The 50th Law [Kindle Edition]

Robert Greene has created a powerful book that will likely be misunderstood by most or discounted by many because of the co-author and his past, this will be a big mistake. In my opinion Robert Greene has taken a fearless step by choosing to cast 50 Cent as a modern day hip hop Napoleon, while I see the correlation, I'm not sure I'd go quite that far.

The 50th law is about two topics near and dear to my heart, fearlessness and hustle. In this case the term hustle is used to describe the street hustling tactics and the criminal endeavors of 50 Cent, what you can't overlook is that much of what 50 Cent did was in fact criminal and had no socially redeeming qualities. That said, he showed amazing insight for a child with little education other than that received from trial and error and other hustlers. He showed an intuitive grasp of core concepts of power, of strategy, and of outright manipulation. Robert discusses those tactics in great detail and in a very interesting way, the text is incredibly motivating. I constantly found myself wondering what I might do if I applied the same kind of hustle in an ethical, legal way to my existing business and kept coming back to the same conclusion, the business would grow and my competitors would be impacted.

The key ideas in the book are:

1. Intense Realism - A very candid look at the value of seeing things as they are
2. Self Reliance - A look at making everything your own and controlling yourself and your surroundings
3. Opportunism - Finding the value in negative situations and making the best of ever situation while turning it to your advantage
4. Keep moving - Move with the chaos, don't give others a chance to pin you down, change your appearance to fit the environment
5. Aggression - Get over your fears of confronting people
6. Authority - The person at the top sets the tone
7. Connection - Think of the public first and their changing needs. Begin with their demand and create the appropriate supply.
8. Mastery - Learn to master boredom, outlast your rivals, learn early to endure the hours of practice and drudgery to build a proper foundation to grow from
9. Self Belief - Push beyond your limits. Your sense of who you are will determine your actions and what you get in life.
10. The Sublime - Confront your mortality

While this book does not contain the depth of history you've probably come to expect from Mr. Greene's writing, there is plenty of it here and it is well chosen to support the topic of each chapter.

If you were ever looking for the step by step how to apply all of Robert's other writing, this is it, all wrapped up in a very practical guide. Misunderstand or overlook this book at your own risk . . . better yet, get it now and learn it, you'll be glad you did.

Dave Lakhani
Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want
Subliminal Persuasion: Influence & Marketing Secrets They Don't Want You To Know
How To Sell When Nobody's Buying: (And How to Sell Even More When They Are)

The 50th Law, a book like nothing you've ever read before. I first expected a continuation of Mr. Greene's other books (48 LOP, TAOS); this is to say the least completely different. Fearlessness is the basic focus of The 50th Law. The book explains how fear can cripple most people from living their lives well and with power. It also gives examples of those who lived on the fringes of society, who applied themselves fearlessly to the mastery of their own particular goals in the midst of despairing circumstance. The book's co-author 50 Cent, is one of Robert Greene's most adept pupils who rose in fame, money and power in a few short years amidst many life-changing setbacks. What an inspiration for anyone who wants more than their current situation in life can give them right now. This book is for the hustler, he doesn't think like everyone else because so many people are afraid to have his responsibilities and therefore don't enjoy his rewards. That's the book's "audience", the hustlers who make ways were none seem to be available and prosper because of it. This is why the hustler will always find a way to have power in this world. Read this book with an open mind, you may realize that fear is the only thing holding you back from what you truly want. It may be hard, gritty and abrasive yet this is the only book that will tell you the truth about how exactly one rises to power in this world; it's not pretty and it's fearless.

The 50th Law is a decent book that spins 10 variations on the single theme of fearlessness into 10 chapters. Each chapter is further broken down into sections: the eye of the huster, the key, the strategies, and the reversal, which is similar to the original structure of the 48 laws of Power. 50 cents contributes the material of his biography and the key to fearlessness as pithy quotes. Several new individuals are also included here, from Richard Wright to Malcom X to Amelia Earhart to John Ford, along with returning favorites like Napoleon and Scipio. However, 50 cents' biography is stretched thin across 200 plus pages, and there seems to be a great deal of overlap that borders on repetition. Robert Greene should be applauded for moving into new territory, into the world of the hustlers and the rappers to supplement his previous works on the great leaders, seducers, artists, thinkers, and generals. What happened to the 49th power?