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12 Rules for Life

By: Jordan B. Peterson
Narrated by: Jordan B. Peterson
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

The number one Sunday Times and Audible best seller from 'the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now' (New York Times) - read by the man himself.

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 12 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.

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

What listeners say about 12 Rules for Life

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Boring, religious content not openly disclosed.

Bought this given the high number of downloads and high ratings. I've listened to a couple hours and - honestly - have rarely been so bored reading/listening to a book. Plus, about an hour in Peterson mentions "Mathew 25.10" or such religious reference. That was interesting and relevant, but then he makes another reference to a religious text (bible or book of something or other), and I thought oh no, not another religious reference. Since then, the whole tone and text is a religious reference to Adam & Eve, the significance of the snake, and apple tree, god this and Jesus that. It turns out - as far as I can tell, suffering it - that it's a Sunday morning sermon, and equally as electrifying. I wasted my money on this turkey, and will request a swap. It should clearly be marked for its high religious content and references - not what I thought I was buying at all.

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Fascinating Read

Psychologist and controversial public figure, Jordan B. Peterson, undertakes his first serious attempt to distill his ideas about life into a book for a general audience. Although, perhaps not one for the typical audience of such books. Jordan's various essays are fascinating, lengthy--and at times wandering--discussions of what it means to be human and how to live in this world we inhabit. The explanations for his suggested 'rules' are not for your typical Oprah Book Club reader longing for simple answers, and dumbed-down explanations. There is no woo-woo or hoo-rah here. Instead, Peterson draws particularly on a unique combination of Jungian psychology and Darwinian evolution to explain how he believes the world works, and what that may mean for each of us as we move through life.
This is an unusual work, unlike other popular psychology books I've read, for it presents an engrossing and intellectually fascinating take on the modern human condition, rather than just offering a few anecdotal (or researched but overly-simplified) quick fix ideas. There is no concessions to pandering here, and the explanations he provides are at times uncomfortable for they strip away some of the masques we wear and facades we build around our humanity. What is beneath is not always pretty, but evidently is a side of our humanity Peterson believes we each ought to confront, for it is the healthy assimilation of these elements into the psyche that allows us to move courageously in the turbulent, chaotic world. We must each embrace the chaos within, should we wish to confront it in the world. This book is Peterson's attempt to show us how it's done.

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Great advice but a little long-winded at times.

I really appreciated a lot of the advice and I really respect Jordan Peterson. Most of the chapters start off strong with personal and clinical anecdotes, only to be followed by 30 minutes of biblical studies... As someone who isnt religious and grew up in a non-religous home, in a mostly non-religous country, it became a little much. I can appreciate some of these christian references and enjoy exploring their ideas. But it wasn't long before I'd find myself lost in thought rather than listening as the point had already been made prior to the bible being pulled out.

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“To say anything is to say nothing at all”

He mentions in his book something along the lines of “to say anything is to say nothing at all” with regards to the level of pain his daughter experienced.

In the same spirit of that line....
October before last, my fiancé at the time and myself listened to one of Jordan’s lectures/podcasts relating to having kids on the drive down the coast to our wedding.
We’d been together for 10 years before we were married and had planned not to have kids.
After listening, we decided “if it happens on the honeymoon it happens, if not, back to our careers”.
We’ll it happened so thanks to this guy my new wife and I now have a 6 month old son who we love more than we knew possible.

This humble carpenter attempting to find the words to express gratitude for the difference made in my life by a stranger I’ll never meet, on the other side of the globe, wouldn’t do it justice.

To say that I am grateful is “almost to say nothing at all”.

For both the inspiration and now the instruction manual, my new family and I thanks you.

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Is he a clinical psychologist, or a Priest?

I bought this book due to the increasing hype around Jordan. Disappointingly, It's just that; a hype.

I could relate to and confirm that the advice he gives, as a parent and psychologist, on chapters concerning children are very good as this is my professional field and I did refer some parents to the specific chapters.

I am, though, poorly disappointed at the amount of, rather lack of, evidence which comes in the form of Bible literature. He is a psychologist yet, this book seems to have been written by a priest.

3 of 12 chapters seemed well. Was told in a mostly entertaining & easy to absorb manner.

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Contains timeless answers to life’s timeless questions

I rank this amongst the top 10 most important books in my life. I wish it was written years ago, since its timeless wisdom is useful in every phase of life.

Peterson is the first author who offers credible answers to the nihilistic questions that tend to creep into every critical mind: why bother when life is unpredictable, unfair and short? Why get out of bed when all your work can be undone by one drunk driver? Why have children that are destined to suffer, sometimes immeasurably?

Please pick this one up. If it doesn’t bring you the value it did to millions already, at least you’ll know what the fuss is all about.

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Couldn’t finish it

Some good tips but way too in depth and far too much talk about Christianity and bible stories.

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Some good advice saturated in misogyny

When I first started listening I thought this book was great. But as it progressed it got a bit nuttier. Talk of Chaos and Order being male and female. And a lot of Adam and Eve being the reason the two sexes are go they are. References to the best women being the beautiful women, whose the best men are the intellectual ones. Talk about how people don't take care of themselves because they have guilt about being sinful creatures made in the image of God, but not as good as God himself....List goes on. If you want to read a good self help books pick something else. I'd you want to read the ramblings of someone trying to dress up their religious and sexist views and scientific this is the book for you.

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This book will shatter you into a million pieces

everything you thought you knew will be shattered
you will be ripped apart and scattered
and also put back together and made whole

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I got half way in and just wasn’t for me.

Good snippets here and there.
Just wasn’t for me. Too much dogma and religious overtones.
It’s just my opinion of course.

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  • Jarrod
  • 16-01-2018

Easily accessible wisdom

Jordan Peterson presents a refreshing voice of wisdom in a crowd of shrill hysteria and politically correct drivel. I was impressed with the combination of common sense advice and surprising insights. There is lots to learn here. If you’re looking for a blueprint for a life well lived, you’ve come to the right place.

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  • M MENGEL
  • 01-02-2018

Lit

A candle has been lit in the world to keep the dark at bay.

I’m in awe of Jordan’s capacity to ignore the nonsense hurled at him, and still speak with a white hot passion to help people. It humbles and makes you want to emulate.

Twelve simple rules that get into your subconscious so quickly it feels like they were always there.

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  • Oliver
  • 18-01-2018

Deep and enjoyable experience

Peterson goes all in in his effort to lay out his philosophy in a form that resonates on many levels of analysis. The book is simultaneously a compelling map of reality, guide to a balanced and meaningful life, and a deep defence of Western culture, Christian values and healthy masculinity, which are all currently under attack. I think this book is not just an insightful thought provoker, but also a healthy vaccination against dangerous ideological viruses which are unleashed in the modern world.

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  • Sebastian
  • 11-07-2018

Overrated

Not the new bible on how to live your life. It's all over the place even making it hard to remember the rules themselves. Struggled to finish and found my mind to wander.

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  • Melody
  • 27-03-2018

most disappointing auidible book to date

I have been a member of audible for 10 years and this was my worst book to date.

I found the principles as statements to be interesting. But the rationales provided to support the principles incoherent, deeply conservative and somewhat random... i skipped several chapters for two reasons. First the book should be positioned as a defensive of conservative christian principles from an abstract perspective. This was not clear from the reviews. Despite the appearances of asking questions about the status quo, It is not multidisplinary or open minded. As a female non-christian I was rolling my eyes at several points.

Second, the extensive overuse of hypothetical questions makes it hard to follow an arguement.... leaving me wondering how the author came to his conclusions.

If there is an abridged version buy that. the principles are really interesting and worth considering, but the ramblings in between are not worth it

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  • pezet
  • 26-02-2018

heading

50% of Christian bs, 20% of coaching, 20% of philosophy and 10% of interesting stuff :(
some words to reach fifteen words limit.

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  • Srikumar
  • 29-01-2018

Went off on a tangent

Found myself rewinding every now and then because I seem to miss the point. Then realised he was on a rant that just didn't make sense. Amazon's return program for Audiobooks saves the day.

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  • Martin
  • 20-02-2018

Life-changing in every sense of the word

This book has brought me joy, laughter and also tears, grief and profound sadness. Through the wisdom of ancient texts and personal anecdotes, doctor Peterson gave me courage to face my fear of responsibility, take my place in the world and improve the lives of those around me. The performance is deeply personal and precise as is the case with other Peterson's material. I hope I will return to this book for strength and inspiration whenever I need them most.

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  • hao
  • 05-09-2019

Too much bible talk

Disappointed to see this book turned into a full-on bible study from chapter 6. Dr.Peterson introduced himself as a psychologist and a scientist, but I see little reasoning with genuine scientific knowledge instead this book is mostly about Dr.Peterson’s personal interpretation of the bible. He often ran off the topic and spend hours to praise and interpret Christianity, he also consistently to refer to the bible and not actual evidences to make his case, which significantly lowered his credibility.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 06-03-2018

Tedious God bothering none sense

An utterly pointless audio that teaches and advises nothing regarding an antidote or any rules for life. I was hoping for some genuine and interesting insights into life but was left rolling my eyes thinking ‘oh FFS!!’ with everything biblical analogy...and there are many! Be warned... my fault for not doing further research into Peterson....worst audiobook I’ve listened to...zzzzzzzz...God botherers may enjoy it...

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  • James Cartwright
  • 06-02-2018

Should come with warning - Contains Religion

I have nothing against religion and Christianity - I infrequently attend church.

However, I expect logical reasoning in books such as these to be predicated on science and rational argument.

In large parts of this book Peterson reads from long sections of the Bible and theologises for longer still.

It is in these sections that his delivery resembles a lay preacher not a professor of science.

A shame because the moral lessons do not require this religiosity- they are logical without faith.

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  • Mr. Leigh Riley
  • 17-01-2020

Hours of the guy banging on about religion, basically

Not what I expected, he turns to religion time and time again, as a “non-believer” it was tiresome and unhelpful.

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  • Dave
  • 16-03-2018

It was great until...

I was really looking forward to a meaty ‘question yourself and your life’ type of book, the author started the first chapter with wonderful and insightful psychological arguments...then he mentioned Jesus?
I thought this strange, but carried on the the next chapter, again, with some fantastic insights into humanism ...then it happened again...the bible??
I started seeing a pattern, by chapter 7 it was a full on bible lesson...which is when I called it a day.
A real shame as I thought his initial rules and thoughts were great, it just turned into a sermon.

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  • Berkan Sesen
  • 03-09-2019

Long-winded and

very hard to understand the almost impeccable rating this book has gathered on Audible. I have returned the book after reading the first two chapters. Especially chapter 2 was badly written in my opinion. There are a lot of anectodes (quite often religious) and musings throughout both chapters which digress enormously from the topic (the rule) of the chapter; and the tying up of everything and coming full circle at the end is done hastily and not in a well written way.The narrative performance is also limited as is the case IMHO with most self-narrated audio books.

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  • Reader
  • 17-02-2018

Disappointing

I was disappointed in this book as I didn't get any sense of genuine insight. Some interesting things but a lot of truisms. Finishing it, I felt i had wasted my time, though i suspect that I did get something out of it. Overall, however, I couldn't recommend it. At nearly 16 hours way too long to communicate its various messages, with the result that I was left with the feeling that whatever was worthwhile in the book had become lost in the telling.

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  • Barry Williams
  • 15-02-2018

Preachy, sanctimonious....

...and takes an age getting to the point. The author has a voice that grates - especially when explaining his holier than though examples. Also, be prepared for bible referencing, lots of biblical lessons! This is the only book that I have never finished!

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 16-06-2018

Terrible. Couldn't finish

Really thought I would enjoy this book especially after seeing so many good reviews but I only got 6 chapters in and couldn't bring myself to struggle through it anymore. The author just rambles on and I felt like I was just listening to stories about the Bible or parenting skills. Not for me.

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  • Mr Harper
  • 26-09-2018

Loved it, changed my life immeasurably!

This book has genuinely changed my life, I stand up tall, I look people in the eye, I'm combative when need be. I would recommend this to anyone. My anxiety is gone. And the world is respecting me which has lead to a positive feedback loop of happiness.

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  • Paula Bellis
  • 08-04-2020

Long-winded, boring and a waste of a credit

I don't class myself as someone who finds it difficult to grasp ideas or understand 'big words', but this book is extreme. I love audio books and can consume a good one in a couple of days but this dragged on and I found it a chore to listen to. There didn't seem much of a point to the lengthy waffle and I took nothing from it at all. I only got a couple of chapters in and found myself fast-forwarding through large chunks out of boredom and lack of understanding. The narrator's voice (the author, I think?) was very dull and monotone and had no passion for the content at all. I wish I could get a refund as it was a waste of 1 credit.

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  • Lee miles
  • 04-11-2019

Definitely worth a listen

Every rule makes sense. I'm a firm believer that if you learn just one thing then the book was worth a read. Well I learned 100 things.
Very religious heavy in some points which is not my flavour but is not used irrelevantly.
Full on enthusiastic delivery by Peterson. And if you open your ears you can persuade yourself its Saul Goodman.

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