On Jordan B. Peterson’s new book, 12 Rules for Life: an Antidote for Chaos

The Toga Virilis is the white piece of cloth assumed by the boys of ancient Rome at age 15 as a symbol of manhood.

In episode 10 of the Spartacus series: Blood and Sand: “Party Favors”, young Numerius, son of the Magistrate Calavius, gets an overview of gladiators training on the ludus (gladiator school) grounds from Spartacus.

“Spartacus walks Numerius through the training grounds. They witness an intense sparring match between Crixus and Duro. Throughout the match, Crixus taunts Spartacus and tries to persuade Spartacus to fight him. However, Duro insists that the fight is only between himself and Crixus, as he relentlessly attempts to overpower Crixus. Crixus easily bests Duro again before leaving. As Duro sits in defeat, the gladiators unexpectedly applaud him for his courage. Agron, too, is proud of his brother for his display of bravery.” (Spartacus Wikia)

The youngster is dumbfounded.
Numerius: “The man is defeated yet treated as a victor. Why ?”
Spartacus: “A sign of respect.” **There’s a lesson right there. The man who rises and fights, although he may have lost, is deserved the respect for doing it.**

The Party Favors episode doesn’t end well. Spartacus ends up forced to kill his friend Varo when commanded so by Numerius at the B-day party. Numerius himself being puppet mastered by Ilythia who lays with Numerius in order to manipulate him into giving that order. (If you haven’t watched it, the entire episode is narrated at Spartacus.Wikia -link)

Today I’ll give you some thoughts on Jordan B. Peterson. This is the post my youngest readers have anxiously been waiting for. If you are over the age of 70, we understand, you can skip this post. I may be doing a Part 2/3 on this, since I’m not covering enough here.

I’ve watched a few videos and interviews with JBP. He is an erudite and eloquent orator. His speaking skills are remarkable.   The 12 “Rules” are all relevant. They’re not “new”, however. For example, “clean up your room (Rule 6)” is a banality, yet few people do it.

Quote of the day: “There is no justice in this world.” -Spartacus (in agreement with **billionaire** Marcus Crassus)

Rule 1. Stand up straight with your shoulders back. 

Rule 2. Treat yourself like you would someone you are responsible for helping. 

Rule 3. Make friends with people who want the best for you. 

Rule 4. Compare yourself with who you were yesterday, not with who someone else is today. 

Rule 5. Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them. 

Rule 6. Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world. 

Rule 7. Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient). We are so often pushed around by “I need to do this…and that. To-do lists. Emergencies (very few of what we characterize are so)

Rule 8. Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie.  Aha, but ““In Paradise, everyone speaks the truth. That is what makes it Paradise.” Max Cantor question: **How often has your boss lied to you ?**

Rule 9. Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t.  This is a call to attentive, purposeful listening, which I advocate for on this site.

Rule 10. Be precise in your speech. Don’t ramble.

Rule 11. Do not bother children when they are skate-boarding. Trial-and-error starts early.

Rule 12. Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street. If cats get seven lives, they may have something to teach. (Source: 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos )

From JBP’s site: “He’s a Quora Most Viewed Writer, with 200,000 Twitter followers and 90000 Facebook likes. His YouTube channel’s 225 videos have 460,000 subscribers, 1,000,000 views a month, and 30,000,000 views in total. Malcolm Gladwell discussed psychology with him while researching his books, Norman Doidge is a good friend and collaborator, thriller writer Gregg Hurwitz employed several of his ‘valuable things’ as a plot feature in his #1 international bestseller, Orphan X, and he worked with Jim Balsillie, former RIM CEO, on a project for the UN Secretary General.”-JBP

There were 42 (?) Rules originally and the Professor eventually cut them to 12, he explained. Do not allow yourself to become arrogant or resentful. The hungry one doesn’t have the luxury of being arrogant. As far as “resentful”, I teach how to use that to your advantage.

Jordan B Peterson’s recommended reading list

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos, book review in the Financial Times

Professor Peterson,

Who do I wanna be, you ask ? I am Spartacus. But you already knew that.

Life is a battle. The time for reckoning is now.
What did you expect ?  Did you expect the Caesars and the Marcus Crassuss of the world to just hand over your birthday cake to you ?  “Hello, Spartacus. Can we cook your dinner tonight ?” Yes, right. 

My life is earned. In battle. 

Your Man,

Max Cantor