When you want to be creative, how do you get there?

You may feel that inspiration comes from out of nowhere and you have no control over it. If only you could grab ahold of this fleeting inspiration!

Actually, creativity is something you can control. It's also something you can learn and instill in yourself. There aren't simply those born with, and those born without. Here are the six key characteristics of creative people. If you can learn to adopt at least some of these traits, you can boost your own ability to innovate.

1. Awareness & Openness
2. In the Moment
3. A Vision of the World
4. Thinking Outside the Box
5. Always Seeking
6. A Touch of Narcissism

Awareness and Openness

Creative people are hyper-aware. They're able to see things that others miss. They can hear a melody in a random sound of nature or see a work of art in a mundane view out the window.

In addition to being aware, they're open. They latch onto that passing thought that we would usually miss and turn it into art.

Anything is a possible inspiration for a work of art.

In the Moment

Even though we create something with an end product in mind, during the act of creation we're lost in what we're doing and focused on the present.

Creative people are fully 'in' whatever it is they're doing.

They have a sense of play that allows them to become fully absorbed in the activity and to ignore the rest of the world. They tinker like a curious child and the piece gradually emerges through this creative play.

A Vision of the World

Creative people have a vision of the world and a persistent need to express this vision.

It doesn't need to be something large or important. It could be a new gadget or a doodle on a piece of paper.

But it's this insistence on creating in the world the image in your head that gives the creative person their energy.

Thinking Outside the Box

A creative person is willing to consider wild, crazy ideas that may be insane or impractical to others. They can think outside the box and consider a whole different world than the one we take for granted.

Creative people demand originality. They take common knowledge and accepted truths and turn them inside out.

They're rebellious, resisting society's norms.

Always Seeking

Like a child, a creative person is curious and always seeking for answers.

They relentlessly ask questions and are never satisfied with the standard response.

Creative people try to get to the bottom of things and are open to new ideas that come along.

A Touch of Narcissism

Finally, it never hurts for a creative person to have a bit of narcissism.

Confidence and bravado help a creative person introduce their wild ideas into a world that may consider them insane.

Although not totally necessary, this feeling of self-importance can provide fuel for the creative process and encouragement.

People aren't born creative but some find it naturally easier than others. If you don't feel like the 'creative type,' you just need to unlock the inner creativity that's lying dormant inside you.