Make Everything Your Own

The following is an excerpt from The 50th Law, adapted for HuffPost.

When you work for others, you are at their mercy. They own your work; they own you. Your creative spirit is squashed. What keeps you in such positions is a fear of having to sink or swim on your own. Instead you should have a greater fear of what will happen to you if you remain dependent on others for power. Your goal in every maneuver in life must be ownership, working the corner for yourself. When it is yours, it is yours to lose -- you are more motivated, more creative, more alive. The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.

You came into this life with the only real possessions that ever matter -- your body, the time that you have to live, your energy, the thoughts and ideas unique to you, and your autonomy. But over the years you tend to give all of this away. You spend years working for others -- they own you during that period. You get needlessly caught up in people's games and battles, wasting energy and time that you will never get back. You come to respect your own ideas less and less, listening to experts, conforming to conventional opinions. Without realizing it you squander your independence, everything that makes you a creative individual.

Before it is too late, you must reassess your entire concept of ownership. It is not about possessing things or money or titles. You can have all of that in abundance but if you are someone who still looks to others for help and guidance, if you depend on your money or resources, then you will eventually lose what you have when people let you down, adversity strikes, or you reach for some foolish scheme out of impatience. True ownership can only come from within. It comes from a disdain for anything or anybody that impinges upon your mobility, from a confidence in your own decisions, and from the use of your time in constant pursuit of education and improvement.

Only from this inner position of strength and self-reliance will you be able to truly work for yourself and never turn back. If situations arise in which you must take in partners or fit within another organization, you are mentally preparing yourself for the moment when you will move beyond these momentary entanglements. If you do not own yourself first, you will continually be at the mercy of people and circumstance, looking outward instead of relying on yourself and your wits.

Understand: We are living through an entrepreneurial revolution, on a global scale. The old power centers are breaking up. Individuals everywhere want more control over their destiny and have much less respect for an authority that is not based on merit but on mere power. We have all naturally come to question why someone should rule over us, why our source of information should depend on the mainstream media, and on and on. We do not accept what we accepted in the past.

Where we are naturally headed with all of this is the right and capacity to run our own enterprise, in whatever shape or form, to experience that freedom. We are all corner hustlers in a new economic environment and to thrive in it we must cultivate the kind of self-reliance that will help push us past all of the dangerous dependencies that threaten us along the way.

Think of it this way: dependency is a habit that is so easy to acquire. We live in a culture that offers you all kinds of crutches -- experts to turn to, drugs to cure any psychological unease, mild pleasures to help pass or kill time, jobs to keep you just above water. It is hard to resist. But once you give in, it is a like prison you enter that you cannot ever leave. You continually look outward for help and this severely limits your options and maneuverability. When the time comes, as it inevitably does, when you must make an important decision, you have nothing inside of yourself to depend on.

Before it is too late, you must move in the opposite direction. You cannot get this requisite inner strength from books or a guru or pills of any kind. It can only come from you. It is a kind of exercise you must practice on a daily basis -- weaning yourself from dependencies, listening less to others' voices and more to your own, cultivating new skills. As you progress on this path, you will find that self- reliance becomes the habit and that anything that smacks of depending on others will horrify you.

 

Comments

[socialbird37]

I have to completely agree with Mr. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson...and this theory and practice obviously works well for him. He has built an empire unto himself...he came in as a hustler, a rapper hungry for independence of everyone. And he has done it...and he continues to do it. I respect the man for this tenacity and focus...and his independence. It is something I strive to gain more of each and every day -- doing what resonates most with me and trusting my own decisions, vision and voice. It ain't easy but it is highly feasible and important to do. I hate being dependent upon others or acting from a space where I cannot stand on my own two feet...

What he states here is the same as what Marianne Williamson speaks to -- believing in our own truth, embracing it and trusting in it not only liberates ourselves but liberates those around us to remember and see that it is feasible to do it and that it is so well worth it. Freedom to be oneself is the utmost freedom any of us can ever experience. Ever. ;-)

[StylesBitchly]

Couldn't agree more, $.50!

[paulbikes]

I never thought i'd agree with 50 cent more.

It's hard to see real freedom from what's going on. For my part I acknowledged that changing my major put me back another 3 years and I was out of money. I dropped out instead of going into debt for school, and I'm running my company full time now. Not a week later we started talks for our first distribution deal.

I have no debt, and with some luck I'll be paying myself a living wage by the time I would have finished school. I feel like I'm working harder than I ever have, but I'm working for myself.

It's apparent that putting your full faith in your employer and working your hardest means nothing now. My dad trimmed costs substantially and boosted sales at his company, they whacked him when the owner made a boo-boo to the tune of his annual income. Backstabbers. I'm happy putting my full faith in myself and my partners and our abilities.

[aujourdhaitidotcom]

I am agreeing wt 50. However not everyone will get rich or die trying. Working makes us feel part of society. It makes us appreciate other people and how our lives are connected to one another. 50 is totally right to be talking like that because he made it. In a way when colleges inviting, person like 50, or billgate, or those who made without graduating from college, it makes us ask what the[ ****] point of going to college? These guys prove that college can be a waste of time. They all reached within to make their contribution to society. As 50 law said, they didn't want to become a slave which college prepared us to become...Good luck and now..think about going to work tomorrow...lol

[OdysseusNemesis]

I don't know what this article is on about. It is, nevertheless, the best crap I have ever read on HuffPo. Dependency – like drugs -- is a habit that is so easy to acquire, just as disdain and pretension are habits, so easily acquired by the 'new rich' or 'new money'– pardon me, I should say some of them.

[Balzac]

The most important thing I noticed about Curtis Jackson's success is his commitment to succeed on his own terms. Get Rich or Die Trying sums it up pretty well. A little bit of success is not enough for some. Some might call him a greedy narcissist for this, but they're probably just "window shoppers".

[harmonikasavingsbonds]

Now if they could only set this text to rap.

[Pat15]

a thought provoking article ...something to think about & chew on ...most of us have become slaves to our jobs & beholden to city/county who continue to take even a bigger pie of salary in property taxes, fines etc ..in turn we have developed a mentality of trampling on others to make an extra $..we dont get along with others, road rage is an example ..we dont get along with our coleagues, neighbors ... many have few friends a close circle & that is the extent of our relations ...anyone outside of that circle we hate...hatred for others shows up on many fronts ..we dont care about others...as ong as we make the $$$ we show off ..just look around banks are taking us to the cleaners, politicians waste our money, corporations getting bigger and have no regulations so they do whatever they want .. Good luck to USA ....the nation is going downhill...

[Lisa Guest - Huffpost Blogger]

Liked the story on 60 Minutes.. It's about time someone rewrote Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance essay. I'm aligned with the concept of interdependence... and choosing for self just how involved and connected I want to be with others, the masses, and institutions. Having the choice to be free in the moment is a big pull and whether it is a boss or a shareholder or an employee... one can't be free when enmeshed fully in the process of making money. What are we really here for? For money and what it can buy? For connection and how deeply it reflects us? For choice and what we can create in the moment?

[DavidSane]

Part TWO

One last question, what is the ideal libertarianism society? Is it everyone working for themselves, so no one is a slave to power yielding corporations? Seems to me if everyone was entrepreneurial, than no one entrepreneur could have a huge slice of the pie, it would have to be all entrepreneurs making enough to live a decent life, therefore everyone living in more equal standards (than today's). Alas, everybody would be a little entrepreneur, in a sense bartering with each other, surviving off one another (not large corps or govt. programs) and hence, you end up with everybody being interdependent. Like it came full circle! haha, well let me know what you think, because I enjoy the dialogue.

[DavidSane]

Part One

I like this article, but I like more the conversation it started among readers. One thing I couldn't seem to clarify was once people become independent, are they going to be different from the "slave" bosses they once had? I mean, is this just about getting rich, or also about some type of enlightenment?

Also, does becoming an entrepreneur mean/equate to becoming super rich? Are we talking about entrepreneurs' whose aim is to take large chunks of a market, or entrepreneurs who make enough to just to be independent in their own little world?...meaning they don't try to rule the world per say.

People have written about different experiences, and it seems clear to me that entrepreneurs do come from all walks of life. However, many people here seem to be anti-working for others, and working for others does totally suck in many cases, but many people work within in a company for years, and it does pay off from time to time. I mean, who wouldn't mind be an employee for Goldman Sachs right now. Those type of companies, along with many others, law, oil, medical, etc...provide for an opportunity to rise, of course, the degree of entrepreneurial creativity depends.

[thinkb4uleapII]

I heard a powerful talk to a predominantly college audience on the radio many years ago entitled: "Shall We Be Drunk On The Eve Of Reconstruction"

The speaker, in addressing the students, admonished them to maximize the benefit of their freshly minted degrees upon graduation. He said "if you must toil on the corporate plantation, do so only as long as needed to acquire the necessary experience and capital" to further your true calling in life. My summation does not do justice to the power and inspiration of his message, but those words had a powerful impact on me and certainly most of those who heard them.

A fundamentally key point that I derived from that message is to not be content to choose the path of least resistance, no matter how profitable in the short-term.

[WisdomFirst]

I also am very much enjoying the response this article has provoked among readers. I actually think it's one of the most important articles I've read on this site probably ever. This is a really serious issue, given how corporations have taken our country over, and have taken each of us over, personally. I find it extremely interesting how libertarianism has popped up into the conversation.

I do not equate owning your own business (and therefore being the architect of your own destiny, rather than a slave to an uncaring employer who sucks away your desire to do well on the job) as being pro-libertarian at ALL. Believe me when I say that I know about libertarianism. I had an old boyfriend whose entire family was a bunch of staunch of libertarians, and in college, he'd constantly debate me on every topic imaginable, trying to win each issue with a libertarian answer to everything -- why there should be no national borders, why the government shouldn't be involved in social welfare, what the libertarian answer is to paying for police and firemen -- on and on and on.

Owning your business is difficult -- YES, it does involve the annoying tasks of doing taxes, etc., etc., and yes, that takes away from running the business itself, and all the creativity of being the businessperson you are. But I've been a corporate employee, and it kills your spirit entirely. That's not libertarian or facist or Maoist.

[DuPageDem]

How quaint. Sadly, we live under transnational corporate feudalism, where they take everything we used to own. We've also been turned against our own hollowed-out governments, the only institutions once powerful enough to stop the corporate overlords. So the posters here suggest we instead cling to libertarian fantasy. It might make them feel better. But it's not going to change anything.

[thinkb4uleapII]

Those transnational companies you refer to serve a purpose in the grand Universal Plan. Don't curse them, but recognize that their purpose and utility will progressively diminish as humanity evolves. The Universe has already planned for their obsolescence as It did the dinosaur.

The current paradigm-shift we are observing presents many opportunites. Instead of resigning yourself to some perceived fate, I suggest that you learn to take advantage of every opportunity currently open to you and prepare for future opportunities on the horizon.

[alilamos]

I can see where this would be inspiring, especially young people, but we are always interdependent and I think it's more valuable to nurture that skill. This is a key false American mythology - that people can be totally independent and become a success on their own. How many 50 cents are there in the world?
#1, corner hustlers aren't independent entrepreneurs. I live around way too many. They are tragic and powerless pawns- trapped between legal system and more powerful dealers that are invisible when the cops arrest them.
#2, the internet has enabled more small entrepreneurs to compete, but you're garage-made music isn't in equal competition to Sony on the internet. Which brings me to
#3, to work for yourself in order to be creative is fantasy. You must love business in order to work for yourself- you become a slave to chasing money - your financial books, the taxes, how to build your customer base so you can continue to make an income for the rest of your life, etc. If you are lucky, you can hire people for some of this so you can focus on being creative, but as soon as you give away power (and if everyone is independent, who will support your work??) you lose, b/c you can't trust anyone else with your money.
#4 What about the value you give your life AND the whole community when you choose a service career like teaching or healthcare?

[JackWhistle]

This is libertarian claptrap. If by "young people" you mean 30 - 40 y/o then I agree with you. Millennials (by every poll I've seen) are distinctly lacking in the 'libertarian' department.

[jezzgeo]

If Millenials are lacking in the Libertarian dept, i think that's a positive step. I agree with "alilamos." Good commentary, alilamos. Analytic and insightful. -also refreshing as it reminds us that financial success and independence are virtually mutually exclusive. To have financial success, a person is DEPENDENT on others (ie. opportunities born into their life; luck of certain teachers, friends, mentors or any influential figures; education and teachers and taxpayers that make that possible (even if it's a private school, perhaps the teachers there are the result of public education, and their teachers, etc, etc); publicly paid for roads, drinking water, sewage systems; court systems, legislators providing rights and police protecting from crime (to you or someone who had effect on your life); to the more obvious networkng advantages certain people have provided in professional introductions, business contacts, sales leads, word of mouth, idea contributors, laborers, tax payer provided patent law body, etc, etc, etc.

However, individually, people do have to be their own person and have inner strength. This message is not lost on me, from 50 and his ghost writer.

[thinkb4uleapII]

Alilamos, I like the way you think. I often say: to get the right answers you have to ask the right questions. Here are a few personal insights on your comments and questions:

1. You are right to say that the "corner hustler" is a pawn in a game fraught with danger, legal and otherwise. However, this street-level entrepreneur is driven to succeed on his own terms and is willing to take the necessary risks to do so. That is the heart of the matter. His choice to engage in activity that is unlikely to reap the long-term reward he seeks may be questionable, but his core desire to seek a better life is a valid and inalienable human right. It is this same inner drive that caused many a "Gold Rush" entrepreneur, under the banner of "California or Bust", to set out in covered wagon, cross treacherous terrain and engage many a danger. The corner hustler's banner reads: "Get Rich or Die Tryin".

2. I disagree with your assertion. There are many factors that continue to give the large corporation market advantages, but the internet has changed the game. Many an artist who heretofore had little chance of being heard now has a direct pipeline to a rapidly evolving marketplace. Buying habits, among other things, are changing and digital innovations are a driving force.

(to be continued)

[thinkb4uleapII]

#3 I'm sure you've heard the saying: "it's not the destination, it's the journey that matters most". Those who are slaves to money and consumption are just that -- slaves. The freedom to be able to ply your trade according to the dictates of your conscience and express your innate gifts and talents is reward unto itself. In that paradigm, money becomes a means of exchange with others to forward the individual goals of each. I operate from a perspective of knowing that my"wealth" flows from within me and steadily manifests itself in material ways. I was born wealthy, because the Universe placed a dream within my spirit and invested its infinite creative resources in me to bring it to fulfillment. I become poor when I lose sight of that truth.

#4 If that is your gift and creative path, celebrate it and be the best teacher, health care worker, etc. you can be. Recognize also that desires evolve and change. If you stifle your creative urgings and choose to be a teacher or health care worker beyond the season allotted for that purpose, you do yourself and your community a disservice.

IMHO

[dawn2dusk]

yeah!

[Robert Greene - Huffpost Blogger]

I was going to reply Alilamos but you answered his or her points better than I could. Kudos!

[tmon23]

Awesome Article, I as a Center Right Libertarian Believe and Live by this Creed !!

[Johnagain]

Sure you do. Do you also where a batman outfit under your street clothes?

[realitytrumpsbull]

Is this the kind of stuff that Harriette Walters was reading, around the time that she and her cohorts lifted $50 million out of the tax coffers in Washington, D.C.?