
The School of Life
An Emotional Education
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Narrated by:
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Alain de Botton
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Charlie Anson
About this listen
How to live wisely and well in the twenty-first century—an introduction to the modern art of emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence affects every aspect of the way we live, from romantic to professional relationships, from our inner resilience to our social success. It is arguably the single most important skill for surviving the twenty-first century. But what does it really mean?
One decade ago, Alain de Botton founded The School of Life, an institute dedicated to understanding and improving our emotional intelligence. Now he presents the gathered wisdom of those ten years in a wide-ranging and innovative compendium of emotional intelligence that forms an introduction to The School of Life. Using his trademark mixture of analysis and anecdote, philosophical insight and practical wisdom, he considers how we interact with each other and with ourselves, and how we can do so better. From the beloved expert of popular philosophy, The School of Life: An Emotional Education is an essential look at the skill set that defines our modern lives.
CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF THE SCHOOL OF LIFE'S WORK developing emotional intelligence around the world.
AN UPDATED ANTHOLOGY of The School of Life's best loved works.
FOREWORD BY ALAIN DE BOTTON, the celebrated author, philosopher, and School of Life founder.
DRAWS ON PHILOSOPHY, PSYCHOLOGY, LITERATURE, AND VISUAL ART to equip listeners with the skills we truly need to thrive.
CHAPTERS INCLUDE SELF, OTHERS, RELATIONSHIPS, WORK, AND CULTURE
©2019 The School of Life (P)2022 The School of LifeListeners also enjoyed...
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terrible voice
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-
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By: Alain de Botton
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- Length: 3 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
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The modern world can be a complicated, frenzied, and noisy place, filled with too many options, products, ideas and opinions. That explains why what many of us long for is simplicity: a life that can be more pared down, peaceful, and focused on the essentials. But finding simplicity is not always easy; it isn’t just a case of emptying out our closets or trimming back commitments in our diaries. True simplicity requires that we understand the roots of our distractions – and develop a canny respect for the stubborn reasons why things can grow complex and overwhelming.
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Overall
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When trying to deal with our current troubles and anxieties, it can be deeply irritating to be asked to consider our childhoods. They happened so long ago; we can probably barely remember, let alone relate to, the little person we once were. But one of the most powerful explanations for why we may, as adults, be struggling, is that we were denied the opportunity to fully be ourselves in our earliest years. This book is a guide to better understanding our younger selves in order to shape who we wish to be in the future.
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An essential read.
- By Anonymous User on 12-03-23
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Self-Knowledge
- By: The School of Life
- Narrated by: Fiona Buckland
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In Ancient Greece, when the philosopher Socrates was asked to sum up what all philosophical commandments could be reduced to, he replied: "Know yourself". Self-knowledge matters so much because it is only on the basis of an accurate sense of who we are that we can make reliable decisions - particularly around love and work. This book takes us on a journey into our deepest, most elusive selves and arms us with a set of tools to understand our characters properly.
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terrible voice
- By Tina Crosby on 08-27-20
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Anxiety
- Meditations on the Anxious Mind
- By: The School of Life
- Narrated by: Rachel Lanning
- Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a guide to anxiety: why we feel it, how we experience it when it strikes, and what we can do when we come under its influence. Across a series of essays that look at the subject from a number of angles, the tone is helpful, compassionate, and in the best sense, practical.
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Insightfulness
- By Anonymous User on 06-10-23
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How to Think More Effectively
- A Guide to Greater Productivity, Insight, and Creativity
- By: The School of Life
- Narrated by: Sonya Cullingford
- Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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We know that our minds are capable of great things because, every now and then, they come out with a brilliant idea or two. However, our minds are also unpredictable, spending large stretches of time idling or distracting themselves. This is a book about how to optimize these beautiful yet fitful instruments so that they can more regularly and generously produce the sort of insights and ideas we need to fulfill our potential and achieve the contentment we deserve.
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Status Anxiety
- By: Alain de Botton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a book about an almost universal anxiety that is rarely mentioned: an anxiety about what others think of us, about whether we're judged a success or a failure, a winner or a loser. This is a book about status anxiety. Best-selling author Alain de Botton asks, with lucidity and charm, where our worries about status come from and what, if anything, we can do to surmount them.
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False Advertising!
- By Jon on 08-02-07
By: Alain de Botton
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On Self-Hatred
- Learning to Like Oneself
- By: The School of Life
- Narrated by: Rachel Lanning
- Length: 2 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Behind many of our problems lies an often ignored factor: we don’t like ourselves very much. We are sufferers of self-hatred. We tell ourselves the meanest things. It’s because of self-hatred that we tend to neglect our potential at work and get entangled in unfulfilling relationships, that we lack confidence in our social lives and suffer from anxiety, despair and imposter syndrome.
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Useful ideas to reflect on
- By Kevin on 08-14-24
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The Consolations of Philosophy
- By: Alain de Botton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Alain de Botton has performed a stunning feat: He has transformed arcane philosophy into something accessible and entertaining, useful and kind. Drawing on the work of six of the world's most brilliant thinkers, de Botton has arranged a panoply of wisdom to guide us through our most common problems.
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Cheering, empathic, helpful
- By Austin on 11-11-09
By: Alain de Botton
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The Architecture of Happiness
- By: Alain de Botton
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the great, but often unmentioned, causes of both happiness and misery is the quality of our environment: the kinds of chairs, walls, buildings, and streets that surround us. And yet, a concern for architecture is too often described as frivolous, even self-indulgent. Alain de Botton starts from the idea that where we are heavily influences who we can be, and argues that it is architecture's task to stand as an eloquent reminder of our full potential.
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Many elegant words used for a simple topic.
- By Spirit on 08-15-17
By: Alain de Botton
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The Secrets of Successful Relationships
- The Secrets Series, Book 1
- By: The School of Life
- Narrated by: Rachel Lanning
- Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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It can sometimes seem a mystery why some couples stay together and thrive—while many more split up or drag on scratchily. While we might think happy love is left to chance, there are some identifiable secrets that underpin good relationships that we can learn and put into practice. The first title of a new series, The Secrets of Successful Relationships draws upon the expertise of The School of Life therapists to teach us the key ingredients of contented love.
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The School of Life: On Failure
- How to Succeed at Defeat
- By: The School of Life
- Narrated by: Rachel Lanning
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a hopeful, consoling, gentle book about failure. Our societies talk a lot about success, but the reality is that no one gets through life without failing–in small and usually also in large ways. Sometimes our failures are very obvious, at other times, we feel we have to conceal them out of shame. This book encourages us to accept the role that failure plays for all of us and to feel compassion for ourselves for the messes we can’t help but make as we go through our lives.
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The second part of the book was really good perceived failure.
- By Anonymous User on 12-29-23
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The Science of Sin
- Why We Do the Things We Know We Shouldn't
- By: Jack Lewis
- Narrated by: Matt Addis
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Anyone who has ever wondered why they never seem to be able to stick to their diet, who marvels at how little work some of their colleagues get away with doing, who despairs at the antisocial behaviour of their teenagers, who can't understand how lovecheats can handle multiple extramarital affairs, who struggles to resist the lure of the comfy sofa and the giant bag of crisps, who struggles to control their mood when morons cut them up on the M4 or who makes themselves thoroughly bitter by endlessly comparing themselves to others - well, this book is for you.
By: Jack Lewis
What listeners say about The School of Life
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- Angela pope
- 02-03-23
The school of life needs to be in schools.
Everything yall have put out has been hugely helpful in my life. Keep it up!!
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- Jonathan Shane Allison
- 12-08-23
An amazing emotional education
I was looking for a book to help me personally understand why I am how I am in some facets of my life. This was such a quick listen and touched on all of the major life points I could think of. Really loved the narration!
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-01-24
If you know, you know!
From the youtube channel 10 years ago to now Alain's insights and wit come together in essays. Part of why I loved school of life was how he can weave in a short amount of time the concepts he was discussing and make them digestible. Now more elaborate in length here. SOL reignited my interest in pursuing education after school. Thank you so much! Now time for the next one!
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- Richard Peter
- 05-22-23
truly difficult to recuse oneself from
an empaths must read/hear.
I read the paperback copy before listening to the audio book and gained so much insight that i overlooked while reading it rather than heading it.
some chapters become a little redundant but nothing mentioned goes unexplained
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- Annette Baird
- 11-11-24
Beautifully written helpful wisdom!
I love this author's work- this information takes listening to more than once to fully absorb and appreciate. I get more from these words every time I listen. Definitely grounded in developing emotional maturity (sadly lacking in the average person). Loved it!!
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- Hillary J
- 01-28-23
Brilliant and nourishing
I loved listening to this book, and I’m enjoying reading the hardcopy almost as much. Kind of emotional clarity and maturity about how the humanities fit together in the larger scheme of things really resonates for me not only as a human being, trying to make the best of it, but as an artist, trying to make art that matters and helps create a world that I want to live in. Thank you Alain DeBotton and School of Life.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Manjusha S
- 12-11-23
Not a book for people who are in toxic relationships
I had high expectations from this book. Thank god I’m reading it after I got out of toxic relationship. If you read it builds up in such a way that telling adjusting is good. And if a person is empathetic and an internalizer it makes them think whatever you’re given you have to adjust.and it subtly tells that it’s okay to stay even if you’re not happy and also kind of shames being alone. like getting 2-3 hugs from any kind of partner even if you're unhappy is better than failed dates is what the book says. its degressive in its own ways
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-16-24
I thought I’d get something out of this
But I couldn’t get past the narrators forced tone… cringe eeeeeeeeeeeee eeeeee eeeee
Not good
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-24-24
Nothing
Not much substance. Found it to be more of a males view. At times it felt prudish and boring. Too much verbiage per subject.
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- Rich S.
- 12-15-22
This is drivel
This "self-help" book appears to have been written to help the authors make money.
The basic concept supported by no real facts or data is pie-in-the-sky pop psychology.
The section on the benefits of psychotherapy could have been written by a public relations agency for psychotherapists.
Psychotherapists are wonderful. They'll transform your life. Blah. Blah. Blah.
It's just no concept of reality.
One of the worst books of this type I've ever encountered.
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1 person found this helpful