In 1943, an American psychologist called Abraham Maslow described his original concept of the hierarchy of needs. [1] It is a motivational theory comprising seven layers (originally five, but was subsequently expanded by Maslow) of human needs, often shown as a pyramid that must be fulfilled for a person to reach their potential.

The general idea behind it was that, for a person to reach a level of personal and professional attainment, they must satisfy basic and more advanced needs, each building on the other, gradually creating a platform that motivates us to reach the highest levels. Initially, it was thought that the lower levels of needs within the pyramid, such as safety and loving needs, must be fulfilled in order to progress and attain further needs higher up in the pyramid, such as cognitive needs. However, we now understand it to be a lot more flexible than that where we can occupy multiple levels simultaneously.

The levels:

Physiological needs — At the very basic level, we need to eat, sleep, and drink, to survive.

Safety needs — It is natural to want control, health, and security, before we can really think about much else.

Love and belonging needs — As humans, we are deeply emotional beings, and the need to love and to be loved, for support, acceptance, and trust, are universal, and can give us strength in difficult times.

Esteem needs — This can be of higher or lower importance to an individual, but there is always an underlying feeling that we need respect for ourselves and from our peers, recognition of our achievements, and basic dignity in our lives before we can move onto other things within the pyramid.

Cognitive needs — On some level, we need to be mentally challenged and stimulated in order to improve and achieve a greater level of performance and productivity in our lives. Learning, understanding more about ourselves and our goals, and satisfying our curiosity about how and why things are the way they are, are all universal needs we each share.

Aesthetic needs — This level may vary depending on the person, but it describes the need for beauty and balance in our lives. To look and dress as we see fit, and which highlights our personality and quality. 

Self–actualisation — The final level in the pyramid and the most difficult to attain according to Maslow’s theory, and this level sees a person realise their potential, grow as a person, and for the purposes of this book, achieve their dream and life ambition. 

Interestingly, some iterations also label the top of the pyramid with an extra level called ‘transcendence’ which would be the uttermost attainable virtue of human consciousness.

In addition to this hierarchy, Maslow listed certain actions and personal qualities that he believed would help someone to achieve this level. He explained how living a life of trying new things, being honest, working hard, and taking responsibility for your own actions would give a person some of the principal ingredients needed to reach their potential. These qualities are widely accepted as strong personal characteristics and ones that we have all witnessed in others and almost certainly possess ourselves. 

While the hierarchy of motivation and unique qualities is a good starting place, we don’t need to follow these to the letter. In fact, there is merit in creating your own hierarchy, using your own needs and desires to improve motivation and your chances of success. What’s more, you can already identify the strongest components of yourself and others around you, and begin building a picture of the kind of person you want to be, and just as important, what type of people you want to surround yourself with. Use this as a way to think about these character traits for your own hierarchy as you understand what you value the most in yourself and what would bring the most benefit towards your goals.