The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

part of all historical periods. They believe that certain forces in the
world are to blame for their lack of success or power, instead of their
own impatience and lack of effort. There is no thought behind their
anger, and so it leads nowhere or it becomes destructive.
You must do the opposite. Your anger is directed at very specific
individuals and forces. You analyze the emotion—are you certain that
your frustration does not stem from your own inadequacies? Do you
really understand the cause of the anger and what it should be directed
at? In addition to determining if it is justified and where the anger
should be directed, you also analyze the best way to channel this
emotion, the best strategy for defeating your opponents. Your anger is

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controlled, realistic, and targeted at the actual source of the problem,
never losing sight of what initially inspired the emotion.
Most people engage in some cathartic release of their anger, some
giant protest, and then it goes away and they slip back into
complacency or become bitter. You want to cool your anger, bring it
more to a simmer than a boil. Your controlled anger will help give you
the resolve and patience you will need for what might be a longer
struggle than you had imagined. Let the unfairness or injustice lie in
the back of your mind and keep you energized. The real satisfaction
comes not in one spasm of emotion but in actually defeating the bully
and exposing the narrow-minded for who they are.
Do not be afraid to use your anger in your work, particularly if it is
allied to some cause or if you are expressing yourself through
something creative. It is often the sense of contained rage that makes
an orator so effective; it was the source of much of the charisma of
Malcolm X. Look at the most lasting and compelling works of art, and
you can often read or feel the restrained anger behind them. We are all
so careful and correct that when we feel the carefully channeled anger
in a film or a book or wherever it is, it is like a fresh wind. It attracts all
of our own frustrations and resentments and lets them out. We
recognize that it is something real and authentic. In your expressive
work, never shy away from anger but capture and channel it, letting it
breathe into the work a sense of life and movement. In giving
expression to such anger, you will always find an audience.
Power is required for communication. To stand before an indifferent or
hostile group and have one’s say, or to speak honestly to a friend truths that
go deep and hurt, these require self-affirmation, self-assertion, and even at
times aggression.
—Rollo May

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