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The cover of 12 Rules for Life

12 Rules for Life

Jordan B. Peterson, 2018

Life is suffering, and happiness is the wrong aim. Twelve practical rules for shouldering responsibility, telling the truth and finding meaning on the border between order and chaos.

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14 parts, about 28 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Grounds its rules in stories from the author's clinical practice, his own family and the Bible rather than a bare list of advice
  • Uses lobsters and dominance hierarchies to argue that posture and taking responsibility shape both your confidence and how others treat you
  • Sets meaning, honest speech and responsibility above happiness, placing a good life on the border between order and chaos

Who it is for

  • Readers searching for meaning beyond happiness
  • Parents deciding how firmly to discipline their children
  • People weighing which friends and habits help them grow

What the summary covers

  1. Overture: Meaning on the Border of Order and Chaos2 min
  2. Rule 1: Stand Up Straight with Your Shoulders Back2 min
  3. Rule 2: Treat Yourself Like Someone You Are Responsible for Helping2 min
  4. Rule 3: Make Friends with People Who Want the Best for You2 min
  5. Rule 4: Compare Yourself to Who You Were Yesterday, Not to Who Someone Else Is Today2 min
  6. Rule 5: Do Not Let Your Children Do Anything That Makes You Dislike Them2 min
  7. Rule 6: Set Your House in Perfect Order Before You Criticize the World2 min
  8. Rule 7: Pursue What Is Meaningful (Not What Is Expedient)3 min
  9. Rule 8: Tell the Truth, or, at Least, Don't Lie2 min
  10. Rule 9: Assume That the Person You Are Listening to Might Know Something You Don't2 min
  11. Rule 10: Be Precise in Your Speech2 min
  12. Rule 11: Do Not Bother Children When They Are Skateboarding2 min
  13. Rule 12: Pet a Cat When You Encounter One on the Street2 min
  14. Coda: What Shall I Do with My Newfound Pen of Light?1 min

Recommended by

  • Malcolm GladwellJournalist and author of Blink
    A wonderful psychologist
  • Camille PagliaCultural critic and professor, author of Sexual Personae
    The most important and influential Canadian thinker since Marshall McLuhan. His bold synthesis of psychology, anthropology, science, politics and comparative religion is forming a genuinely humanistic university of the future
  • Chris EvansBritish radio and television presenter
    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
  • Howard BloomAuthor of The Lucifer Principle
    12 Rules for Life hits home - from identifying the deeply engrained hierarchical ladder that motivates our decision making to asking indispensable and sometimes politically unpopular questions about your life and suggesting ways to better it
  • Gina MillerInvestment manager and campaigner
    Anyone who is in a position of leadership would find it very insightful ... Jordan Peterson is a profound writer

About the author

  • Jordan B. PetersonCanadian psychologist, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto
    • Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, author, psychologist and online educator
    • Born 12 June 1962 in Edmonton, Alberta
    • Raised in northern Alberta
    • Completed a BA in political science at the University of Alberta in 1982
    • Earned a second BA, in psychology, at the University of Alberta in 1984
    • Earned a PhD in clinical psychology at McGill University in 1991 under Robert O. Pihl
    • Taught and did research at Harvard University from 1993 to 1998 as an assistant professor of psychology
    • Taught for twenty years at Harvard and the University of Toronto

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