Tony Buzan, considered the father of the mind map, offers a list of twenty characteristics based on research he conducted for his 1992 book "Buzan's Book of Genius."

1. Vision
2. Desire
3. Faith
4. Commitment
5. Planning
6. Persistence
7. Learning from Mistakes
8. Subject Knowledge
9. Mental Literacy
10. Imagination
11. Positive Attitude
12. Auto-Suggestion
13. Intuition
14. Mastermind Group (Real)
15. Mastermind Group (Internal)
16. Truth/Honesty
17. Facing Fears/Courage
18. Creativity/Flexibility
19. Love of the Task
20. Energy (Physical/Sensual/Sexual)

Buzan suggests you rate yourself by assigning a score of 0 to 5 for each of these qualities, and then add all the scores together to determine your "Genius Quotient." But before you do... I don't have the scoring scheme (yet) to let you know how genius you are... I need to get this book on the shelves of the Sandbox...

Nevertheless, take look at the first six characteristics...

1. Vision
2. Desire
3. Faith
4. Commitment
5. Planning
6. Persistence

They have nothing to do with knowledge, they're about passion... intention... sticktoitivity.