The 50th Law

by Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson

She understood that with passive aggressors you must not get emotional and drawn into their endless intrigues. If you respond indirectly, with a kind of passive aggression yourself, you play into their hands

Being underhanded and tricky only spurs on their insecurities and intensifies their vindictive nature.

The only way to treat these types is to take bold, uncompromising action that either discourages further nons...

They respond only to power an...

You are playing the lion to their fox, making the...

To recognize such types, look for extremes in behavior that are not natural—too kind, too ingratiating, too moral. These are most likely disguises that are worn to deflect attention from their true nature.

In facing an unjust situation, you have two options. You can loudly proclaim your intentions to defeat the people behind it, making yourself look good and noble in the process. But in the end, this tends to polarize the public (you create one hardened enemy for every sympathizer won over to the cause), and it makes your intentions obvious.

You resist the pull to get emotional, and you craft strategic maneuvers designed to win public support. You shift your position to suit the circumstance, baiting the enemy into actions that will win you sympathy. You conceal your intentions.

There is no nobility in losing if an injustice is allowed to prevail.

In general, you must be less respectful of the rules that other people have established.

IMPOSSIBLE DYNAMICS

You can recognize this dynamic by your emotional need to somehow solve the problem, mixed with your complete frustration in finding any kind of reasonable answer. In truth the only viable solution is to terminate the relationship—no arguing, no bargaining, no compromising. You leave the job (there are always others); you leave the person who is tormenting you with as much finality as possible. Resist the temptation to feel any guilt. You need to create as much distance as possible, so they cannot inveigle these emotions into you. They must become dead to you so you can go on with your life.

Instead of taking this personally or concerning yourself with people’s intentions, you must simply work to protect and advance yourself in this competitive game,

game—nothing to feel guilty about.

Lead from the Front—Authority

that person is weak and passive, then the group tends to splinter into factions. If such leaders lack confidence, their insecurities tend to filter their way down the line.

A leader who is audacious, out in front, and setting the tone and agenda for the group sparks a higher energy level and confidence.

words and promises mean nothing; only actions carry weight.

If you are authentic, as tough as you seem to be, then you will earn the respect that will make people back off and make your life that much easier.

only your actions can prove your worth.

He would say only a few, well-chosen words about what he wanted from them. Then, if they did the wrong thing on the set, he would brutally humiliate them in front of everyone. They quickly learned they had to pay attention to the few words he spoke and to his body language on the set, which would often tell more.

Understand: to be a leader often requires making tough choices, getting people to do things against their will. If you have chosen the soft, pleasing, compliant style of leadership, out of fear of being disliked, you will find yourself with less and less room to compel people to work harder or make sacrifices. If you suddenly try to be tough, they often

They can move from love to hate. The opposite approach yields the opposite result.

If you build a reputation for toughness and getting results, people might resent you, but you will esta...

Now with time and a well-founded authority, you have room to back off and reward people, even to be nice. When you do so, it will be seen as a genuine gesture, not an attempt to get peop...

As the one on top, you must rid yourself of your modern prejudices, your fetishism of technical means.

If you fail to unify the group around some glorious cause, some equivalent of the Promised Land, then you will find that you are having to push and pull your followers, who are constantly splitting up into factions.

Instead you must assume a prophetic air, as if you were merely chosen to lead them towards some higher goal.

Understand: a group of any size must have goals and long-term objectives to function properly. But human nature serves as a great impediment to this. We are naturally consumed by immediate battles and problems; we find it very difficult, if not unnatural, to focus with any depth on the future.

You must play this visionary role with some dramatic flair, like Edison who was a consummate performer and promoter.

Your own level of excitement and self-belief will convince people that you know where you are going and should be followed.

THE UNIFIER

Understand: the natural dynamic of any group is to splinter into factions. People want to protect and promote their narrow interests, so they form political alliances from within.

If you force them to unite under your leadership, stamping out their factions, you may take control but it will come with great resentment

If you do nothing, you will find yourself surrounded by lords and dukes who will ...

Now, to fight or doubt you from within is to stand against this cause and seem selfish.

The group, infused with this belief system, will tend to police itself and root out troublemakers.

THE ROLE MODEL

You need to develop a team of lieutenants who are infused with your ideas, your spirit, and your values.

Operating with a mission statement is an effective way of softening your image and disguising the extent of your power.

You are seen as more than just a leader; you are a role model, instructing, energizing, and inspiring your lieutenants. In crafting this team, look for people who share your values and are open to learning.

THE BOLD KNIGHT

Every group has a kind of collective energy, and on its own this will tend towards inertia.

You are an author creating a new order, writing a new act in some drama. You never rest on your laurels or past achievements.

Instead you are constantly taking action that moves the group forward and brings positive results;

The members of your group will give you the respect and authority you require if you earn it as an author and creator. In the end, if people mistrust and resist your authority, you really have only yourself to blame.

You experiment, you take some hard blows, and you see what works and doesn’t work in real time. You expose yourself and your work to public scrutiny. Your failures are embedded in your nervous system; you do not want to repeat them.

If you take on added goals or new tasks, your focus will be broken up and you will never attain what you wanted in the first place. You cannot persist on two or three paths, so avoid that temptation. Second, try breaking things up into smaller blocks of time.

Try to look at boredom from the opposite perspective—as a call for you to slow yourself down, to stop searching for endless distractions.

PEOPLE FOLLOW THOSE WHO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE GOING, SO CULTIVATE AN AIR OF CERTAINTY AND BOLDNESS.