Dr. Jordan Peterson has had a rough couple of years. He fell into a pill addiction that led him to an experimental solution in Russia. This ended up with Peterson in a coma. His wife has endured cancer during this time and, Peterson has faced intense backlash and criticism. Yet amongst his fans, Peterson remains one of the most sought after intellectuals and he has successfully launched another book, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules For Life. Our review is more about the reasons why we love all things Peterson and why you should consider this book, or at least start on the previous book.
-Peterson is all about bringing order to the chaos of life. This is something nearly all of us can relate to and learn from.
-Another theme of Peterson is personal responsibility. Owning your life, your problems. This is where the catchphrase “Clean your room” comes from.
-In his previous book, 12 Rules for Life, Peterson breaks down 12 simple yet complex rules to try and live by. All with a different theme yet following the same pattern of order and responsibility.
-While Peterson has strong opinions, in reality his is a very open minded intellectual. He is always willing to listen to other perspectives and often ends up being an advocate for some people and things that would seemingly be on the opposite side of the spectrum.
-He understands pain and chaos and is a real person with real problems. His family has felt pain through vast medical issues with him, his wife and his daughter. Peterson has reached rock bottom and come back. This gives him and his new book a very relatable and strong perspective.
-Peterson is not anti-religion and often, advocates for the sense of community that many get from organized religion. This differentiates him in many ways from other intellectuals.
-In his newest book, Peterson opens up deeply about many more emotionally relatable issues than before. He tackles romantic relationships, arrogance, suffering, gratitude. hate and even old memories.
-Peterson tends to roll in circles we respect and have interest in. Rogan, Brett Weinstein, Sam Harris, Gad Saad and even LA comedians like Theo Von.
-We do not find Peterson preachy, rather we see him as an educator and an advocate. He never claims to be the end all for knowledge and particularly as of late, he pushes for those who need it to find additional help in their community or through others. Peterson genuinely seems like a person tormented by trying to uncover ways to see his own way through life’s chaos and suffering and in doing so, educating the rest of us.
-His current book and his most popular prior work, 12 Rules for Life are easy to follow in terms of the messages they try to convey. Each chapter has an overlying message that is clear and concise. The books are deep and intellectually driven but, they are also easily understood at their core.
-He has sold more than 5 million copies of his previous book, had hundreds of millions of views of his online videos and toured the globe speaking. He has changed lives and continues to try and do more despite his own personal struggles.
-We feel he is authentic. When you listed to Peterson get emotional during podcasts, you can hear the pain and struggle in his voice. You can understand he is a man with deep thought who deeply cares to understand more about life and help all of us to bring order and meaning to it. His own personal struggles make him more human and more authentic as it shows even the teacher is susceptible to the chaos and suffering of life.
-Read our Featured Alpha on Peterson here