The 50th Law Summary
Fear is the strongest emotion known to man, it's hardwired into our nervous systems.
Fear propels some individuals to take massive action and rewards them heftily, while fear paralyzes the majority. It leaves them along with their dreams and goals dead in their tracks.
This is a vicious cycle.
As you give in to fear you quickly lose energy and momentum...
This newfound lack of confidence translate into inaction...
This inaction decreases your confidence even further, resulting in even less energy and momentum on your side.
That said, fear serves a purpose.
We're hardwired to protect ourselves from dangerous situations - the 'fight or flight' results in quick decision making whether we're getting chased by a wild animal in the jungle or about to get hit by a stray vehicle.
Our fears used to be strictly primitive, we feared certain situations in nature.
Today that's not the case.
We fear offending others, we fear being made fun of, we fear not fitting in with the rest of society...
With a constant fear like that you're never going to achieve anything. Fear slows you down, saps your energy and robs you of any momentum you may have.
Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) quickly understood this as he grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, Queens.
While most remain hustling on the corner of their block until they're locked up or killed he took a different path, he broke up and created his own rags to riches story.
Below you'll find my summary of the 'Laws' or lessons we can learn from 50 & Robert Greene on fearlessness, hustle & success.
Lessons From Fifty On Fearlessness, Success & Hustle...
Law 1: You Must Be An Intense Realist
See things for what they are...
The realist is not afraid to look at what is going on around them, they don't wish for better days or pretend that they're not in these circumstances.
They accept what they see and they take action.
People can be full of book knowledge and crammed with information while simultaneously having no idea what's actually going on around them.
Whether you're in debt, overweight or in a bad relationship you must SEE this and then take action.
If you try and dismiss it or choose to see the world through rose-colored glasses you cannot rise above the circumstances because you're choosing not to see them.
Law 2: You Must Be Self-Reliant
Control yourself.. focus on you...
You will never truly be free if you're working for someone else - insteade of fearing being self-reliant you should fear the dependance you place on your boss.
Learn to make your own decisions and trust your own judgement, when you're placing yourself in this situation you'll find your creativity and motivation to achieve great things is that much higher because you're doing it 100% for yourself, not for a lousy boss that complains and treats you poorly, regardless of whether this is on the streets of Brooklyn or in a Fortune 500 office.
The longer you spend working for and reliant on others the more you begin to give your own thoughts and ideas less respect, you slowly drown them out and replace them with what others want...
This will form the death of your independence and creativity.
Law 3: Turn Every Negative Into A Positive
Make the best of every situation...
Everything has the potential to become an advantage.
Every disadvantage, regardless of how bad it may seem does hold the potential to give you an edge if used correctly.
Hell, when we're put in situations where we've got our backs up against the wall that's when we perform best - when fear must be put aside and we must formulate a plan quickly in order to survive.
When things are going well you must NEVER get too comfortable, as the tables will turn, they always do.
Adversity strikes and because we've become so comfortable and soft we're unable to deal with it - always keep that relentless mindset.
You must not wait for better circumstances, be it money, time or resources - act now with what you have - you'll be surprised just how much you're able to achieve.
Law 4: Buld & Momentum & Don't Stop Moving Forward
Move forward among the chaos, don't stop...
Momentum is a powerful mistress, she can either work for you or against you!
When you've got momentum on your side you cannot stop. Period.
"If you encounter walls or boundaries, slip around them. Do not let anything disrupt your flow."
Allowing yourself to attach to a specific idea, group or object is a sure-fire way to disrupt your flow and momentum.
You'll be going from having the current push you in the direction you're headed to finding yourself struggling to swim against the current.
Days off are a fantastic killer of momentum, ensure you're taking at least one action each day that maintains flow towards your goal.
Law 5: The Art Of Aggression
Know when and how to be bad...
“As Fifty had learned, talent and good intentions are never enough in this world; you need to be fearless and strategic.”
Now, we're not talking about committing crimes or starting a brawl, but in order to get what you want you must be fearless in the face of aggressors.
Backing down in these situations will often result in defeat and halt your momentum!
Here's how to strategically use your aggression and fearlessness...
On Passive Aggressors - Take bold, uncompromising action against them. Don’t play their games, don’t subvert them, be fearless and direct in your combat with them and you’ll send them running.
On Aggressors - Don’t fight them head on, subvert them, go behind their back, don’t let them know you’re fighting back until it’s too late.
Static Situations - If a situation has become static, ignore the rules and make your own. There is power to be had in instigating a new order.
On Impossible Dynamics - Terminate the relationship, leave the job, don’t fight a battle that can’t be won.
On Unjust Situations - Play the fox, design strategies to win over public support without being blatant about your intentions to upend the situation. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to defeat the enemy.
Law 6: Lead With Your Actions, Not With Your Words
Set the tone for your troops the right way...
Whether you realize it or not if you are the leader you are setting the tone for those below you.
If you're a fearless action-taker then you'll cultivate an army of fearless action-takers beneath you - if you're weak minded and uncertain then your troops will resemble just that.
You Must Be The Visionary...
“You must play this visionary role with some dramatic flair, like Edison who was a consummate performer and promoter. He would give dazzling presentations of his ideas, and stage events to get on the front page of newspapers. Like Moses describing the Promised Land, he could paint an alluring picture of the future that his inventions would help create. This drew in money from investors and inspired his researchers to work even harder. Your own level of excitement and self-belief will convince people that you know where you are going and should be followed.”
You Must Be The Unifier...
“A group needs a centripetal force to give it unity and cohesion but it is not enough to have that be you and the force of your personality. Instead it should be a cause that you fearlessly embody… This cause elevates your group above others. It has a quasi-religious aura to it, a kind of cult feeling. Now, to fight or doubt you from within is to stand against this cause and seem selfish. The group, infused with this belief system, will tend to police itself and root out troublemakers.”
You Must Be The Role Model...
“Operating with a mission statement is an effective way of softening your image and disguising the extent of your power. You are seen as more than just a leader; you are a role model, instructing, energizing, and inspiring your lieutenants. In crafting this team, look for people who share your values and are open to learning. Do not be seduced by a glittering résumé. You want them near you, to absorb your spirit and ways of doing things. Once you feel they have the proper training, you must not be afraid to let go of the reins and give them more independence. In the end, this will save you much energy and allow you to continue focusing on the greater strategic picture.”
You Must Be The Bold Knight...
“You keep your group marching and on the offensive. This will excite them and give them a feeling of movement. You are not taking unnecessary risks, but simply adding a dash of aggression to your normally staid group. They become used to seeing you out in front and grow addicted to the excitement you bring with each new campaign.”
Law 7: Find The Demand, Create The Supply
Doing it the right way, unlike most...
In business the last thing you want to do is spend your hard earned time and money producing a product or service that nobody wants.
yet, 99% of entrepreneurs make this mistake.
Save your time, effort and money and figure out what people want first, that way you KNOW your product is going to be a winner upon launch, there's no guess-work.
When 50 Cent was hustling drugs on the street he'd also give his friends a batch as a 'preview' before going all in and supplying it.
If the product was good everyone would come flocking to him to buy it, if not he knew it wasn't worth selling.
Come 50 Cent's rap career he used the same tactic, he'd purposely leak a song from his upcoming album and keep a close eye on the feedback and comments of the public - giving him time to go back to the drawing board before release if he needed to alter it based on feedback.
The lesson here is simple - do not go into your business endeavors blindly.
Law 8: Respect The Process
Stop looking for the quick success... easy come easy go.
Success, whether you define that as mastery of a skill or the attainment of riches does not come quickly.
Only fools think that they can fast-track their way there and often end up dead, in jail or bankrupt.
We all know mastery takes time.
It takes hours upon hours of grinding, day in day out.
yet most people get bored, they lose interest and they try every shortcut and hack to get the quick riches.
They never make it.
“Before it’s too late we must wake up and realize that real power and success can come only through mastering a process, which in turn depends on a foundation of discipline that we are constantly keeping sharp.”
If you want to succeed you must build up momentum and put in work, daily.
No shortcuts.
Start small in order to build the positive momentum to bring into your big goals.
Learn a few little skills, build a small empire.
Ride the wave of momentum.
Law 9: Cultivate An Air Of Certainty
Overcoming your limiting self-beliefs...
If you think you're only worthy of little all you'll get is little.
"People will constantly attack you in life. One of their main weapons will be to instill in you doubts about yourself— your worth, your abilities, your potential. They will often disguise this as their objective opinion, but invariably it has a political purpose— they want to keep you down."
If you cultivate a confidence mindset and believe you can get it all, provided you put in the work then you can have it all.
People are attracted to those that know where they're going (because the majority of the time they don't have a direction!).
"Having supreme confidence makes you fearless and persistent, allowing you to overcome obstacles that stop most people in their tracks. It makes others believe in you as well. And the most intense form of self-belief is to feel a sense of destiny impelling you forward"
Others will stop themselves from pursuing their goals and dreams due to fear, you must NOT let this same fear hold you back.
Place a bet on yourself and go all in.
Law 10: Use Your Mortality As A Sense Of Fuel & Motivation
Your days are numbered, act with urgency
How many days do we have left?
We don't know.
“To accomplish this is remarkably simple. It is a matter of looking inward and seeing death as something that you carry within. It is a part of you that cannot be repressed. It does not mean that you brood about it, but that you have continual awareness of a reality that you come to embrace. You convert the terrified, denial-type relationship to death into something active and positive— finally released from pettiness, useless anxieties, and fearful, timid responses."
Knowing you've got big goals and a finite amount of time on your hands shouldn't depress you... it should fuel you.
Wasting time procrastinating and feeling sorry for yourself disappears knowing you've got death hovering over you.
Some will find this depressing and still take no action, the winners will use this as fuel to their fire.
Tomorrow is not promised.
My Highlighted Quotes From The 50th Law
“Your fears are a kind of prison that confines you within a limited range of action. The less you fear, the more power you will have and the more fully you will live.”
“The dreamers, those who misread the actual state of affairs and act upon their emotions, are often the source of the greatest mistakes in history—the wars that are not thought out, the disasters that are not foreseen”
“A bold act requires a high degree of confidence. People who are the targets of an audacious act, or who witness it, cannot help but believe that such confidence is real and justified. They respond instinctively by backing up, by getting out of the way, or by following the confident person. A bold act can put people on their heels and eliminate obstacles. In this way, it creates its own favorable circumstances. ”
“What separates those who go under and those who rise above adversity is the strength of their will and their hunger for power.”
“the knife’s edge that separates failure from success in life. That edge is your attitude, which has the power to help shape your reality.”
“True ownership can come only from within. It comes from a disdain for anything or anybody that impinges upon your mobility, from a confidence in your own decisions, and from the use of your time in constant pursuit of education and improvement. Only from this inner position of strength and self-reliance will you be able to truly work for yourself and never turn back. If situations arise in which you must take in partners or fit within another organization, you are mentally preparing yourself for the moment when you will move beyond these momentary entanglements. If you do not own yourself first, you will continually be at the mercy of people and circumstance, looking outward instead of relying on yourself and your wits.”
“We live in a culture that offers you all kinds of crutches—experts to turn to, drugs to cure any psychological unease, mild pleasures to help pass or kill time, jobs to keep you just above water. It is hard to resist. But once you give in, it is like a prison you enter that you cannot ever leave. You continually look outward for help and this severely limits your options and maneuverability. When the time comes, as it inevitably does, when you must make an important decision, you have nothing inside of yourself to depend on.”
