Whether you care for the man or his music, the story of Curtis Jackson, better known to the world as 50 Cent, is inspirational. The man’s journey from being a hustler in Southside Queens to becoming a household name is the basis of The 50th Law, a personal development book which I highly recommend.
This book got me through one of the lowest points in my life when I was living destitute in Xi’an, China. The lessons therein encouraged me to put myself out into the world and into the Game, to get the most out of what could have legitimately been my last days. Thanks to this book, I utilized my environment and its denizens to survive, and scored with quite a few of the local ladies of Shaanxi Province.
Yes, The 50th Law is a great personal development book that is certainly on my recommended reading list, but like most self-help material and advice from others, it should be taken with a grain of salt.
How I Destroyed My Finances
The 50th Law, as well as Law 28 of The 48 Laws of Power both teach us to be bold when committing to an action. Focusing on this idea, I went balls to the walls trying to make a multi-level marketing company yield profit. I wanted to turn my life around, and I saw this company as my opportunity to do so.
For inspiration, I reread The 50th Law, as well as other personal development material suggested by my colleagues at the MLM firm. In the meantime, I was spinning my wheels, spending my time, and even worse, spending my money on an expensive rental car to get to meetings and get out more to meet people and try to recruit. “It will work out,” I told myself, “I am thinking positive and positive results will come.”
My marketing director continued to encourage me, telling me that I would be in his position if I continued with the momentum that I had. Needless to say, I didn’t get anywhere with the business, and the more I tried to get it to work, the deeper the hole I dug myself in became. I snapped back to reality a bit late, but decided to just sever ties with the company, and try to get more hours at my “just over broke.” Just over broke is better than deep under broke, fellows.
The Lesson Learned
Burning the ships and going all out sounds great on paper, but in real life, it doesn’t always work. I am a living example of this fact; how many kids out there are dead examples trying to follow in the exact footsteps of 50 Cent?
Ironically, putting in that much effort and believing in delusions of grandeur was a failure to pay attention to the lesson presented in the very first chapter of The 50th Law: seeing things as they really are, not as we wish for them to be.
Many personal development texts, and even the teachings of certain gurus seem to come off as contradictory at times. Perhaps it is misinterpretation on my part, but in my experience, life itself seems to call for contradictory measures. “You’ve got to know when to hold them, know when to fold them,” as the Kenny Rogers song goes.
The 50th Law remains on my recommended reading list for sure. It is a great book, and as I have stated, got me through some tough times. I will likely reread it in the future. I just won’t be embarking on any more endeavors where the likelihood of failure and the price of entry are both high.