at an opportunity needs a prepared mind. Many people never realise thatthey are surrounded by favourable circumstances and even fewer know what to do when therealization hits them.The creative personCreative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to different situations and tomanage with whatever is needed to reach their goals. If nothing else, this distinguishes themfrom the rest of us. But there does not seem to be a particular set of traits that a person musthave in order to be creative.Creativity is facilitated by a genetic predisposition for a given domain. A person whosenervous system is more sensitive to color and light will have an advantage in painting, whilesomeone born with a perfect pitch will do well in music. And being better at their respectivedomains, they will become more deeply interested in sounds and colors, will learn more aboutthem, and thus are in a position to innovate in music or art with greater ease.Although most great scientists seem to have been attracted to numbers and experimentationearly in life, how creative they eventually became, bears little relationship to how talented they were as children. However, a special sensory advantage may be responsible for developing an early interest in the domain, which is certainly an important ingredient of creativity.A person also needs access to a domain. Luck does play a big role. Being born in an affluentfamily or being close to good schools, mentors, and coaches obviously is a great advantage.But, luck is not everything. Many creative people have shown extraordinary pluck anddetermination to get access to a domain.Access to a field is equally important. Some people are terribly knowledgeable but they find itso difficult to communicate with those who matter among their peers that they are ignored orshunned in the formative years of their careers.Someone who is not known or appreciated by the relevant people has a very difficult timeaccomplishing something that will be seen as creative. Such a person may not have a chanceto access the latest information, may not be given the opportunity to work, and if he or shedoes manage to accomplish something novel, that novelty is likely to be ignored or ridiculed.In the sciences, being at the right university is extremely important.What makes creative people different from others is complexity. They show tendenciesof thought and action that in most people are segregated. Having a complex personalitymeans being able to express the full range of traits that are potentially present in the humanrepertoire but usually atrophy because we think that one extreme is good, whereas the otherextreme is bad.Most of us have a repressed shadow side that we refuse to acknowledge. The very orderlyperson may long to be spontaneous, the submissive person wishes to be dominant. As longas we disown these shadows, we can never be satisfied. But we usually do this and keepon struggling against ourselves, trying to live up to an image that distorts our true being.A complex personality involves the ability to move from one extreme to the other as theoccasion requires.Creative individuals have a great deal of physical energy. They work long hours, with greatconcentration,