---
title: What does it take to be a genius?
description: Melissa Schilling in conversation with Mike Walsh
image: https://www.mike-walsh.com/hubfs/images/Between%20Worlds/Melissa%20Schilling.jpg
---

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## [What does it take to be a genius?](https://www.mike-walsh.com/podcast/melissa-schilling)

Posted by [Mike Walsh](https://www.mike-walsh.com/podcast/author/mike-walsh)

 Apr 15, 2018 12:04:45 PM

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![Melissa Schilling](https://www.mike-walsh.com/hs-fs/hubfs/images/Between%20Worlds/Melissa%20Schilling.jpg?width=5976&height=3992&name=Melissa%20Schilling.jpg)

 

If you have ever been fascinated by the lives of brilliant people like Einstein, Tesla, Curie or Musk - you might have wondered how exactly they were able to do what they do. And, more to the point, what drove them to such impressive achievements? That is a question that Melissa Schilling, a professor at NYU Stern, and author of the bestselling book ‘Quirky: The Remarkable Story of the Traits, Foibles, and Genius of Breakthrough Innovators Who Changed the World’, seeks to answer. I had a coffee with Melissa on a recent trip to New York, and we spoke about what makes these serial innovators tick, and in particular, the personality traits that lead to breakthroughs. What we might think of as impossible - for these people - is simply a place to begin.

 

 Topics: [Innovation](https://www.mike-walsh.com/podcast/topic/innovation), [Arts & Culture](https://www.mike-walsh.com/podcast/topic/arts-culture)

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