The 50th Law
By 50 Cent and Robert Greene
How to be bold and fearless, innovative and determined, and grounded in reality?
There is a lot to learn from The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene even if you’re not aiming to be a hip hop entrepreneur.
Fear and anxiety rule our lives in many ways and not just in the physical sense. We fear saying the wrong thing and maybe offending someone. We fear change, conflict, and uncomfortable discussions. Making decisions and taking responsibility. We fear being somehow different from the rest of the herd.
One quote by 50 Cent in the book starts off with this sentence:
“The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves.”
And if you think about this for a bit, you will realize how true that is. And how odd we humans really are in that way.
So The 50th Law is partly a manual on how to cultivate courage and fearlessness in your own life.
It is divided into ten chapters that address different spheres of fears, interwoven with anecdotes from 50 Cent’s life, from his days as a hustler to his success as a singer and entrepreneur.
Robert Greene is an absolute master at explaining human behavior with examples drawn from history and he distills it into understandable and implementable strategies that can be used in daily life. He’s done all the research and laid a solid foundation for the reader to think about. He asks questions and makes observations that might make you squirm though, because he sees through all the bullshit we tell ourselves.
For example, one of the chapters is about finding opportunity in everything that
happens. If 50 Cent was able to find opportunity in getting shot nine times and nearly dying, then what excuse do I have? I still have so much to learn.
Other chapters delve into topics such as being intensely realistic, the importance of being self-reliant, knowing and connecting with your environment, mastering skills, and confronting your own mortality. Deep issues that affect everybody on some level.
I bought The 50th Law for my son Max who is a musician* and in many ways has already cultivated more fearlessness than I have, but you don’t have to even
like hip hop or rap to love this book. Sorry Max, I read this before I wrapped it up for your birthday—but I guess you won’t be really surprised to hear that…
*look for Moodsphinx on Spotify (two of my favorite songs of his are “Entzug” and “It’s Cool to Cry”)