Published 2020 · TarcherPerigee
Transcend
The New Science of Self-Actualization
A bold reimagining of Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs — and new insights for realizing your full potential and living your most creative, fulfilled, and connected life.
About the book
Maslow 2.0 — reimagined for the 21st century
When psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman first discovered Maslow's unfinished theory of transcendence — sprinkled throughout a cache of unpublished journals, lectures, and essays — he felt a deep resonance with his own work and life.
In this groundbreaking book, Kaufman picks up where Maslow left off, unraveling the mysteries of his unfinished theory, and integrating these ideas with the latest research on attachment, connection, creativity, love, purpose, and other building blocks of a life well lived.
What you'll find inside
A roadmap for becoming
Kaufman's new hierarchy of needs provides a roadmap for finding purpose and fulfillment — not by striving for money, success, or "happiness," but by becoming the best version of ourselves, or what Maslow called self-actualization.
With never-before-published insights and new research findings, along with exercises for gaining insight into your own unique personality, this empowering book is a manual for self-analysis and nurturing a deeper connection not only with our highest potential, but also with the rest of humanity.
Inside Transcend
The architecture of a fully human life
Part I
Security — The Hull
Safety, connection, and self-esteem: the three needs that form the foundation of the sailboat. With holes in your hull, you can't go anywhere.
Part II
Growth — The Sail
Exploration, love, and purpose: the growth needs that propel us forward. Growth is a direction, not a destination.
Part III
The Whole Person
How security and growth integrate into a harmonious whole — and what it truly means to be fully human in the 21st century.
Part IV
Transcendence
The emergent phenomenon that arises when we stop seeking it — unity with others, with the world, and with the best of what humanity is capable of.
What readers are saying
Praise for Transcend
"What a masterpiece! Maslow 2.0 — a must-read for anyone who wants to understand what Maslow meant by self-transcendence. Part biography, part treatise, part how-to guide. I loved it!"
Angela Duckworth — Author of Grit
"This is the book we've all been waiting for — nothing less than a breathtaking new psychology of humanity. Kaufman will show you how to live your life to the fullest, and in the service of others — all at the same time."
Susan Cain — Author of Quiet
"This is one of the best books on human potential I've ever read. Transcend is a compass for a life well lived."
Robert Greene — Author of The Laws of Human Nature
"Scott Barry Kaufman is one of my favorite thinkers about the psychology of getting better and growing as a person."
Ryan Holiday — Author of Stillness Is the Key
"Transcend is wonderful — a brilliant assemblage of our current understanding of psychological well-being."
Mark Manson — Author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck
"Kaufman is the new generation's leading voice in humanistic psychology, a modern-day Abraham Maslow."
Emily Esfahani Smith — Author of The Power of Meaning
Get the book
Begin your journey
Available everywhere books are sold. Paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook.