The essence
From cave to market is a natural step. Once people lived together in built spaces, exchange appeared: goods, services, energy. Cities are caves stacked on top of each other, and markets are what hold them up.
Market people are urban by nature, part of the hardscape. They need to be where the work is buzzing: trade, negotiation, productivity. The classic image is the family shop with the counter in front and the living quarters behind. Today's market also includes the internet, where you can trade from anywhere.
This theme is closely tied to resources. For a market person, taking part in the material process isn't a distraction from life, it is their life. In the right environment it's easier to earn and to have what's needed to look after the body.
Left orientation — Internal
A left arrow means an active environment. An Internal market brings the business home. This person does well working from home, seeing clients in their own space, turning where they live into a workshop, office or studio. They don't go to the market; the market comes to them. Working from home isn't a compromise for them, it's the natural format.
Right orientation — External
A right arrow means a receptive environment. An External market needs to be out there in the middle of it: a busy street, a business district, above the shop or right next to it. The person takes in the rhythm of the city, sees what's going on and is fed by the atmosphere of exchange itself. Quiet and distance from the action don't help them.
How to apply it
- Look at where exchange actually happens for you: at home or out in the city.
- If Internal, set up a real workspace at home and room to receive people.
- If External, choose home and work close to commercial life: coworking spaces, markets, streets with movement.
- When you feel flat, spend time near the hum of business and notice how you respond.
The trap
Many market people say they've always wanted to live in the countryside. That's the familiar dream of the mind for the opposite. Another trap is feeling embarrassed by their bond with money and trade, as if it were something lowly. For this color, being outside the market means being out of place. And one more: the real choice of place is made by authority, not by the idea that you have to be where the money is.