It is safe to say that more and more entrepreneurs are artists, and artists of all kinds are entrepreneurs. The trend is only on the rise as all things (art, science, technology, business, culture, spirituality) are increasingly converging. Creativity is the common theme that drives both entrepreneurs and artists alike. But creative people are often also paradoxical. Creative people are humble and proud. Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted. Creative people are rebellious and conservative. How creative are you?

1. Crea%ve people are humble and proud. Crea%ve people tend
to be both extroverted and introverted. Crea%ve people are
rebellious and conserva%ve. How crea%ve are you?
10 PARADOXICAL TRAITS
OF CREATIVE PEOPLE
by Faisal Hoque
founder of:

2. It is safe to say that more
and more entrepreneurs
are artists, and artists of
all kinds are
entrepreneurs.
The trend is only on the rise as all things (art, science,
technology, business, culture, spirituality) are increasingly
converging. Crea%vity is the common theme that drives both
entrepreneurs and ar%sts alike. But crea%ve people are oEen
also paradoxical.

3. 10 Traits Often
Contradictory in Nature
In the following 10 traits, dis%nguished professor of psychology and
management Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s seminal book Crea%vity: The
Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People, describes ten traits that are
frequently present in crea%ve people.

4. CREATIVE PEOPLE HAVE A GREAT DEAL
OF PHYSICAL ENERGY, BUT THEY'RE
ALSO OFTEN QUIET & AT REST.
They work long hours, with great concentra%on,
while projec%ng an aura of freshness and enthusiasm.
1

5. CREATIVE PEOPLE TEND TO BE SMART
YET NAIVE AT THE SAME TIME.
It involves fluency, or the ability to generate a great quan%ty of
ideas; flexibility, or the ability to switch from one perspec%ve to
another; and originality in picking unusual associa%ons of ideas.
2

6. CREATIVE PEOPLE COMBINE
PLAYFULNESS & DISCIPLINE, OR
RESPONSIBILITY & IRRESPONSIBILITY.
But this playfulness doesn't go very far without its an%thesis, a
quality of doggedness, endurance, and perseverance.
3

7. CREATIVE PEOPLE ALTERNATE BETWEEN
IMAGINATION & FANTASY, & A ROOTED
SENSE OF REALITY.
Great art and great science involve a leap of imagina%on into a
world that is different from the present.
4

8. CREATIVE PEOPLE TEND TO BE BOTH
EXTROVERTED & INTROVERTED.
We're usually one or the other, either preferring to be in the thick
of crowds or siWng on the sidelines and observing the passing
show. Crea%ve individuals, on the other hand, seem to exhibit both
traits simultaneously.
5

9. CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE HUMBLE & PROUD
AT THE SAME TIME.
It is remarkable to meet a famous person who you expect to be
arrogant or supercilious, only to encounter self-­‐depreca%on and
shyness instead.
6

10. CREATIVE PEOPLE, TO AN EXTENT,
ESCAPE RIGID GENDER ROLE
STEREOTYPING.
When tests of masculinity and femininity are given to young
people, over and over one finds that crea%ve and talented girls are
more dominant and tough than other girls, and crea%ve boys are
more sensi%ve and less aggressive than their male peers.
7

11. CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE BOTH REBELLIOUS
& CONSERVATIVE.
It is impossible to be crea%ve without having first internalized an
area of culture. So it's difficult to see how a person can be crea%ve
without being both tradi%onal and conserva%ve and at the same
%me rebellious and iconoclas%c.
8

12. MOST CREATIVE PEOPLE ARE VERY
PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR WORK, YET
THEY CAN BE EXTREMELY OBJECTIVE
ABOUT IT AS WELL.
Without the passion, we soon lose interest in a difficult task. Yet
without being objec%ve about it, our work is not very good and
lacks credibility.
9

13. CREATIVE PEOPLE'S OPENNESS &
SENSITIVITY OFTEN EXPOSES THEM TO
SUFFERING & PAIN, YET ALSO TO A
GREAT DEAL OF ENJOYMENT.
Perhaps the most important quality, the one that is most
consistently present in all crea%ve individuals, is the ability to enjoy
the process of crea%on for its own sake.
10

14. About Me
Founder of Shadoka and other
companies. Shadoka enables
entrepreneurship, growth, and social
impact.
Formerly of GE and other global brands.
Author of several books, includiing
Everything Connects – How to Transform
and Lead in the Age of Crea%vity,
Innova%on and Sustainability (McGraw
Hill, Spring 2014) and
Survive to Thrive – 27 Prac%ces of
Resilient Entrepreneurs, Innovators, And
Leaders (Mo%va%onal Press, 2015).
Follow me @faisal_hoque.
faisalhoque.com | shadoka.com