The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

Understand: We humans tend to live in the moment. It is the
animal part of our nature. We respond first and foremost to what we
see and hear, to what is most dramatic in an event. But we are not
merely animals tied to the present. Human reality encompasses the
past—every event is connected to something that happened before in
an endless chain of historical causation. Any present problem has deep
roots in the past. It also encompasses the future. Whatever we do has
consequences that stretch far into the years to come.
When we limit our thinking to what our senses provide, to what is
immediate, we descend to the pure animal level in which our reasoning
powers are neutralized. We are no longer aware of why or how things
come about. We imagine that some successful scheme that has lasted a
few months can only get better. We no longer give thought to the
possible consequences of anything we set in motion. We react to what
is given in the moment, based on only a small piece of the puzzle.
Naturally our actions then lead to unintended consequences, or even to
disasters like the South Sea crash or the more recent crash of 2008.
To complicate matters, we are surrounded by others who are
continually reacting, drawing us deeper into the present. Salesmen and

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demagogues play on this weakness in human nature to con us with the
prospect of easy gains and instant gratification. Our only antidote is to
train ourselves to continually detach from the immediate rush of
events and elevate our perspective. Instead of merely reacting, we step
back and look at the wider context. We consider the various possible
ramifications of any action we take. We keep in mind our long-term
goals. Often, in raising our perspective, we will decide that it is better
to do nothing, to not react, and to let time go by and see what it
reveals. (If Blunt had only waited a few months, he would have seen
Law’s scheme falling apart, and England would have been spared the
ruin that came.) Such sanity and balance do not come naturally. They
are powers we acquire through great effort, and they represent the
height of human wisdom.
I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of
people.
—Sir Isaac Newton