Becoming Fearless: 5 Lessons from The 50th Law
If you're anything like me, there's a secret wish list of traits and attributes you desire that, in your opinion, will help you achieve your ultimate state of being—happiness, strength, success, etcetera, etcetera. ETCETERA. And, like me, you try to find it in blogs, Facebook posts, Instagram quotes, or whatever spoonful of sugar is readily available for you to keep your fear of failure down, if for at least the moment.
Enter The 50th Law. Written by Robert Greene & 50 Cent, this follow-up to Robert Greene's The 48 Laws Of Power tackles the art of fearlessness. Here are five key lessons taken from this tome:
1. See the world for what it is—and accept it.
The reality is that the world is gritty, dark, and cold. And your mind must be as sharp as a knife to cut through the sugar coating and see the intense, brutal reality for what it is. This isn't meant to be depressing or pessimistic—it's simply a matter of fact.
Once your awareness of this is heightened, your become much more aware of your surroundings. Whether in the streets or in the office, certain things you've never paid attention to before like ulterior motives, power structures within groups, and passive "chess" moves start to poke out at you. Your choice whether to play in the game or avoid it entirely is up to you—but at least now you're no longer the odd naive one out of the bunch.
2. Build self-reliance. You are the business owner of YOU, Inc.
Remaining dependent on others for happiness, stature, success, or any other positive emotion has many fatal flaws to your personal peace and joy. Not only is it temporary, it's a false foundation for you to build on, and once it's gone (either by choice or force), you will crumble and have no sense of identity and have no knowledge of how to piece yourself back together (look at Lotto winners that have gone broke in less than a year's time).
We can take success in our own hands and create a foundation unique to our own abilities, skills, and talents. If you own your own muffin shop complete with an oven, muffin tops, pounds of flour and sugar, and everything else you need to open your muffin shop, why would you go work at a Dunkin Donuts?
Do you know anyone who works hard just to say they work hard but continue to struggle? How many people do you know that rely on someone else's success to thrive?
Stop allowing others to only benefit from your work ethic. Start planting your own seeds so you can grow your own muffins.
3. Be like water and adapt to face your challenges.
You gotta move with and around the obstacles. Don't be the kid that stops at the fence, even though you can see the end right through the other side. Take your hands and grab that chainlink with all your might and climb right over that sucker—or walk around it.
Challenges and obstacles are there to remind you that you're on the right path. Forcing through an obstacle is not the way, just as right into a wall will not get you through the other side.
Look at your surroundings, your tools, the size of the obstacle, your abilities. What combinations of those will help you across to the other side to keep going?
As Bruce Lee famously said:
"Be water, my friend."
4. Monkey see, monkey do, especially if you're lead monkey.
Napoleon Bonaparte was renowned for jumping on his stallion and leading the charge in his greatest battles. Even when his army would be outnumbered 3 to 1, his bravery and courage inspired his men to come out on top.
Whether you acknowledge it or not, you are the front man and you set the tone. The motto here is monkey-see, monkey-do. Followers will undoubtedly sense your confidence (or lack thereof) and it'll filter through the entire system.
Don't sell the pipe dream—start working on the damn pipe and watch others come around and help you.
5. Connection—be in touch with your environment.
The biggest flaw to any success is the failure to connect and adapt with a core target group. Inflating your ego to think that your idea or project is so dope that your core target group—your audience, your staff, your customers, your clients, your patients, etc.—will fall in love with it right away without even trying to understand who they are first is an automatic shoo-in for Failure Of The Year.
Human emotions and tastes change, and you must adapt to the times constantly. Nobody buys into classic sh*t for practical reasons, only nostalgic entertainment. Practicality and adaptability is key to your success.
How many people do you come across that are stuck in the old-school way? Does it irritate or bother you? Does it make you want to buy or work with that person?
Know your group first and what they need, and then develop.
Have you read The 50th Law? The 48 Laws Of Power?
What other books inspire you to be fearless? I'd love to hear your thoughts on what's helped you overcome challenges in your life.