About the book
Clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson offers twelve rules for living, each explained in its own chapter-length essay that draws on psychology, mythology, religion, ethical principles and personal anecdote. The rules range from standing up straight with shoulders back to telling the truth, pursuing what is meaningful rather than what is expedient, and petting a cat met on the street. Peterson argues that suffering is part of existence and that people should face it and seek meaning rather than happiness, using the nervous system of the lobster to illustrate how social hierarchies form. The project grew from his answer to a Quora question, which first listed 42 rules, and the book has sold more than ten million copies worldwide.
Marc Andreessen described it as a bracing teardown and rebuilding of a theory of individual progress, worth comparing with The Courage To Be Disliked. James Altucher included it in an article recommending five books for self-improvement and pointed to its table of contents.
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This book has 2 recommendations
James Altucher (Entrepreneur, investor)
Just look at the table of contents:
- Rule 1: Stand up straight with your shoulders back
- Rule 2: Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
- Rule 3: Make friends with people who want the best for you
- Rule 4: Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
- Rule 5: Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
- Rule 6: Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world
- Rule 7: Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
- Rule 8: Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie
- Rule 9: Assume the person you are listening to might know something you don’t
- Rule 10: Be precise in your speech
- Rule 11: Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
- Rule 12: Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street
Read this book.
Marc Andreessen (Co-Founder/Andreessen Horowitz)
A bracing disassembly and reconstruction of a theory of individual progress in the modern world. Fascinating compare and contrast with The Courage To Be Disliked.
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- The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves by Matt Ridley (2 shared recommenders)
- Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (2 shared recommenders)