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But it turns out there is another way to think of him: as a psychologist-cum-entrepreneur, whose home runs, aside from the profits reaped from 12 Rules of Life: An Antidote to Chaos — which has sold 2.5 million English-language copies and is slated for translation into 50 languages — include pulling in $80,000 a month from the crowdfunding site Patreon, hawking self-authoring software on his website for US$29.90 a pop, hosting a YouTube channel with over 1.8 million subscribers and giving talks to sold-out audiences worldwide.

“I’m a clinician, I’ve also always wanted to ensure that what I did could be validated by taking it outside the lab,” said Peterson, an occasional contributor to the National Post. “One of the ways to do that was to subject it to additional stringent tests, like real-world viability, and even profitability. It is one thing to produce something, but it is a whole other thing to market it, sell it and make it profitable.”

The Peterson Fellowship at Acton, advertised as an MBA “program with a philosophy that is aligned with Dr. Peterson,” turns those beliefs into MBA teachings.

Sandefer built Acton upon three guiding principles: learning how to learn, learning how to make money and learning how to live a life of meaning. So far, it seems to be working: The Princeton Review ranks Acton’s students, numbering 16 to 37 per session, as the most “competitive” among U.S. business schools.

Photo by Courtesy Jeff Sandefer

It was Acton’s third pillar — living a life of meaning — that attracted Sandefer to Peterson, a self-help guru at heart, whose message to directionless souls essentially boils down to: get it together people, own your future and pursue a meaningful life.