The 50th Law

Bestselling author Robert Greene and rapper 50 Cent collaborated to author The 50th Law. The book’s title is a combination of “48 Laws of Power”, a best-selling book by Greene, and “50 Cent”. Thus far, Robert Greene’s books had been largely theoretical, drawing examples from various historical figures. In this book, proof from 50 Cent’s life backs up Robert’s Greene’s theories. In the book, they exhort the reader to turn s**t into sugar. In any case, this is what 50 Cent did. He was a drug dealer and was a part of a drug dealer community. He turned his life around by relying only on himself and became a world-famous rapper. 

Here are some of the hard-hitting brilliancies from the book’s first few pages.

• The 50th law – We can control one thing: the mindset with which we can respond to the things around us.
• Your fears are a kind of prison that confines you within a limited range of actions. The less you fear, the more power you will have and the more fully you will live.
• People who cannot suffer can never grow up and, therefore, never discover who they are.
• Reality is my drug. The more I have of it, the more power I get and the higher I feel.
• Don’t complain about difficult circumstances.
• Don’t take people’s maneuvers personally. It is human nature. You merely try to advance or defend yourself.
• Human nature is so constituted that it cannot honor a helpless man. Although it can pity him, and even this it cannot do long if the signs of power do not arise.
• Don’t grow dependent on weak pleasures.
• If I do not own myself first, I will continually be at the mercy of people and circumstances, looking outward instead of relying on myself and my wits.
• It is harder for us to realize that we are alone in this world. We have layers of support that seem to prop us up. But these supports are illusions in the end.

And this is just the beginning. The book contains gems and nuggets of the above nature. If the above snippets appeal to your taste, do give the book a read when you get a chance.