“…curiosity, persistence and hard work.”

Einstein, the epitome of a genius, clearly had curiosity, character and determination. He struggled against rejection in early life but was undeterred. Did he think he was a genius or even gifted? No. He once wrote: “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”

-Wendy Berliner/The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jul/25/no-such-thing-as-a-gifted-child-einstein-iq