Why Gambling and Blasting 50-Cent Will Always Be Cool

This might be hard for a lot of you to believe or maybe I’m kidding myself. In high school I used to have big, fake, cubic zirconia earrings. That's plural. As in more than one. I thought I was real cool. I had a 1200 watt amplifier in my 1999 Jeep Wrangler. My subs were always blasting 50 Cent or some other G-unit rap music. People knew when I was in the neighborhood. My trunk rattled like Best Buy’s speaker center. It’s not that I thought I was a G….or maybe I did, who knows. I was 16 and all that mattered was being cool. Although it sounded ridiculous (and I’m sure I looked ridiculous), that type of music always fired me up and motivated me to work hard. It still does. In case you’re still wondering, I didn’t actually grow up in the streets. Unless you count the mean streets of Westminster, Colorado, as “streets”. I am your typical suburban white boy. For as much of a bad rap (pun intended) as rap gets, there are some incredible business lessons I have learned from rap in general and specifically the all-time greatest rapper, 50 cent (argue if you want – I’ll nod and smile and completely disagree with you).

If you have ever read his book, The 50^th Law, which he wrote alongside another one of my favorite authors, Robert Greene, you cannot deny how much of a genius 50 cent is regarding marketing, sales, business, etc. He had a hard life growing up. He definitely got into trouble. His story is absolutely remarkable though. He is absolutely one of my favorite business people. 50 Cent is 100% genius and 100% entrepreneur. His message is always the same. He tells people to bet on themselves. Have the confidence in yourself to risk everything for what you really want in life. Quit your job. Start a business. Do everything that you are afraid to do. If you are doing what you love, you will rise to the occasion.

One of my favorite quotes in the entire books is: "You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, on your future, by heading in a direction that others seem to fear. This means you believe that if you fail, you have the inner resources to recover. This belief acts as a kind of mental safety net. When you move ahead on some new venture or direction, your mind will snap to attention; your energy will be focused and intense. By making yourself feel the necessity to be creative, your mind will rise to the occasion."

As tough as it is, we all need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves some tough questions. Myself included. I challenge every one of you to do just that. You might be surprised with your answers. Take some real time to assess your situation and figure out what would truly excite you in life.

What do you really want your life to look like in 5 years?

What would make you excited every morning to wake up?

3        What is stopping you from doing it?

4        What is 1 small thing that you can do this week, to start making that dream a reality?

Don’t let anyone else make these decisions for you. You have everything you need today to be what you want. Don’t be afraid to bet on yourself and remember, in the poetic words of 50 Cent “If I can’t, do it, homey it can’t be done.”