The Archetype of a Sole Trader according Abraham Maslow

I was revisiting the work of Abraham Maslow recently to write an article and found myself re-reading most of his book  Motivation and Personalities where he shares his findings on the attributes of what he calls 'self-actualised' individuals. He studied healthy people as a means to understand what healthy people need to be healthy, which was considered a radical and unpopular approach in Freudian times. The qualities are fascinating and remind me of someone like you.

Who was Abraham Maslow?

I think I am right in saying that most people have heard of Abraham H Maslow [1908-1970] who was an American psychologist and philosopher and one of the driving forces and founders of humanistic psychology.

Abraham is best known for his Hierarchy of Needs representing five stages of growth in a pyramid from basic dependency needs at the bottom up to higher levels representing self-esteem and growth. At the top are peak experiences when a person has moments of feeling more alive, whole, self-sufficient and being aware of things like justice, truth, goodness, harmony and humility.

While Maslow believed that only relatively few people achieve self actualisation (especially all of the time), everyone experiences moments of self-actualisation through the peak experience. In his book, Personality and Motivation (Third Edition), he explains from his study of healthy, well-balanced and content (self actualised) people, what their main traits are.

As one of the most influential philosophers of the twentieth century - and one of few academics who cared passionately about the wellbeing of people - Abraham Maslow tells us how meeting our fundamental needs such as safety and belonging provides the foundation for higher-level personal development and growth. He saw this as a fundamental human right and continued to develop and evolve his theory throughout his life to provide guidance on how we can best fulfil human potential.

What is Maslow's Hierarch of Needs?

It doesn't hurt to go over this again because it's fundamental knowledge that continues to stand the test of time. The five levels of needs are:

1. Physiological Needs - biological for human survival such as air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, sleep and homeostasis.
2. Safety Needs - consistency, predictability, order and control including health, financial security and freedom from harm. 
3. Love and Belongingness Needs - social connection, friendships, family bonds, romantic relationships and acceptance
4. Esteem Needs - self-respect, personal achievement and recognition and respect from others
5. Self-actualisation Needs - pursuit of realising your potential through personal growth, creativity and/or achieving meaningful goals or, as Maslow put it, the desire to become everything one is capable of becoming.

Even though we are all, theoretically, capable of self-actualising, the general consensus (or programming) is that most of us will not do so, or only to a limited degree. In 1970, Maslow estimated that only 2 percent of people would reach the state of self-actualisation and I think he would be pleasantly surprised to know that there are more of us doing this now than ever before.

What is self actualisation?

When I discovered Abraham Maslow's attributes of self-actualised people, I soon realised how many of them align with those of a dedicated Sole Trader and what it takes to be one.

The following closely match what it means to be a free and sovereign independent trader. There is a shorter list in the next section to summarise what I am calling the Archetype of a Sole Trader which may be helpful. See how many of the following qualities resonate or relate to you:

• holistic way of thinking and seeing
• flexible and can adapt realistically to any people, any environment
• capable of gratitude with a genuine desire to help the human race
• life remains precious and never goes stale
• perfectly imperfect with no time for unreal perfectionism
• miracles remain miracles even as they occur again and again
• largely satisfied with safety and basic needs
• feels self-confident, capable, adequate and useful
• primarily moivated by a need to develop and actualise fullest potential and capabilities
• extremely individual and healthily selfish while being extremely compassionate and altruistic
• a need for knowledge, for understanding, for a life philosophy and theoretical frame of reference
• a need for value and a value system with a sharp distinction between selfishness and unselfishness
• self acceptance, spontaneity, naturalness, authenticity, gratificaton awareness and self choice
• ability for self control, delayed pleasure, politeness and causing no harm
• criticism not seen as an attack or a rejection, rather an opportunity to learn or improve
• independent of the approval or disapproval of others
• ability to detect the spurious, the fake, the dishonest, judges people correctly and efficiently
• acceptance of their own nature without chagrin or complaint
• lack of unnecessary or unrealistic guilt
• goes through the ritual of convention with a good-humoured shrug and with the best possible grace
• always on a mission to do something, complete a task or solve a problem
• lives according to the widest possible frame of reference and within a broad but not petty framework of values
• positively enjoys solitude and privacy, sleeps soundly, undisturbed by appetite
• makes up own mind, comes to own decisions, creates own style
• self starter who takes responsibility for themselves and enjoys helping others
• strong sense of right and wrong, of good and evil
• strongly ethical with definite moral standards, driven to do right and cause no harm
• prefers to live as an active, responsible, self disciplined deciding-agent rather than a pawn

I am sure you were able to nod to most of the traits above. Some may be a bit far reaching but I think we can agree that they are good things to aspire to if we all want to live peaceably together. Something you can refer to if you feel like a boost.

What is the Sole Trader Archetype?

From the attributes mentioned above, I summarised a definitive list of attributes that make up the Sole Trader Archetype in the most general of terms. I hope this will help you to recognise yourself as the exceptional human being you are and perhaps use some of these qualities - as they refer to you - to include in your professional bio and other content.

S for Service - to serve is something you were born to do

O for Originality - there is only one of you and what you do is unique

L for Love - the currency of the Universe and your source of all creativity

E for Energy - when you radiate a high frequency you attract others towards you

T for Truth - every good relationship depends on trust - you keep your promises

R for Rationality - a calm and reasoned approach is the secret to lasting success

A for Attitude - having good intentions and being positively motivated matters to you

D for Determination - when the going gets tough, you don't give up - you keep going

E for Empathy - you know that a world without compassion is a world without joy

R for Responsibility - you want to be in control of your own life and build for the future

Remember that as the world becomes more remote, these qualities and values will become more highly sought after as you continue to find people willing and able to pay for your integrity, knowledge, skills and personal service.

What does this mean for you?

When you recognise that the qualities and attributes mentioned above (which you may take for granted) are demonstrated only by psychologically healthy, self actualised people, you know that you represent a very small percentage of people.

It means is that you have a lot to offer and simply by taking the leap to be a Sole Trader, you are a natural self-starter and a self-motivator which deserves recognition and respect. You are part of an entire sector of 4.1 million people (and many more working under the radar) who value your freedom to live as a sovereign human being.

I hope that you take heart that even if you are struggling right now or not sure of your your future direction, you are already way ahead of the game. In terms of next steps, I will  continue to post ideas and guidance here, and perhaps have the opportunity to work with you if you want to contact me.

You can use the list above to identify areas you might want to develop to boost your confidence and to realise that you are already one of a kind exactly as you are. Your personality, motivation and service are always needed and much appreciated.

I hope this has been helpful and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Sue Cartwright AInstAM

Sole Trader Services

Buy the Book

Motivation and Personality (Third Edition) by Abraham Maslow - this book is out of print but you can search for it online on second hand bookshops such as Abe Books (delivery to the British Isles) and World of Books - no affiliations.