The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

Understand: In many ways, the dilemma that King faced is the
dilemma that all of us face in life, because of a profound element in
human nature. We are all complex. We like to present a front to the
world that is consistent and mature, but we know inside that we are

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subject to many different moods and wear many different faces,
depending on circumstances. We can be practical, social, introspective,
irrational, depending on the mood of the moment. And this inner
chaos actually causes us pain. We lack a sense of cohesion and
direction in life. We could choose any number of paths, depending on
our shifting emotions, which pull us this way and that. Why go here
instead of there? We wander through life, never quite reaching the
goals that we feel are so important to us, or realizing our potential. The
moments in which we feel clarity and purpose are fleeting. To soothe
the pain from our aimlessness, we might enmesh ourselves in various
addictions, pursue new forms of pleasure, or give ourselves over to
some cause that interests us for a few months or weeks.
The only solution to the dilemma is King’s solution—to find a higher
sense of purpose, a mission that will provide us our own direction, not
that of our parents, friends, or peers. This mission is intimately
connected to our individuality, to what makes us unique. As King
expressed it: “We have a responsibility to set out to discover what we
are made for, to discover our life’s work, to discover what we are called
to do. And after we discover that, we should set out to do it with all the
strength and all of the power that we can muster.” This “life’s work” is
what we were intended to do, as dictated by our particular skills, gifts,
and inclinations. It is our calling in life. For King, it was an impulse to
find his own particular path, to fuse the practical with the spiritual.
Finding this higher sense of purpose gives us the integration and
direction we all crave.
Consider this “life’s work” something that speaks to you from within
—a voice. This voice will often warn you when you are getting involved
in unnecessary entanglements or when you are about to follow career
paths that are unsuited to your character, by the uneasiness that you
feel. It directs you toward activities and goals that mesh with your
nature. When you are listening to it, you feel like you have greater
clarity and wholeness. If you listen closely enough, it will direct you
toward your particular destiny. It can be seen as something spiritual or
something personal, or both.
It is not the voice of your ego, which wants attention and quick
gratification, something that further divides you from within. Rather, it
absorbs you in your work and what you have to do. It is sometimes
hard to hear, as your head is full of the voices of others telling you what
you should and should not do. Hearing it involves introspection, effort,

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and practice. When you follow its guidance, positive things tend to
happen. You have the inner strength to do what you must and not be
swayed by other people, who have their own agendas. Hearing this
voice will connect you to your larger goals and help you avoid detours.
It will make you more strategic, focused, and adaptive. Once you hear
it and understand your purpose, there will be no going back. Your
course has been set, and deviating from it will cause anxiety and pain.
He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.
—Friedrich Nietzsche