9 Personality Traits of Highly Successful Creatives - How Many Do You Share?

Whether they’ve created an enchanting piece of music, a beautiful painting or an innovative gadget, creative people are often the target of our admiration, especially when they’re in the public eye. 

But what does it take to be a creative person? Is there some secret ingredient that makes certain creative minds successful? 

Today, we’re looking at nine key personality traits that the most successful creatives have in common. Some of these traits may surprise you – perhaps you'll discover that you're more creative than you ever imagined!

1. Curiosity

Curiosity is crucial to any creative endeavor. It’s that spark that moves us forward and lights a fire in us to try new experiences. As Meryl Streep once said, "I'm curious about other people. That's the essence of my acting. I'm interested in what it would be like to be you."

A lack of curiosity can look like apathy, boredom or disconnection. When you feel trapped inside your mind, try to look outward and explore the world around you. Studies show that entrepreneurs and innovators tend to have more curiosity than most – proving that it's essential to every creative process.

• Creatives who are endlessly curious include: Russell Brand, Meryl Streep, Drew Barrymore.

2. Self-confidence

When you're comfortable in your own skin, you’re not losing sleep trying to impress others. If anything, you want to impress yourself. As Gaga puts it: “You look in the mirror, and you're like, 'Yes! I can go to bed with you every night, because I know that person.'” 

This sense of self-assuredness Gaga speaks of is not just about personal acceptance, but also fuels the courage to think outside the box, to innovate, and ultimately, to create.

Self-confidence also requires vulnerability. It implies that you are aware of your imperfections and blind spots. But instead of letting them paralyze you, or pretending they don’t exist, you work to overcome them and are at peace with being imperfect. 

• Creatives who exhibit self-confidence include: Lady Gaga, Amy Poehler, Sacha Baron Cohen.

3. Resilience

There's no point having amazing ideas if you cannot get them out into the world. That's why the creative process requires a great deal of resilience. It takes tremendous grit and determination to push through challenges, critics and setbacks.

The most successful creatives know how to cope with failure, not by giving up but by getting back on their feet and trying again. They understand that anything worth creating is going to take time, effort and perseverance. Adversity can often be a catalyst of creativity. When everything crumbles, you have to start from scratch, and that requires a stretch of imagination.

• Creatives who demonstrate resilience include: Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez.

4. Playfulness

Playfulness is a trait that encourages exploration, open-mindedness and the ability to not take yourself too seriously. Think how children discover and explore their environment – it's through play.

Like children, creative minds are always looking for fun opportunities to learn something new, make mistakes and explore different outcomes. They know how to put aside their worries and just have a blast!

• Creatives who embody playfulness include: Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Eddie Murphy.

5. Empathy

When you think about a leader, what image comes to mind? While some still cling to the idea that a successful person has to be ruthless, evidence shows that successful leaders are deeply empathetic and can put themselves in other people's shoes.

Empathy is the ability to understand how another person feels, and it is an essential trait of any successful creative. You need to be able to relate to your audience and emotionally connect with them if you want to create something truly meaningful.

• Creatives who understand empathy include: Lin Manuel Miranda, Keanu Reeves, Emma Watson, Ed Sheeran.

6. Adaptability

In a 2018 New York Times article, actress, writer and producer, Mindy Kaling talked about the “transitioning panics” of working in show business, i.e. going “from losing a job to having more work than you can handle; from being afraid your dreams won’t come true to realizing they’ve changed.”

Part of navigating creative success is knowing how to adapt to these transitions while staying true to your own beliefs and ideas. Adaptability can also translate to being open to new – and sometimes surprising – experiences, instead of holding onto an ideal scenario that you might’ve created in your head. Simply, you can roll with the punches.

• Creatives who demonstrate adaptability include: Mindy Kaling, Sarah Silverman, Taylor Swift.

7. Improvisation

Some personality types are naturally spontaneous but improvisation is a trait that even the most inflexible person (yes, even Judgers) can practice. Its importance lies in the ability it gives you to deal with ever-changing situations and a loss of control.

Life and art are unpredictable and change is inevitable. When things don’t go according to plan, you have to make the best of what you've got, even when it's not what you expected.

• Creatives who excel in improvisation include: Patti Smith, Steve Carell, Tina Fey.

8. Independence

Successful creatives need to know how to work with other people, but many are also deeply connected with their inner selves and feel at their most creative when they’re alone. 

Solitude can play an important role in fueling creativity, because when you’re not engaged with the outside world, you can let your mind wander freely. This opens up the possibility for creative thinking. Hence, the importance of boredom for idea generation. If you are too busy consuming information on your phone, for instance, you’re not leaving room for creative ideas to spur.

• Creatives who demonstrate independence include: Billie Eilish, Snoop Dog, Quentin Tarantino.

9. Persistence

Creative endeavors take a long time to manifest and require a great deal of patience. Persistence is key because it allows you to sustain your energy, focus and enthusiasm through all the phases of the creative process. And it helps you stay the course when things become challenging.

Take writing, for example. Harry Potter was famously rejected 12 times by publishers, and J.K Rowling almost gave up on her dream of becoming an author before she finally succeeded. Luckily for the world, she didn’t.

• Creatives who demonstrate persistence include: J.K Rowling, Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey, Vera Wang.

How many creative traits do you share?

Do you have the resilience of Steve Jobs, the empathy of Keanu Reeves, or the adaptability of Taylor Swift? Take one of our free personality tests to discover your unique creative traits!