24 Qualities That Geniuses Have in Common
I am reposting here an excellent article that I first read about 5 years ago. It was first printed by the National Enquirer in 1980 and later reprinted and re-distributed by L. Ron Hubbard. I have read it many times since then and I feel I just need to share it, it has worked well for me. Let’s all become a genius! 
The worlds greatest geniuses have all had 24 personality characteristics in common and you can develop the same traits yourself, says an expert.
“Most people have the mistaken idea that geniuses are born, not made”, declared clinical psychologist Dr. Alfred Barrious, founder and director of the Self-Programmed Control Center of Los Angeles and author of the book, Towards Greater Freedom and Happiness.
“But if you look at the lives of the worlds greatest geniuses like Edison, Socrates, DaVinci, Shakespeare, Einstein, you will discover they all had 24 personality characteristics in common.
“These are traits that anyone can develop. It makes no difference how old you are, how much education you have, or what you have accomplished to date. Adopting these personality characteristics enables you to operate on a genius level.”
Here are the Characteristics Dr. Barrios lists, which enable geniuses to come up with and develop new and fruitful ideas:
- DRIVE. Geniuses have a strong desire to work hard and long. They’re willing to give all they’ve got to a project. Develop your drive by focusing on your future success, and keep going.
- COURAGE. It takes courage to do things others consider impossible. Stop worrying about what people will think if you’re different.
- DEVOTION TO GOALS. Geniuses know what they want and go after it. Get control of your life and schedule. Have something specific to accomplish each day.
- KNOWLEDGE. Geniuses continually accumulate information. Never go to sleep at night without having learned at least one new thing each day. Read. And question people who know.
- HONESTY. Geniuses are frank, forthright and honest. Take the responsibility for things that go wrong. Be willing to admit, ‘I goofed’, and learn from your mistakes.
- OPTIMISM. Geniuses never doubt they will succeed. Deliberately focus your mind on something good coming up.
- ABILITY TO JUDGE. Try to understand the facts of a situation before you judge. Evaluate things on an opened minded, unprejudiced basis and be willing to change your mind.
- ENTHUSIASM. Geniuses are so excited about what they are doing, it encourages others to cooperate with them. Really believe that things will turn out well. Don’t hold back.
- WILLINGNESS TO TAKE CHANCES. Overcome your fear of failure. You won’t be afraid to take chances once you realize you can learn from your mistakes.
- DYNAMIC ENERGY. Don’t sit on your butt waiting for something good to happen. Be determined to make it happen.
- ENTERPRISE. Geniuses are opportunity seekers. Be willing to take on jobs others won’t touch. Never be afraid to try the unknown.
- PERSUASION. Geniuses know how to motivate people to help them get ahead. You’ll find it easy to be persuasive if you believe in what you’re doing.
- OUTGOINGNESS. I’ve found geniuses able to make friends easily and be easy on their friends. Be a ‘booster’ not somebody who puts others down. That attitude will win you many valuable friends.
- ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE. Geniuses are able to effectively get their ideas across to others. Take every opportunity to explain your ideas to others.
- PATIENCE. Be patient with others most of the time, but always be impatient with your self. Expect far more of yourself than others.
- PERCEPTION. Geniuses have their mental radar working full time. Think more of others’ needs and wants than you do of your own.
- PERFECTIONISM. Geniuses cannot tolerate mediocrity, particularly in themselves. Never be easily satisfied with your self. Always strive to do better.
- SENSE OF HUMOR. Be willing to laugh at your own expense. Don’t take offense when the joke is on you.
- VERSATILITY. The more things you learn to accomplish, the more confidence you will develop. Don’t shy away from new endeavors.
- ADAPTABILITY. Being flexible enables you to adapt to changing circumstances readily. Resist doing things the same old way. Be willing to consider new options.
- CURIOSITY. An inquisitive, curious mind will help you seek out new information. Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know it all. Always ask questions about things you don’t understand.
- INDIVIDUALISM. Do things the way you think they should be done, without fearing somebody’s disapproval.
- IDEALISM. Keep your feet on the ground — but have your head in the clouds. Strive to achieve great things, not just for yourself, but for the better of mankind.
- IMAGINATION. Geniuses know how to think in new combinations, see things from a different perspective, than anyone else. Unclutter your mental environment to develop this type of imagination. Give yourself time each day to daydream, to fantasize, to drift into a dreamy inner life the way you did as a child.
1980 National Enquirer/Transworld Features
Jim Westergren is a company owner from Sweden who currently lives in Bolivia with his wife. Some of his interests are SEO, web development, writing and
i want to be a genius
Great, me too
Most of my friends told me that I have the qualities of a genius. But why do I feel small and insecure. I feel like I have the lowest self esteem in the world. What can I do to get rid of this?
Great article Jim. I’m going to take those thoughts and put them in a white board I have here at my office. I will join you on your desire… I want to be a genius too.
Thanks for sharing this …this was helpful
Jim, that’s a great article. Full of inspiration. Thanks for bringing it to us. I find it difficult to belive that all geniuses have all 24 traits described here though.
Thanx! It’s been a while since I saw that article
@custom pet portraits: Don’t you get spam mail? There’s loads of info about penile enlargement there!
Just kidding. Sorry. Never mind me. Ok, maybe that was a bad joke. I’m outta here lol
/T
So as of now curiosity and versatality are important…
coz only then i can learn all the above
its really great im surprised and im exited when im reading this article bcos i found all this in my husband when im reading each line im just admiring him. i love him a lot. thanxs for keeping such good articles.:)
I agree your thinks. I copied it to reading one more time
Best Regards,
Hi,
good post. I have reposted on my blog
http://moralsandethics.wordpress.com
Another great article Jim, keep em’ coming.
A already recently posted some of my beliefs in the article of “how to become a genius”, Read them if you like please.
Regards, Jesper D
L. Ron Hubbard? The scientologist? Faaan Jim jag som precis trodde jag hade hittat min nya idol i dig…jävligt imponerad av SEO artikeln för proffs….och nu det här…argghh.
o.k. jag tar tillbaka de hårda orden…
läste det här:
http://www.seobuzzbox.com/jim-westergren-interview/
om du inte har gjort det än borde du skriva något om de 5 “förlorade” åren…
lycka till,
sjukt imponerad
Hej Joe,
Som du kanske läste så är ovan artikel som jag tycker är utmärkt inte skriven av Hubbard.
Jag har skickat dig ett mail.
I actually believe everyone has the ability to have most of these traits just many do not since they choose not to use these traits for their own good.
thank you, you also genius
funny, I was looking for the source of the Article (recently quoted it but didn’t know who the original author was) and here I am on your website - thanks for the info.
Very nice article and totally full of inspiration however complete BS. It’s nice to say that all these wonderful traits were shared by all the worlds geniuses however it’s just not true. Einstein had serious personality issues including fits of rage and poor social skills. Don’t even get me started on Newton since he was borderline insane. Now that we are a little more enlightened in terms of psychology we can compare there “traits” with narcissistic personality disorder or obsessive–compulsive disorder and we get a pretty good match one way or the other. There’s no question that these people were smart but many of them were severely flawed and we don’t want to remember our hero’s as really screwed up.