TLDR: Dr Jordan B Peterson is wicked smart. Psychology Professor. Scroll down to find his top 40 simple life lessons.

IQ 160+. Dr Jordan B Peterson (JBP) has devoted his life to his craft. 100 hours a week for 25 years. A professor of psychology (first Harvard, then University of Toronto), the depth and breadth of his knowledge is absurd. History, philosophy, psychology, neurology, religion and literature just for starters. Not just that, he is a perfectly articulate and charming fellow. Not nearly as tiresome or arrogant as you might hope of someone with so much talent. ‘A man can be an artist, in anything’. JBP’s art is thought, and its a pleasure to watch him think aloud.

This crazy year?

He was thrown into the media spotlight after a cutting criticism of a new Canadian law (which makes it a crime to call trans person ‘him’ or ‘her’ if that offends them). His criticism of the law was complex. In essence, he thinks compelled speech under threat of criminal punishment is very dangerous. Its not at all that he has anything against trans people. This is about government overstepping its mandate. If you would like to see his full address the senate, he will do a much better job of telling you what he thinks than I will. Check it out here.

The backlash!

Some SJW’s and some in media attacked him for his stance. Some students protested speeches where he intended to clarify his position. Any dialogue was made very difficult. In spite of some crazy protests (bull horns and loud speakers) JBP remained calm, took the time to listen to protestors concerns and tried his best to discuss his position with them. Check out a few examples here and here. Yet it hasn’t been all bad!

A silver lining?

With that spotlight, many people began to scrutinise him. As chance (and 25 years of hard work) would have it, JBP had been recording his psychology lectures via iPad and uploading them to YouTube over the last few years. He had accrued quite the body of work. 150 videos and about 500 hours of content up to that point. So this spotlight and scrutiny now led lots of people to his content. Evidently people liked it. This last year has seen his YouTube hockey stick from around 5,000 to almost half a million Followers. Donations via his Patreon account are now exceeding $60,000+ per month.

Wait, thats lots of money!

Yeah, it is. But JBP is a legend. He is using it for good. He has hired videographers, so all his lectures are now captured with great audio and video quality. He hired out a hall with that cash and gave 12 lectures on the psychological significance of the biblical stories. JBP is also working on plenty of other plans to solve education.

So what does he teach?

JBP is a scientist. Trying to help you. Not only that, he is trying to help you in a way that will help your family, your friends, your community, your society and the world at large. AND more than that still! He wants to help in a way that will help you now, in a week, a month, a year, a lifetime and generations to come.

JBP preaches a theory of personal responsibility. Stop searching for more rights. Start searching for the heaviest load you can find. Pick it up, and bear up under it as best you can. JBP wants the best for that part of you that wants the best for YOU.

Here are his top 40 lessons.

Tell the truth. Do not do things that you hate. Act so that you can tell the truth about how you act. Pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient. If you have to choose, be the one who does things, instead of the one who is seen to do things. Pay attention. Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you need to know. Listen to them hard enough so that they will share it with you. Plan and work diligently to maintain the romance in your relationships. Be careful who you share good news with. Be careful who you share bad news with. Make at least one thing better every single place you go. Imagine who you could be, and then aim single-mindedly at that. Do not allow yourself to become arrogant or resentful. Try to make one room in your house as beautiful as possible. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today. Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing and see what happens. If old memories still make you cry, write them down carefully and completely. Maintain your connections with people. Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or artistic achievement. Treat yourself as if you were someone that you are responsible for helping. Ask someone to do you a small favour, so that he or she can ask you to do one in the future. Make friends with people who want the best for you. Do not try to rescue someone who does not want to be rescued, and be very careful about rescuing someone who does. Nothing well done is insignificant. Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world. Dress like the person you want to be. Be precise in your speech. Stand up straight with your shoulders back. Don’t avoid something frightening if it stands in your way — and don’t do unnecessarily dangerous things. Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them. Do not transform your wife into a maid. Do not hide unwanted things in the fog. Notice that opportunity lurks where responsibility has been abdicated. Read something written by someone great. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street. Do not bother children when they are skateboarding. Don’t let bullies get away with it. Write a letter to the government if you see something that needs fixing — and propose a solution. Remember that what you do not yet know is more important than what you already know. Be grateful in spite of your suffering.

These 40 tips are taken from one of his responses here on Quora (where he just happens to also be one of the top commentors).

Lastly, JBP is a huge proponent of writing/journaling to sort through your own thoughts. He and some colleagues have a writing program called the Self-Authoring Suite ($30). Students who have used the program have had great results.

Check out his YouTube , Facebook, Twitter, Patreon and Website.

Now go clean your room 😀!