Successful Men Have THIS Trait – Curiosity

Today, I want to talk about one of the most prevalent traits I consistently see among successful men. And I believe that if we actively cultivate this trait, we’ll benefit tremendously and develop ourselves into better men.

So, let’s talk about curiosity!

Curiosity: A Key Ingredient of Success

From what I see in the world, one of the most common denominators among successful people is their insatiable curiosity.

What do I mean by that?

The quality of being curious manifests in their habits, their social dynamics, and other aspects of their life.
A fantastic example of this is, that you would always hear successful people talk about their love of reading.

This gave me a clue early on that reading really is a habit that makes a big difference in life, which I try to implement as you can see with dailyfriction.

But it is about more than just books.
Todd Kashdan writes in “Curious“:

“When you look at successful people in history, it becomes clear that curiosity motivated them to expand their horizons, and it has to be given at least partial credit for their accomplishments.

Whether it is scientists, artists, architects, politicians, CEOs, owners of mom-and-pop shops, advertising executives, teachers, political activists, or nearly anyone trying to discover something, their stories highlight the powerful motivator of curiosity in why we do the things we do.”

Todd Kashdan in “Curious“

The truth is, there’s always more to learn. You never know everything, and the more you know, the more you realize just how much you don’t know.

That’s why in my opinion the most intellectual people don’t say they are super intelligent. Instead, they have an “intellectual humility” since they realize that their areas of knowledge just expand the realm of nearby new areas yet to be discovered.

This realization humbles you, encouraging you to branch out and explore new things. Often, you’ll find answers in one field that apply to another in ways you never could have anticipated.

The point is, that those people stay hungry for knowledge and exploration of the world and everything within it.

And the opposite of this is stagnation.

The Danger of Stagnation

Stagnation is death. If you’re not growing, you’re deteriorating.
The things we don’t use or develop tend to decay over time.

People who are content with the status quo are fooling themselves because with each passing day, we get closer to the finish line of our lives. The hardware gets older, movements get slower, and cognitive functions are declining. That’s the natural process if we’re idle and stagnant.

“Curiosity is the engine of achievement.”

Ken Robinson

I once heard an analogy that life is like one of those moving walkways at the airport, but you entered it the wrong way.
Imagine that this is life: If you just stand still, you actually move backward, even if you are not aware of it. If you don’t actively get better, seize the day, and learn new things, you won’t even notice how the moving walkway is pulling you further back, until one day you realize everything is pretty different than it was not too long ago.

You didn’t get better, you just got older.

A Social Superpower

But curiosity isn’t just about personal development; it’s also incredibly powerful in social interactions for example. You can learn something valuable from everyone you meet. Scott Barry Kaufman highlights this in “Transcend”:

“There are a number of reasons why social curiosity can be conducive to growth. For one, learning new information about other people and their behaviors gives us the possibility of learning from their mistakes, as well as becoming more aware of opportunities in life, without the need to personally undergo extensive trial and error. Learning information about others also enables us to effectively adapt to our social environment and facilitate relationships.”

Scott Barry Kaufman in “Transcend”

Kaufman continues,

“Taken together, social curiosity and the drive to engage in novel social experiences comprise the need for social exploration, an important form of exploration for growth and learning among such a social species as human beings.”

Scott Barry Kaufman in “Transcend”

Never feel superior to others in general as a person, at most when it comes to certain skills. Always be humble and acknowledge that you can learn from everyone.

“In my walks, every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

And hey, since I know what most of you are thinking about you animals..it also is a tremendous trait when it comes to women and dating.

Curiosity and Dating

This idea is particularly relevant in dating. If you want someone to like you, be genuinely interested in them.
And I mean genuinely. Don’t just act like it to get into panties.

just think of the thousands of stories you experienced that made you the person you are today. Exciting ones and mundane ones. The small ones and the big ones.
And now imagine that no matter who you have in front of you, they have their thousands of stories too. Stories of wins, losses, triumphs, and heartbreaks.
How could there not be something that you can learn? If not directly from them, then about humans in general from listening to them.

By the way, this principle is one of the cornerstones of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People“. Carnegie writes:

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Yet I know and you know people who blunder through life trying to wigwag other people into becoming interested in them.”

Dale Carnegie in “How to Win Friends and Influence People“

I’ve realized in myself that I often naturally do this without thinking about it—I’m genuinely interested in the people I spend my time with; their stories, and how they live their lives.
As Dale Carnegie says, often, we try to make others interested in us, but it’s far more effective to show genuine interest in them if you want to build meaningful connections.

The Role of Books, Podcasts, and Other Media

Curiosity also plays a huge role when it comes to the content we consume—whether it’s books, podcasts, YouTube channels, documentaries, or something else. It’s not just about the knowledge you gain; it’s about how this content sparks new ideas and shapes the way you think.

You never know what will hit you and change your perspective on the world in a positive way.
Randy Gage captures this idea in “Risky is the New Safe“:

“The most intellectually developed people are also the most curious. A guy named Einstein once said, ‘I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.’ And he seemed to be a pretty bright fellow. If you want to grow and develop, you must maintain your childlike curiosity about the world around you, because curiosity drives us to knowledge.”

Randy Gage in “Risky is the New Safe“

I also often heard about this kind of general curiosity from the one and only, Joe Rogan, host of the most successful podcast in the world. The recipe for the success of the podcast that became a phenomenon? According to him, it’s his curiosity.
As he mentioned on “The Joe Rogan Experience” numerous times, he invites guests solely on the premise of his curiosity and if he would like to find out more about them or their story.

A simple, yet evidently very effective way to handle it.

But back to Albert Einstein, In his book”Einstein”, Walter Isaacson writes about him and his curiosity:

“That trait is perhaps the best place to begin when sifting through the elements of his genius. There he is, as a young boy sick in bed, trying to figure out why the compass needle points north. Most of us can recall seeing such needles swing into place, but few of us pursue with passion the question of how a magnetic field might work, how fast it might propagate, how it could possibly interact with matter.”

Walter Isaacson in “Einstein”

Einstein himself believed in the purpose of curiosity. Isaacson notes later on in his book:

“A tenet of Einstein’s faith was that nature was not cluttered with extraneous attributes. Thus, there must be a purpose to curiosity. For Einstein, it existed because it created minds that question, which produced an appreciation for the universe that he equated with religious feelings.
‘Curiosity has its own reason for existing,’ he once explained. ‘One cannot help but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality.’”

Walter Isaacson in “Einstein”

But it doesn’t need to be the solving of physics equations or the deep secrets of the universe that may spark your curiosity.
No matter what you are curious about, it will benefit you when it comes to moving you forward in life.

“If knowledge is power, then curiosity is the muscle.”

Danielle LaPorte

Science backs this up. Different studies show that curiosity positively impacts cognitive performance. For instance, one study concludes:

“Our results highlight that a ‘hungry mind’ is a core determinant of individual differences in academic achievement.”

Sophie von Stumm, Benedikt Hell, and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic in “The Hungry Mind“

A Timeless Human Trait

Curiosity is a trait that has been with us throughout our history—it’s a big part of what makes us human. Maybe one of the main ones that made us evolve into who we are today.

Everything around you that has ever been invented bears some level of curiosity within it. So how can we harness this powerful trait in our own lives?

Practical Ways to Cultivate Curiosity

Start by consuming content that sparks your curiosity—what I like to call “alive content.” This is the kind of material that teaches you things, propels you forward, and helps you grow. Stuff that is useful for you, your life, your future plans and things that you will keep thinking about for a long time to come.

On the other side of this?

“Dead content“. Now I know you are burning to find out what Kim Kardashian had for breakfast today or how many attempts this random guy needs to throw a playing card just in the right angle to make it stuck between a clothing pin (717!), but more than anything else, this is just a big pile of wasted time, daylight deletion, time suicide, clockslaughter, … however you want to call it

Avoid “dead content” that doesn’t serve any real purpose. Content that only has the purpose of entertaining, take your mind off things and in 30 minutes you will have forgotten about what you just watched. While it probably can’t be avoided completely to watch a Netflix show at times or some silly clips, we should try to limit this “dead content”-consumption as much as possible.

Just as the food you eat will determine how you feel, what you put into your mind will affect how you think. Period.

Let’s be open-minded. We can learn something from everyone, even those we disagree with.
If we have an opinion about something, we should know the best arguments of the opposite side—so well that we could argue for them. This way, we ensure that we understand a topic on a deeper level and can have a well-rounded opinion.

King Patrick advises in “The Art of Captivating Conversation”:

“Don’t read this from the perspective of attempting to gain what you can from someone. Read it from the perspective of seeing others as being people worthy of your attention. Everyone has valuable knowledge, whether it applies to your life or not. Everyone is great at something, and everyone is an expert in something that you are not intimately familiar with. Thus, everyone indeed has something to teach you.”

King Patrick, in “The Art of Captivating Conversation”

Let’s not just accept common narratives—let’s test them. Inform ourselves about what else is out there. Let’s not just be curious, but also critical thinkers, a skill that becomes increasingly rare these days, or maybe always was.

Conclusion

So, what do you think about curiosity? Do you have anything more to add? What did I miss? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below. If you enjoyed this post, like it, and subscribe to the channel for more content like this.

See you in the next one, brother!