Eight Lessons From Dr. Jordan Peterson
I learned a lot from Dr. Jordan Peterson last year.
I must have spent over 100 hours consuming various interviews and his lectures online. Easy.
His book was great too.
I wanted to take some time to reflect on some of the lessons I learned from his book and lectures, as well as the way he rose to prominence within 2017.
Your work compounds, and stands the test of time
All that work he published online?
Guess what... they weren't done in a day.
The lectures were developed over years.
The videos were posted over two to three years.
After he became popular, he already had a library of videos that were readily available and continue to generate attention and capture audiences years later.
Each small bit of publicity and interview on news stations across the globe serve to send more people to his work and give them a reason to become part of his audience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMcjxSThD54
This is the interview that catapulted Jordan Peterson into fame in the UK
I have spoken a lot in recent articles about the power of long-term compounding, so I won't dribble on about that point.
Read more: Power of long-term compound habits.
Overnight success is thirty years in the making
An overnight sensation in 2017, the professor's life was forever.
But it wasn't because of the one action that got him that attention - the stance against Bill C-16, a law that enforced using gender-neutral pronouns - that allowed him to blow up.
It was the fact he had a deeper message to drive home.
'Clean your room' became a popular meme.
His book was an exploration of some of the ideas he wants to get across to his audience.
At the core, it is about responsibility and living and dealing only with the truth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwUJHNPMUyU
Jordan Peterson in 2010.
He speaks a lot about hierarchies, the dangers of identity politics, and generally spreads a good message.
He got me out of some terrible ways of thinking and made me conceptualise life in a completely different way.
His message was one that resonated with me, and I took the advise and tried to weave it into my daily habits.
How can you be more accountable?
What can you do today that will make tomorrow's you a stronger person?
What truth are you hiding from?
Educating yourself is just about time and effort
Cash no longer matters.
The playing field is level for us all.
Time and effort are all it takes to become educated in 2019.
Havard-level education is free.
He has over 50 hours of content on YouTube from his lectures, which I soaked up early last year.
That reminds me... I should rewatch them. They were excellent.
The fact remains that education has been demonetised, you no longer need to pay for an education at some fancy University, you can educate yourself for free on YouTube.
Audible is also a great asset.
And between you and me, you can download plenty of PDFs of books if you type 'Book name PDF' into Google. It's a little cheat-code, but I still buy plenty of hardbacks and support the great books with my cash.
Nothing beats a hardback.... besides the Audible version. Get that.
Your work needs to be accessible to be popular, not just great
Peterson released a book in the '90s.
He has said he spent 3 hours a day over many years to write the book.
I haven't read that piece, so I couldn't give you a fair assessment of the work - but his second book is considered more accessible.
And that is exactly the point: accessibility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
You need to have a simplicity to your message so that it can encapsulate a large enough audience that you gather attention.
Without attention, it doesn't matter what your message is.
And if it's too complicated, people ignore that stuff - it's for the brainy people who like to think (not too many of us).
A well-articulated thought is rare... and powerful
What was it that compelled hundreds of thousands of people to queue to see Jordan Peterson debate topics such as religion and the essence of reality?
We are subject to too much groupthink, memes and clickbait articles filled with unoriginal content, it drains our soul.
It was rejuvenating to have someone speak about responsibility and giving your life meaning through facing the burden and living up to your potential.
After decades of chants above 'rights' - it was great to see the opposite chant of 'responsibility' finally take its turn to play out.
It changed my life.
It just goes to show how unoriginal and uninspired we are.
Not to take away from his message, not at all.
But if we took time to think and contemplate ideas for ourselves, then we wouldn't need someone like Jordan Peterson to give us this message.
The works of Carl Jung, Nietzsche, Carl Rogers, and many more geniuses are out there to explore.#
It's easy to look at the work of Freud and think they were stupid or ignorant because of their beliefs.
But we are not smarter than Sigmund Freud. He was a genius of his times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zji6xMkOgo
Science has moved on and proved many of his theories obsolete. But the workings of the mind and entire psychological field all build upon the work he did.
Carl Yung worked directly with Freud.
They are all interconnected.
And you better believe the work done over the last fifty years is connected to the decades prior. They all stack upon each other.
The effort and mental discipline it takes to 'Think'? It is a strain.
It's not searching Google.
It's a muscle. And one we are taught not to use independently from a very young age.
We are not in the 'Age of Enlightenment' - I can tell you that.
We are called the 'Age of Information'
I think that suits us well.
A little bit too much information, not even processing power.
We need to slow it down and give ourselves time to think things through - and never underestimate the power of articulated thought and speech.
Credibility matters
The fact he is a Havard professor who has twenty years as a clinical practitioner gives him the right to speak on subjects at length.
That matters.
If you don't have a clear history of success in your field, don't talk like you're the expert.
And don't take that as some sort of paradox.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BIgIDAcY3g
I hate it when people say 'Well, they expect you to have the experience, but if they don't give you the job, how can you get the experience?'
Duh. Work for free.
Browse the internet.
Take jobs.
Start a blog and showcase your expertise.
Read books. Educate yourself in the industry.
Know your stuff.
You have to take this into your own hands. There is no free pass.
Dr. Peterson could not have been as successful as he is without the hundreds of hours of videos he had online before he became popular the reinforced his message and credibility in the field of psychology.
We are in a generation craving responsibility
There are no calls to adventure for the young man.
We are no longer thrown into the wilderness, and expected to make our way back.
Instead, we are free to play video games and live with our parents until we are 30.
Society has changed dramatically over the last couple of decades.
We have lost any sense of 'roles' - and everything has become blurred.
The patriarchal and matriarchal roles in society are frown upon, seen as something as an ancient past where people were held down by scores of angry White Males looking to enslave anyone else; other races and genders.
A story of men vs women. Of black vs white.
In reality, it was a treacherous situation for the majority of people living.
If you were born before the year 1900, you were born into poverty levels well below anything we have ever seen.
There is nothing better than setting long-term goals and battling your demons
We are all capable of being resentful.
Of not living up to our higher selves.
Have you ever seen someone who seems to have it all figured out, only to look at them with envy and jealousy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5S6cTQRoU4
"Why isn't that me?" you asked yourself.
Nihilism can be a killer.
And so can being blind to your capacities as a human being.
We are all capable of not only resentfulness but being malevolent.
We do things out of spite.
We attack people, instead of offering valuable feedback.
We act out of jealousy and anger, giving into to gossip and badmouthing.
And it's quite normal to do so.
But to live towards your potential, and to chase the calling your higher self?
You don't have the time to criticise others.
You are too busy in your own lane.
Paving your own way.
Climbing out the grave.
And to do that will require you to make some tough choices.
You can recognise the lengths you are willing to go, what you are willing to sacrifice.
Pushing past boundaries and taking responsibility for all areas of your life fills you with great joy.
I am only just getting on this path and have many areas of my life I still have to take control of, but I'm having a blast now I have finally started exercising every day and writing at least 2000 words a day.
My life has meaning and purpose.
I am fighting to become great.
Because I know I am capable of being a resentful, nihilistic monster whose intent is to create destructive everywhere I go.
All because I am failing to live up to my potential and pay my dues.
Who wants respect without having to give it up?
We would all trade our souls for five minutes of fame when we are at the bottom of the barrel.
When we feel so low, we are ignorant of any other way.
We don't recognise we are already great, and we don't need any affirmations from others.
Your inner shadow exists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PIDEx-GvnQ
You need to tame it.
I know I capable of sinning.
There are not good people and bad people.
There are good choices and bad choices.
You must remember, that every minute...