-teach-us/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-24T04:01:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T07:55:32.955Z article:section: Ideas og:title: 7 Things Geniuses Can Teach Us About Being More Creative og:description: Keep lots of ideas banging around in your head og:url: https://time.com/3423723/7-things-geniuses-teach-us/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a2dbb92aa5ce973/6986a50f810bbb3d6ac939a4/485209629.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5400 og:image:height: 3038 og:image:alt: 485209629 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 7 Things Geniuses Can Teach Us About Being More Creative twitter:description: Keep lots of ideas banging around in your head twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a2dbb92aa5ce973/6986a50f810bbb3d6ac939a4/485209629.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What 7 Things Can Geniuses Teach Us About Being More Creative? > Sponsored content. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 24, 2014 4:01 AM UTC  Young woman studying blueprint Young woman studying blueprintSteve Prezant—Image Source/Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Sep 24, 2014 4:01 AM UTC **Work hard** Hard work (often more than 10,000 hours worth) is vital. Via [Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Ghandi](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465027741/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- This type of [Deliberate Practice](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/what-type-of-practice-produces-peak-performan) and [dedication](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/secret-success-not-giving-up/) is what it takes to [become an expert](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-does-it-take-to-become-an-expert-at-anyt/). Formal education [isn’t as important](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/05/how-much-education-did-the-greatest-creative/): most creative geniuses had the equivalent of a college dropout level of schooling. **Be curious and driven** For his book [Creativity](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060928204/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0060928204&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20), noted professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi did interviews with 91 groundbreaking individuals across a number of disciplines, including 14 Nobel Prize winners. In [50 Psychology Classics](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1857883861/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1857883861&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20) Tom Butler-Bowdon summed up many of Csikszentmihalyi’s findings including this one: --- > “” --- **Live in a big city** There’s a reason you’re more likely to find artists in cities. Cities are more creative and their inhabitants are too. Via [Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594485380/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594485380&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **Balance creative teams** The most creative teams are a mix of old friends and new blood. Via [Imagine: How Creativity Works](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847677878/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1847677878&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **Keep lots of ideas banging around in your head** Having multiple hobbies allows your brain to subconsciously compare and contrast problems and solutions, forming new connections at the margins of each. Via [Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594485380/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594485380&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Similarly, reading multiple books at the same time vs serially lets your brain juxtapose new ideas and develop new connections. Via [Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594485380/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594485380&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **Work on projects because of passion, not money** This is what produces the best art and, eventually, the most success. Via Daniel Pink’s very interesting book [Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594484805/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- Everything you need to know to be more creative is [here](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-are-the-four-principles-that-will-lead-y/). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/)**_._** **Join more than 100,000 readers.** Get a free weekly update via email [here](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD). Related posts: [What are the four principles that will lead you to breakthrough creativity?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-are-the-four-principles-that-will-lead-y/) [What does it take to become an expert at anything?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/what-does-it-take-to-become-an-expert-at-anyt/) [Are creative people more likely to be crazy?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/07/are-creative-people-more-likely-to-be-crazy/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3423723/7-things-geniuses-teach-us/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3423723/7-things-geniuses-teach-us/"},"headline":"What 7 Things Can Geniuses Teach Us About Being More Creative?","datePublished":"2014-09-24T04:01:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T07:55:32.955Z","description":"Keep lots of ideas banging around in your head","url":"https://time.com/3423723/7-things-geniuses-teach-us/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a2dbb92aa5ce973/6986a50f810bbb3d6ac939a4/485209629.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6a2dbb92aa5ce973/6986a50f810bbb3d6ac939a4/485209629.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"485209629","caption":"485209629","creditText":"Steve Prezant—Image Source/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3423723/7-things-geniuses-teach-us/","name":"What 7 Things Can Geniuses Teach Us About Being More Creative?"}}]}] ```