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12 Rules for Life

An Antidote to Chaos

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12 Rules for Life

By: Jordan B. Peterson
Narrated by: Jordan B. Peterson
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Brought to you by Penguin.

#1 Sunday Times Bestseller

How should we live properly in a world of chaos and uncertainty?

Jordan Peterson has helped millions of people, young and old, men and women, aim at a life of responsibility and meaning. Now he can help you.

Drawing on his own work as a clinical psychologist and on lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories, Peterson offers twelve profound and realistic principles to live by. After all, as he reminds us, we each have a vital role to play in the unfolding destiny of the world.

Deep, rewarding and enlightening, 12 Rules for Life is a lifeboat built solidly for stormy seas: ancient wisdom applied to our contemporary problems.

'The most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now.' New York Times

'Genuinely extraordinary...unmatched by any other modern thinker...A prophet for our times.' Daily Mail

'One of the most eclectic and stimulating public intellectuals at large today, fearless and impassioned.' Guardian

©2018 Jordan B. Peterson (P)2018 Penguin Audio

 Personal Development Personal Success Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Society Stress Management Inspiring Thought-Provoking Funny Feel Better Feel-Good
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Critic reviews

Genuinely extraordinary... Unmatched by any other modern thinker ... A prophet for our times (Dominic Sandbrook)
The most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now
Everyone must read 12 Rules For Life... The most enlightening book I have read in ages. Google him if you like, if it makes you feel better. It will, by the way. But get the book, that is the most important thing. And then read it. And then pass it on to a friend (Chris Evans)
In a different intellectual league... Peterson can take the most difficult ideas and make them entertaining. This may be why his YouTube videos have had 35m views. He is fast becoming the closest that academia has to a rock star
Charismatic and exceptionally articulate.... Peterson is a new kind of public intellectual, using YouTube to spread ideas infinitely wider than predecessors such as Bertrand Russell or Isaiah Berlin (Amol Rajan)
Anyone who is in a position of leadership would find it very insightful ... Jordan Peterson is a profound writer (Gina Miller)
It is that rare thing: self-help that might actually be helpful
Fascinating ... Peterson is brilliant on many subjects (Bryan Appleyard)
One of the most eclectic and stimulating public intellectuals at large today, fearless and impassioned (Matthew d'Ancona)
Profound, charismatic and serious... One of the most important thinkers to emerge on the world stage for many years (Tim Lott)
All stars
Most relevant
Although I get that is not the point of reciting religious stories entirely, a bit much.

Very religious

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So much wisdom held within in each chapter I know I'm to be able to enjoy this book again and again.

brilliant

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I cried when I finished this book, I wish there was more to listen to!

Helped me...changed my life

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Would you listen to 12 Rules for Life again? Why?

Although Peterson has become somewhat of an icon of the alt right, I believe the message of this book is a compassionate one. Not least, showing compassion to oneself. He is often described as a devout Christian, but there is nothing in this book that makes me think he believes in a God of any kind. He certainly thinks Christian codes are valuable foundations for a good life and that the stories of the old and new testaments contain distilled wisdom of the ancients about human nature, but I do not believe he sees them as any more than allegorical texts created by humans. I found his biblical analysis hard going at first and it appears that some listeners are put off quite early on by it, but after a bit of work, I thought it was interesting. The Satan and Christ figures of the bible are simply expressions of our best and worst natures. His view is that our capacity to do horrific things to each other and to other species is unparalleled (his detailed analysis of industrial animal farming has it as perhaps the greatest moral crime in world history). The work of our lives then should be to resist our inner Satan and do the most good possible.
In addition to his bible study, he calls heavily on the work of Carl Jung, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy to make sense of what it is to be human. I enjoyed the breadth of learning in the book and to those who accuse him of being “the stupid person’s smart person”, I think a lot of that sentiment comes down to jealousy of his success. In addition to compassion (heart-breakingly illustrated by the story of his young daughter’s erosive arthritis), he promotes self-reliance. I think this is part of the reason why he is criticized by the left. He admits that anyone reading his book is likely to be a person of privilege, by dint of the fact that they can afford to buy it and that they can read. His self-reliance is not to the detriment of others though, quite the opposite.
I don't agree with everything that Peterson says and of course some of his biblical analysis is highly selective, as is always the case when people want to obtain something from a religious text, but overall I thought this was a very profound look at what it is to be human and I will listen to it again. His beautiful narrative voice added to the enjoyment of the audio book.

A sometimes strange but compelling brew

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Thank you for your honesty and bravery Jordan B Peterson. A voice in the winter where even snow is afraid to call itself cold.

a light in the nighttime of my soul thankyou

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