

50 Cent's 10 lessons for success in business - and in life - kareemm
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6837225.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1

======
adrianwaj
Greene: Hey Fiddy, I just wrote a self-help book.

Fiddy: Great, here's a photo of me and I'll send you a few zesty rhymes about
being the best.

Greene: Cool, we'll profit share and you can read the final draft before it
goes to print.

Fiddy: Word. Split it into 50 chapters.

\----

I saw a Hugh Hefner self-help column once: don't even know if Hef even knew
about it. Here it is: <http://tr.im/z3yQ>

~~~
morphir
I got problems with the word 'self-help'. Since you usually receive such
'self-help' knowledge through books, movies etc. which is like regular help.
If you however figure out to do something yourself, without that book or
movie, THEN its self-help. Please let use the language we a all agreed upon.

~~~
roc
'self-help' is perfectly valid in the context of what 'help' alone would
imply.

e.g. 'help' losing weight suggests things like a gym partner, a personal
trainer, surgery, your spouse adopting your meal goals, etc.

'self-help' losing weight would be things that fall short of that: a workout
schedule, a diet plan, etc. Things that have pointed you in the right
direction, but don't include other people directly helping you.

What you're describing sounds closer to 'self-made'. As there was no
assistance from anyone else, of any kind, it doesn't seem useful to include
the word 'help' at all.

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wallflower
Thanks for posting this. I was peripherally aware of 50Cent's entrepreneurism
(the Vitamin Water deal), and I had no idea he was so focused and driven.

> The fools in life want things fast and easy — money, success, attention.
> Boredom is their great enemy and fear.

PG's build something people want

> Most people think first of what they want to express or make, then find the
> audience for their idea. You must work the opposite angle, thinking first of
> the public. You need to keep your focus on their changing needs, the trends
> that are washing through them. Beginning with their demand, you create the
> appropriate supply

Launch before you're done

> Do not be afraid of people’s criticisms - without such feedback your work
> will be too personal and delusional.

~~~
zaidf
Someone I know ran into his manager at one of the conferences and the guy said
something like how 50 Cents does not need to work another day and still be
richer than the best of rappers because of the Vitamin Water deal. I hear he
made over couple hundred mil.

~~~
jsm386
Yeah, during a performance a few years ago he was caught lip syncing. So he
just mumbled 'Vitamin Water' into the mic and walked off stage.

[http://mediatakeout.com/2009/7622-busted_50_cent_caught_lip_...](http://mediatakeout.com/2009/7622-busted_50_cent_caught_lip_synching_at_bet_awards.html)

~~~
loso
Even though that particular story is true, don't link to mediatakout as a
source. That site has made an art form of lying. Always check somewhere else
first.

~~~
jsm386
Fair enough, but EW (<http://popwatch.ew.com/2007/06/27/50-cent-lip-syn/>) and
Stereo Gum ([http://stereogum.com/archives/video/formula-50-goes-
ashlee-s...](http://stereogum.com/archives/video/formula-50-goes-ashlee-style-
for-the-bet-awards_005728.html)) both cited them in this case, so I figured I
would post the source, not other blogs' reposting...

------
freshfey
It's kinda sad to see people judge people by their career, appearance and
environment.

Facts:

-Just because Curtis Jackson is from a poor neighbourhood doesn't mean he's dumb or not business savvy.

-Just because he's a rapper doesn't mean he is always thinking about bling and 24 inch rims.

-Just because he is a rapper doesn't mean that he doesn't care about nothing but making money.

-And just because he hasn't had the best education and a 100k MBA it surely doesn't mean that he can't seal good business deals and manage his wealth.

When people talk about someone like Donald Trump it's always huge respect in
everything he's done or doing but when it's anyone you wouldn't expect it from
it's "I'm surprised he can actually talk so smart". Really?

~~~
ckuehne
Ahem, straw men arguments?

~~~
freshfey
Ignorance?

------
jyellin
All of these lessons are powerful and communicated in a wonderful way, but #2.
Make Everything Your Own - Self-Reliance, is something that all aspiring
entrepreneurs need to focus in order to take an idea and make it a reality.
There are many talented people in the world who fear losing a steady pay-check
regardless of the potential innovations that could be created. Stability means
that you are actually moving backwards on your personal continuum of life
because if you are not evolving, then you are going to compromise who you are
for the sake of something other than yourself. Be creative, be alive, and
realize that the most severe risk that you ever face is the risk associated
with living a life that someone or something has created for you to live...be
the creator, director, and artist of your own world!

------
kaiserama
Next week...Kanye West's 10 lessons for success on award shows - and in life.

~~~
yan
I was half expecting a kanye meme here..

"Yo Fiddy, I'm really happy for you, I'll let you finish, but Jay-Z had some
of the best financial advice of all time!"

~~~
pbhjpbhj
Yo Yan, I ma really happy for you, I'll let you finish, but Kaiserama had one
of the best comments of all time, OF ALL TIME!

------
marcusbooster
Bah, this is just a conduit for pop-psychologist Robert Greene to sell his
latest "Art of War" style self-help book.

~~~
zaidf
Yeah. If he just shared his story and let these points come out implicitly, it
would have been a lot more interesting.

------
auston
Reading this I could not help but think - 50 Cent DID NOT write this...

------
stcredzero
I think #6 is used to keep people _down_. If the overarching principle of FOSS
included #6, how far would it have gone?

I suspect that many people experience meltdowns in their personal lives,
because they start generalizing rule 6 from their professional lives and let
it guide their personal lives.

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justinh
What are the logistics if everyone in the world was an entrepreneur? ~5-6bn
small businesses?

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rfreytag
emacs sorts '50 cent' before 'AAA...'. Funny if being first in listings was
the true reason for his success.

pg has more data and convincingly reduces the advice to - 'determination'
(<http://www.paulgraham.com/determination.html>) - and 'be relentlessly
resourceful' (<http://www.paulgraham.com/relres.html>).

------
onreact-com
"Before it is too late you must master the art of knowing when and how to be
bad - using deception, manipulation, and outright force at the appropriate
moments."

When is the appropriate moment to use outright force? Like in "Get rich or die
trying"? Should you be able to shoot your competitors?

------
onreact-com
Do we allow top 10 lists again on HN? Or does it just depend on the source?
Corporate media are allowed but not bloggers?

