The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

The Tough Guy: He projects a rough masculinity that is intended
to intimidate. He has a swagger and an air that signals he is not to be
messed with. He tends to boast about past exploits—the women he has
conquered, the brawls, the times he’s outnegotiated opponents.
Although he seems extremely convincing in telling such stories, they
feel exaggerated, almost hard to believe. Do not be fooled by
appearances. Such men have learned to conceal an underlying
softness, an emotional vulnerability from deep within that terrifies
them. On occasion you will see this sensitive side—they may cry, or
have a tantrum, or suddenly show compassion. Embarrassed by this,
they will quickly cover it up with a tough or even cruel act or comment.

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For the baseball player Reggie Jackson, Yankees manager Billy
Martin was just such a brawling type. Jackson could recognize the
softness behind the bluster in Martin’s touchiness when it came to his
ego, his changing moods (not very masculine), and emotional
outbursts that revealed glaring insecurities. Such men will often make
terrible decisions under the impact of the emotions that they have tried
to conceal and repress but that inevitably surface. Although they like to
dominate women, they will often end up with a wife who clearly
dominates them, a secret wish of theirs.
You must not let yourself be intimidated by the front, but also be
careful to not stir up their deep insecurities by seeming to doubt their
tall tales or masculine nature. They are notoriously touchy and thin-
skinned, and you might detect a micropout on their face if you trigger
their insecurities, before they cover it up with a fierce scowl. If they
happen to be a rival, they are easy to bait into an overreaction that
reveals something less than tough.
The Saint: These people are paragons of goodness and purity.
They support the best and most progressive causes. They can be very
spiritual if that is the circle they travel in; or they are above the
corruption and compromises of politics; or they have endless
compassion for every type of victim. This saintly exterior developed
early on as a way to disguise their strong hunger for power and
attention or their strong sensual appetites. The irony is that often by
projecting this saintly aura to the nth degree they will gain great
power, leading a cult or political party. And once they are in power, the
Shadow will have space to operate. They will become intolerant, railing
at the impure, punishing them if necessary. Maximilien Robespierre
(nicknamed the Incorruptible), who rose to power in the French
Revolution, was just such a type. Under his reign, the guillotine was
never busier.
They are also secretly drawn to sex, to money, to the limelight, and
to what is expressly taboo for their particular saintliness. The strain
and the temptations are too much—they are the gurus who sleep with
their students. They will appear the saint in public, but their family or
spouse will see the demonic side in private. (See the story of the
Tolstoys in chapter 2.) There are genuine saints out there, but they do
not feel the need to publicize their deeds or grab power. To distinguish
between the real and the fake, ignore their words and the aura they
project, focusing on their deeds and the details of their life—how much

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they seem to enjoy power and attention, the astonishing degree of
wealth they have accumulated, the number of mistresses, the level of
self-absorption. Once you recognize this type, do not become a naive
follower. Keep some distance. If they are enemies, simply shine a light
on the clear signs of hypocrisy.
As a variation on this, you will find people who propound a
philosophy of free love and anything goes; but in fact they are after
power. They prefer sex with those who are dependent on them. And of
course anything goes, as long as it’s on their terms.