Two characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is curiosity and creativity.

Curiosity

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers”
~ Voltaire

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”
~ Nancy Willard

“Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly.”
~ Arnold Edinborough

I grew up with the saying, “Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought him back.” I guess that’s why I’ve always cultivated my own curiosity.

So what is curiosity and how does it relate to a business mindset? Curiosity is the desire to learn and to know about people, places and things. When you have a business mindset, you are curious about

• People: you want to get to know your prospects better so you can better serve them and you want to get to know potential partners so you can know whether you are a good match or not.
• Places: you want to know about all the places that your prospects hang out, so you can better market to them.
• Things: you want to know about all the things that you can do to help your prospects, grow your business and attract better business partners.

Creativity

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”
~ Steve Jobs

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”
~ Scott Adams

“Another word for creativity is courage.”
~ George Prince

Successful entrepreneurs and others with a business mindset are very creative. It is their creativity that helps them develop more and better products and services. It is their creativity that empowers them to better market to their prospects. It is their creativity that helps them attract better employees, contractors, partners and vendors so their business can grow and flourish. And it is their creativity that helps them face the challenges that would scare away less courageous mortals.

So, as we head into the New Year, why not make one of your New Year resolutions to cultivate curiosity and creativity in your life and business?