PEAK, 2nd Edition

Chapter FifteenCreating a Self-Actualized Life

We fear our highest possibilities. We are generally afraid to become that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments, under conditions of great courage. We enjoy and even thrill to the godlike possibilities we see in ourselves in such peak moments. And yet we simultaneously shiver with weakness, awe, and fear before these very same possibilities. Obviously the most beautiful fate, the most wonderful good fortune that can happen to any human being, is to be paid for doing that which he passionately loves to do.

Abraham Maslow¹

Peter Drucker once wrote, “We know nothing about motivation. All we can do is write books about it.” While I'm a huge fan of Drucker and his legacy of leadership wisdom, I beg to differ with him on this point.

I think most of us have a clue about what motivates and inspires ourselves and others. Yet, while we may understand the various pieces of motivational theory, I'm not sure we've had a proper container—a global framework—to help integrate and make use of what we intuitively know. My hope is that this book provides an operating model that you and the leaders in your company can use to do a little consciousness-raising. The Relationship Truths Pyramid can help you converse about the underlying motivations of your employees, customers, and investors.

Abe Maslow believed that a self-actualized workplace could make a better world. I believe that creating a fulfilled workplace is a meaningful way of giving ...