Esteem Needs: Becoming Rich, Famous and Powerful

Take a look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The one step before you reach self-actualization is the Esteem needs. I would like to focus on it in this blog post. Three desires or needs to become Rich (financial strength, freedom), Famous (recognition) and Powerful (respect, status) shape your self-esteem.

 

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

It does not matter which part of the world you belong to or what your religion is or whether you are young or old, if you are a human being, you are driven by the desire of becoming “rich, famous and powerful”. Definition of becoming rich is gathering more wealth than you currently possess (and not to become wealthiest person of the world). Similarly, becoming famous can be known well in your own circles. Becoming powerful would mean expanding your control and influence beyond your own family and community to bigger span of things.

There are few who work on all three desires simultaneously. But there are many who would prioritize one among these three and you can easily spot them by the professions they choose. Those who chose to be wealthy (over fame and power) are likely to be found in business or trade. Those who want to be famous first are attracted to movie industry or sports. Those who prefer power, you will see them in key Govt jobs, politics or in the dreaded underworld.

You can say this theory is rubbish. But read little further before you conclude. Hippies who wander throughout the world do not want to conform to anything. They don’t want to become someone or something. When people started asking the reasons for this behavior, one hippie gave such a pleasing response, people started listening to him and he was sought after. He started becoming rich, famous and influential. See, that is what he wanted to avoid in the first place. Though he appeared rebel in the beginning, becoming rich or famous was driving him unconsciously. Better acknowledge these desires before they express themselves.

No matter where you start, your inclination towards these desires lets you pick relevant skills on the go. Manipulating people or situations becomes your natural part if you are power hungry and similarly you would know how to impress people if you wanted to become famous. And you would not leave money on the table and make best use of opportunities if you wanted to become wealthy. These characters will become part of your personality. You can see the same things from opposite angle too. If you had to lose money you would be a lot stressed if your root desire is to become wealthy. Losing your reputation would give you sleepless nights if you wanted to be famous and losing the position would drive you nuts if you are power oriented. These root desires will give you immense satisfaction when you achieve them and can cause great stress when challenged. 

These desires impact everyone. They let scientists make better inventions, sportsmen break older records, politicians solve societal issues. Scratch the surface of any person, you are sure to see them. With efforts, you will clearly identify the motivating factors of everyone around you (including yourself). They need to be transcended before you reach the final stage of self-actualization as defined by Maslow. This would roughly translate into becoming a spiritual being in another parlance.