In a recent interesting book \u201cThe Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (a Lot of) Success in America\u201d author John D. Gartner, an assistant professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins, argues that America\u2019s success is because American entrepreneurs are largely hypomanic.<\/p>\n
\u201cHypomania is a mild form of mania, often found in the relatives of manic depressives. Hypomanics are brimming with infectious energy, irrational confidence and really big ideas. They think, talk, move and make decisions quickly. Anyone who slows them down with questions \u201cjust doesn\u2019t get it.\u201d Hypomanics are not crazy, but \u201cnormal\u201d is not the first word that comes to mind when describing them. Hypomanics live on the edge, between normal and abnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n
So why are Americans hypomanic? \u201cEnergy, drive, cockeyed optimism, entrepreneurial and religious zeal, Yankee ingenuity, messianism and arrogance \u2013 the traits have long been attributed to an \u201cAmerican character.\u201d If a scientist wanted to design a giant Petri dish with all the right nutrients to make hypomanic genius flourish, he would be hard-pressed to imagine a better natural experiment than America. A \u201cnation of immigrants\u201d represents a highly skewered and unusual \u201cself-selected\u201d population. Do men and women who risk everything to leap into a new world differ temperamentally from those who stay home? It would be surprising if they didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
How do you identify a hypomanic? Gartner lists these traits: \u201cHe is filled with energy; flooded with ideas; driven, restless and unable to keep still; channels his energy into the achievement of wildly grand ambitions; often works on little sleep; feels brilliant, special, chosen, perhaps even destined to change the world; can be euphoric; becomes easily irritated by minor obstacles; is a risk taker; overspends in both his business and personal life; acts our sexually; sometimes acts impulsively, with poor judgment, in ways that have painful consequences; is fast-talking; witty and gregarious; charismatic and persuasive; prone to making enemies and feels he is persecuted by those who do not accept his vision and mission.\u201d Sounds like an entrepreneur to me \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"