I have been rereading books I haven't read in a while and recently reread the 48 laws of power by Robert Greene. It amazes me how much I continue to learn from this book and how much it can be used to navigate our everyday lives. Some have seen it as an evil book and a book to manipulate people but I see it as the opposite. I think it is essential for everyone to read it when navigating this thing we call life. While rereading it through I came across another book he had written as a continuation called the 50th Law. This book was a collaboration with Rapper and Icon 50th Cent and I had not really paid attention to it even though this was released in 2009.
I decided to read it and learned a lot from this book I would like to share. Like all books I can't really touch on everything but just certain aspects of the book I found interesting and knowledgeable. The book takes us through the life of 50 Cent from his days as a hustler to making it in the music industry. It takes us through what 50 had to do to get to the top and the struggles and battles he faced while getting there. I will touch on some of the key aspects of it. The main premise of this book talks about Fear and how it holds us back from achieving our goals and from reaching high in life. There is a quote by Malcolm X that reads "So over you is the greatest Enemy a man can have and that is fear. I know some of you are afraid to listen to the truth-you have been raised on fear and lies. But I am going to preach the truth to you until you are free of that fear".
Man's greatest enemy is fear and that can be fear of death, fear of loss etc but that is what holds all of us from applying pressure to life. In the first chapter it talks about seeing things for what they are. In times we have a hard time accepting things for what they are and moving from that. We sometimes want to live life like it is a movie but that is not realistic. We have to accept our circumstances and focus on what is around us. That is what will help us elevate because we are in the present moment and not focusing on false reality. In 50's case he faced battles from his youth from his battle as a drug dealer and getting shot with nine bullets which almost took his life. Those moments happened and he accepted them and used it as motivation to keep going. Chapter Two talks about Making things your own and relying on yourself.
50 stated that the one goal of everyone should be ownership. Working for someone else means they own you and are able to dictate and boss you around. Being self-reliant is also about freedom and not depending on people and that goes for everything in life. No one is going to save us and in most times you have to figure things out and fight your own battles. No one can survive and grow in this life by depending on others. Chapter 3 talks about turning shit into sugar. Basically making the most of what you have and using that to get where you need to. 50 in this book states that every negative thing that happens in our life leads way to the possibility for something positive. There are also learning lessons and how we look at those circumstances can help us advance.
Life is not easy and we will go through times when negative things will happen and we may feel like giving up. There will be times in which we get so far but have to start all over. In 50's case, he was about to release an album under Columbia records before he unfortunately got shot in the drive by. He was dropped from the label after getting shot and Columbia stopped the release of his album. Of course 50 was disappointed at the beginning but he thought about how he could use this to move forward. He was able to slowly start recording music again and through releasing a bunch of mixtapes he was able to get another record deal from shady records. He states that "Lack of resources can be an advantage forcing you to be inventive with the little you have". I learned a lot from this book and wish I could go more in depth but that leaves you to check it out. I recommended this for everyone and will add a link to purchase. Thank you to Robert Greene and 50 Cent for this masterpiece.
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