Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: self-help, personal development, celebrity books, biography
Format: paperback
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library
At the beginning of the book, Greene explains how he met 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) in 2006. The rapper was a fan of Greene's previous book, The 48 Laws of Power. Greene notes that in talking to the rapper he saw they both had a common way of thinking, looking at what people are really up to. 50 Cent developed his keen sense of looking at the world in the streets; Greene did so by studying history and observing behaviors in Hollywood, where he had worked. This book then is the result of conversations as well as Greene spending time observing 50 Cent at work and his personal life. From all that, Greene noticed the patterns that would make the 10 chapters of this book.
In the 10 chapters, Greene starts with a quote that may be from 50 Cent or some other famous person. He then tells a story of 50 Cent's life to illustrate the point of a chapter. In addition, Greene adds stories of other famous persons who were also fearless. Then Greene provides some points of advice for readers to develop as well. That is pretty much the basic structure of the book.
In a nutshell, the 50th Law is to lose your fears. Your fears are your prison. Once you learn to lose your fears you will be free, and once you are free, you will gain a new sense of power to do what you need and wish. This does not mean to be reckless. Along with being fearless you are also observant, and you seek opportunities. But being fearless gives you power of confidence and a sense of urgency to act now. Those are the bare basics, and the rest of the book develops the ideas further.
The book overall is interesting. It also displays a bit of an aggressive tone, no doubt reflective of 50 Cent, but that goes well with the overall message. In advising ruthlessness, the authors can seem a bit Machiavellian (and yes, they do quote Machiavelli at one point), but then again, it is a hard world we live in, and you have to stand up for yourself. The stories and examples are interesting as well. However, the book can get a bit repetitive at times; there are only so many ways to say shed you your fears.
Still, the book is a good read. Of the many self-help/personal development books out there, this is pretty good and better than most. It is accessible and easy to read. Overall, I liked it.
3 out of 5 stars.
* * * * *
Additional reading notes:
Summing up the book's philosophy:
"In the end, this is a book about a particular philosophy of life that can be summed up as follows-- 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" (x).
How the media manipulates fear to get attention. We see this on a daily basis now:
"In the evolution of fear, a decisive moment occurred in the nineteenth century when people in advertising and journalism discovered that if they framed their stories and appeals with fear, they could capture attention. It is an emotion we find hard to resist or control, and so they constantly shifted our focus to new possible sources of anxiety: the latest health scare, the new crime wave, a social faux pas we might be committing, and endless hazards in the environment of which we are not aware. With the increasing sophistication of the media and the visceral quality of the imagery, they have been able to give us the feeling that we are fragile creatures in an environment full of danger-- even though we live in a world infinitely safe, and more predictable than anything our ancestors knew. With their help, our anxieties have only increased" (4).
Politicians and political parties' operations also deploy fear regularly to get voters "motivated." The catch is fear is not exactly a good "motivator" long term. Fear is not something designed to be on all the time. But it is a great tool for politicians and media without scruples nor ethics to get attention and power. Thus you need to learn to observe and lose your fears so you are not manipulated.
The greatest danger:
"Truth's words apply to you as much as to Fifty: the greatest danger you face is your mind growing soft and your eye getting dull" (32).
Do not let yourself get complacent, never stop paying attention, and realize you cannot avoid reality.
"Reality has its own power-- you can turn your back on it, but it will find you in the end, and your inability to cope with it will be your ruin. Now is the time to stop drifting and wake up-- to assess yourself, the people around you, and the direction in which you are headed in as cold and brutal a light as possible. Without fear" (33).
For me, the above also explains a bit why I find it so difficult to disconnect. I feel like I will miss something that may be important. Key is balancing the need to be attentive and alert, vigilant, without succumbing to fear.
Napoleon had a superior grasp on reality, and so should you:
"Your goal is to follow the path of Napoleon. You want to take in as much as possible with your own eyes. You communicate with people up and down the chain of command within your organization. You do not draw any barriers to your social interactions. You want to expand your access to different areas. Force yourself to go to events and places that are beyond your usual circle. If you cannot observe something firsthand, try to get reports that are more direct and less filtered, or vary the sources so you can see things from several sides. Get fingertip feel for everything going on in your environment-- the complete terrain" (40-41).
You need to get to the root of problems to solve them:
"When you do not get to the root of a problem, you cannot solve it in any meaningful way. People like to look at the surfaces, get all emotional and react, doing things that make them feel better in the short term but do nothing for them in the long term" (41).
On true ownership:
"True ownership can only come from within. It comes from a disdain for anything or anybody that impinges upon your mobility, from a confidence in your decisions, and from the use of your time in constant pursuit of education and improvement" (55).
On not just waiting for things:
"The hustler thinks: 'I must make the most of what I have, even the bad stuff, because things are not going to get better on their own. It is foolish to wait; tomorrow may bring even worse shit'" (77).
On the need for mental flow (plus why most college and university faculty and academics are so myopic):
"Knowledge has once again hardened into rigid categories, with intellectuals shut off in various ghettos. Intelligent people are considered serious by virtue of how deeply they immerse themselves in one field of study, their viewpoint becoming more and more myopic. Someone who crosses these rigid demarcations is inevitably considered a dilettante. After college, we are all encouraged to specialized, to learn one thing and stick to it. We end up strangling ourselves in the narrowness of our interests. With all of these restrictions, knowledge has no flow to it. Life does not have these categories; they are mere conventions that we mindlessly abide by" (108-109).
Like DaVinci, develop and nurture hunger for knowledge:
"You must develop this spirit and the same insatiable hunger for knowledge. This comes from widening your fields of study and observation, letting yourself be carried along by what you discover. You will find that you will come up with unexpected ideas, the kind that will lead to new practices or novel opportunities. If things run dry in your particular line of work, you have developed your mind along other lines that you can now exploit. Having such mental flow will allow you to constantly think around any obstacle and maintain your career momentum" (109).
A paradox in life:
"By a paradoxical law of human nature, trying to please people less will make them more likely in the long run to respect and treat you better" (132).
A lesson to heed (this applies to many liberals today who keep wanting to play "nice" and calling for "civility"):
"Think of it as war-- short of unnecessary violence, you are called to do whatever it takes to defeat the enemy. There is no nobility in losing if an injustice is allowed to prevail" (141).
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