New state standards of higher education provide for the implementation of the universal competence "the ability to manage their time, build and implement the trajectory of self-development based on the principles of education throughout life." This determines the need to use an extensive toolkit that allows students to instill knowledge and skills that contribute to the maximum disclosure and use of the potential of the individual. The aforesaid is of particular relevance in relation to students studying in the service areas of training, since the service sector is the most dynamically developing sector of the modern economy. The aim of the work is to study the motivation of students to maximize the use and development of their potential, identifying weak points and justify approaches to their elimination. The theoretical basis of the study was the works of the founders of humanistic psychology K. Rogers and A. Maslow. To identify the distinct manifestation of traits of the self-actualizing personality in students, we used the diagnostic test by A.V. Lazukin, in N.F. Viburnum’s adaptation. The study involved the students of the Moscow State Regional University and Bratsk State University. In the sample as a whole, the maximum value was identified on the “value” scale, which indicates a fairly high level of acceptance by students of the values of a self-actualizing person. Sufficiently high marks on the “desire for creativity” scale demonstrate good opportunities for students to realize their creative potential. Among the negative factors identified during the study one should attribute the lack of a significant part of students of a positive view of human nature, a low level of spontaneity and communicative competence. This circumstance enters into a deep contradiction with the requirements of professional training of service specialists and does not contribute to strengthening the competitive positions of graduates in the services market. The peculiarities of the manifestation of the traits of a self-actualizing personality, identified in the course of the study,  make it possible to identify the main vectors of pedagogical efforts to increase the motivation of students to maximize the use and development of their creative potential.