The science behind the traits and quirks that travel creative geniuses to make spectacular breakthroughs

What really distinguishes the individuals who literally modification the world–those creative geniuses who give us one breakthrough after another? What differentiates Marie Curie or Elon Musk from the merely creative, the many one-hit wonders in our midst?

Melissa Schilling, one of the world’s leading specialists on advancement, invites us in to the lives of eight people–Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, about Quirky: The Remarkable Tale of the Qualities, Foibles, and Genius of Discovery Innovators Who Changed the Globe Elon Musk, Dean Kamen, Nikola Tesla, Marie Curie, Thomas Edison, and Steve Jobs–to identify the attributes and experiences that drove them to make spectacular breakthroughs, again and again. While all innovators possess incredible intellect, intellect by itself, she shows, will not create a breakthrough innovator. It had been their personal, cultural, and emotional quirkiness that allowed true genius to break through–not just once but over and over.

Nearly all from the innovators, for instance, exhibited high degrees of social detachment that enabled them to break with norms, an nearly maniacal faith within their capability to overcome obstacles, and a separate idealism that pushed them to work with intensity even when confronted with criticism or failure. While these specific traits would be unlikely to work in isolation–being unconventional without having high degrees of self-confidence, effort, and goal directedness might, for instance, bring about rebellious behavior that will not lead to significant outcomes–together they can fuel both ability and travel to pursue what others consider impossible.

Schilling stocks the science behind the convergence of characteristics that escalates the probability of success. And, as Schilling also reveals, there is a lot to learn about nurturing breakthrough invention in our very own lives–in, for instance, the way we run companies, manage people, and even how we raise our children.