The 50th Law
Encyclopedia
The 50th Law is a book on strategy written collaboratively by 50 Cent
and Robert Greene
. Its central theme is fearlessness.
, which has long been a staple in the hip hop
world, came to the attention of 50, who asked his manager to set up a meeting. Greene has said he was surprised by 50's persona and was impressed by his "zen
-like calmness" and eye for strategy. The two began to work on a book project that would combine their two worlds.
According to Greene, 50 is an example of what Machiavelli called a New Prince, a leader who emerges in a time of chaos or turmoil and rewrites the rules. According to 50, Greene's books describe the laws and strategies used by hustlers on the street, even if they might not know the "technical terms" for what they were doing.
, Miles Davis
, Sun Tzu
, François de La Rochefoucauld
, Machiavelli
, Richard Wright
, James Baldwin
, Thucydides
, Dostoyevsky, Charlie Parker
, and the Baron de Montesquieu.
The central theme of the book is fearlessness. The back cover says nihil timendum est, meaning nothing is frightening. Each of the 10 chapters in the book explains a factor of fearlessness and begins by telling how Fifty learned this Fearless Philosophy in Southside Queens.
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
and Robert Greene
Robert Greene (American author)
Robert Greene is an American author known for his books on strategy, power and seduction.-Biography:Greene was born in 1959 to a Jewish family in Los Angeles...
. Its central theme is fearlessness.
Origins
The book The 50th Law grew out of the friendship and mutual admiration between 50 Cent and Robert Greene. Greene's book The 48 Laws of PowerThe 48 Laws of Power
The 48 Laws of Power is a 1998 book by Robert Greene. Robert Greene takes elements of some of the worlds most influential political thinkers to come up with the 48 Laws of Power, from Niccolò Machiavelli to Sun Tsu, he captures their most important points of power. - The Laws :# Never outshine the...
, which has long been a staple in the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
world, came to the attention of 50, who asked his manager to set up a meeting. Greene has said he was surprised by 50's persona and was impressed by his "zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
-like calmness" and eye for strategy. The two began to work on a book project that would combine their two worlds.
According to Greene, 50 is an example of what Machiavelli called a New Prince, a leader who emerges in a time of chaos or turmoil and rewrites the rules. According to 50, Greene's books describe the laws and strategies used by hustlers on the street, even if they might not know the "technical terms" for what they were doing.
The book
The 50th Laws initial printing featured gold-leaf pages and gothic font. The book features Greene's style of illustrating universal laws through historical examples. The 50th Law mentioned or included stories about Malcolm XMalcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu
Sun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...
, François de La Rochefoucauld
François de La Rochefoucauld (writer)
François VI, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac was a noted French author of maxims and memoirs. The view of human conduct his writings describe has been summed up by the words "everything is reducible to the motive of self-interest", though the term "gently cynical" has also been applied...
, Machiavelli
Niccolò Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer based in Florence during the Renaissance. He is one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, playwright, and a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
, Richard Wright
Richard Wright (author)
Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
, James Baldwin
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist and civil rights activist.James Baldwin may also refer to:-Writers:*James Baldwin , American educator, writer and administrator...
, Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, Dostoyevsky, Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, and the Baron de Montesquieu.
The central theme of the book is fearlessness. The back cover says nihil timendum est, meaning nothing is frightening. Each of the 10 chapters in the book explains a factor of fearlessness and begins by telling how Fifty learned this Fearless Philosophy in Southside Queens.
Ten Concepts of Fearlessness
- See Things For What They Are (Intense Realism)
- Make Everything Your Own (Self-RelianceSelf-RelianceSelf-Reliance is an essay written by American Transcendentalist philosopher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson. It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's repeating themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts...
) - Turn Shit Into Sugar (OpportunismOpportunism-General definition:Opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to individuals, groups,...
) - Keep Moving (Calculated Momentum)
- Know When To Be Bad (AggressionAggressionIn psychology, as well as other social and behavioral sciences, aggression refers to behavior between members of the same species that is intended to cause humiliation, pain, or harm. Ferguson and Beaver defined aggressive behavior as "Behavior which is intended to increase the social dominance of...
) - Lead From The Front (AuthorityAuthorityThe word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
) - Know Your Environment From The Inside Out (Connection)
- Respect The Process (Mastery)
- Push Beyond Your Limits (Self-Belief)
- Confront Your Mortality (The Sublime)
Reception
The book debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. Greene and 50 also appeared together on the Today show.External links
- Robert Greene & 50 Cent's The 50th Law Summary of each chapter, along with a video interview from Robert Greene about the book
- The 50th Law: 10 Lessons in Fearlessness ebook presentation