Search results for 'Emerging Leaders for Innovation Across Sectors'

America land of the free home of the brave
But to the rest of the world what message do we pave
With our stars and our stripes we shine so bright
But do we cast shadows in the dead of night

From the East to the West our influence spreads
Global culture global dreams in every thread
But are we heroes or villains in the story they tell
Can we rise above the noise and truly excel

America for the rest of the world to see
Can we be the beacon of hope and unity
America it's time to take a stand
For justice and peace across every land

From the cities to the farms we hustle and we grind
Innovation and progress we're changing the times
But in our quest for more do we forget the rest
Can we lift them up while we pursue the best

Our music our movies our fashion our tech
The world watches closely so what comes next
Can we be the leaders that the world can trust
Building bridges of love breaking chains of lust

America for the rest of the world to see
Can we be the beacon of hope and unity
America it's time to take a stand
For justice and peace across every land

In the land of dreams where the eagle flies
Can we see through the world's eyes
From the struggles in the streets to the wars overseas
Can we be the change can we plant the seeds

For every child that cries for every soul in need
Let's show the world that love is our creed
America let's rise let's lead the way
For a brighter tomorrow starting today

America for the rest of the world to see
Can we be the beacon of hope and unity
America it's time to take a stand
For justice and peace across every land

America the land of the free
Together we can build a better legacy
For the rest of the world let's show our hand
United in purpose across every land

BURST
The flames emanate down the trident nation
The silver knives slide through the skyside and arrive at the silent raging patrons of the Iwir
Jeers and thrills of those living in The Quarter could be heard from across the border
They produced melodies that had lasted for centuries 
But
The heads over at Sector
Never knew how to get down instead found technologies 
And studied astronomy they pushed probabilities to the brink of what was known
But the shrinks down at The Capital
Would keep em in line
Making it sure
Things were running fine
Violence wasn't applied
To solve any crime
Oh what a life
Oh what a beautiful life

As the Iwir gazed over onyx skies
They couldn't find any signs that life had passed their eyes
They were alone floating an island in the sea
Left to wander forever in dark eternity

The citizens never experienced any form of culture besides their own
A bunch of Ethnocentrics blessed with the gift of blissful ignorance
They weren't corrupted in any form but they hold strong to the hope
That they aren't alone 
As time passed on
The technologies grew steadily
They formed babies in metal machines
And chose memories personalities so in maturity they could be
Just another one of the people
Just another one of the peaceful people

But one day sector detected an anomaly
They couldn't find the quasar located in sector B
All that energy came running at em high velocity
They wondered what could it be that caused the anomaly

Screams tore across the silent sky then divided by
The black bolt of metal fire bellowed
In the wake of the dark shape
Charged The Quarter eyes of slaughter
Defied the order by which peace was kept
Seized the breath of feeble people
Dark dreadnought crashed in the middle
The blow back shock wave thrashed half of the villas
The evil villains
Left the wreck stood unchecked
Ten feet twenty one piece emaciated thieves
Scarlet beings hit em disintegrate em but they leave em
With the brain stem so pain remains
Veins frayed from the center
Oh the senders of terror the red maw
Of the dread gods consumed all
Death songs were now the ballad
Madness ravaged masses with no pause
The mangled battered beaten bodies fed the gods
And so the horror was the name of their cause

Twenty percent died from the attack
Another five percent on the run back 
To The Sector and Capital 
They threw up a magnetic manifold to repel the horde
It was once a weather reflector
But now became their only protector
Gave the survivors time to process their minds
Anger
Rage
Fear
War
All these pains never felt before in the virgin minds of the Iwir kind
A new idea came to light to retaliate for the sake of their lives

So leaders from each of the great cities
Discussed how they'd take down the evil deities
They were pondering and wondering how to take em out
But the heads over at sector came up with a plan somehow

Thousands of solar cycles beyond the birth of the original sin
The death kin load in to begin the final ritual
Travel to the homeworld of those who burned their souls long ago
As they pass The Remnants The Black Pits and The Wreckage
The memory of a memory tugs on their mind
But they can't find the source
Just focus on the mission at hand 
Understand 
Machines only breed those whose blood lust was enough to survive the hunt
Of those who came before
Seven were taken from each lost provenance (Providence)
Loaded into a ship which punched a hole through existence
To fulfill their vengeance

And off they had went
With the skills that they learned
From those who came before
Right past the gate 
The energy burned
Straight through their armor core
They shot out through space
To finally face
The home world of the horde
The first thing they saw
When they broke on
Three silver towers in sun showers

I'm in it just to re-write history, cuz I'm in the mood to
Label us the leaders of the leaders of the new school
This ain't on the radio, can't find on YouTube
This the type of killing that you critic's aint use to

In this day & age I got time for innovation, time to get creative
Times too big to waste, all my time on critic's Hating
Flattered by y'all opinions, to show you I'll just embrace it
Now watch, how early son rise up, no Daylight savings

Go nuts when I have to, glaze bet my sound & his beats
On the house that we dream in, watch us wake back up in a castle
My thoughts are distorted, cuz I recall  guys were hating
Uncommonly all of them, became common denominators

Tried to overlook a rival, all eyes on me, now I got no competition
Now looking at an idol, you're doe ain't long enough to pay for my attention

Man this the gospel for the black sheep
I think it got a decent ring to it
Choir of triumph with a rap lead
So all you mother can sing to it

I was born to be (victorious)
Most definitely (victorious)
I'm Destined to be (victorious)
Through all the hate they displayed, we remained warriors

Avoided by the statistics, occasionally would quit it
Paid reality visits, but it was too hard to live in
Build up my confidence, & delivered, now I be burning these critics
Guess they ain't know, they was walking across, when burning they bridges

Man, who ever thought I'll be rapping?

[Seen B]
The killer in the villa hiding out like a gorilla
Of warfare many war crimes have been committed
The supports there but in the courts they wouldn't hear it
The trail of corpses that he left was in the millions
Abandoned buildings blood in the sand nobody living
Sometimes to kill you gotta use hands and that's a given
Decisions got him facing time in military prison
He feel like Iron Mike and his country's Robin Gibbons
Everything was lovely and nice while he would listen
But now they brought the animal out and there's no limits
When you hear the growl and the shout you better pivot
And break the fuck up out of the house before you get it
Explosions bodies corrode, his heart is frozen
Bred to be a soldier through his father he was chosen
Now they watch his sanity slip and load the clip in
Tell him that it's time to suit up he got a mission

[Chorus]
Yeah we War Born 
Got our Full Metal Jacket on 
Watch this Path of Glory 
We always causing a fire storm 
My platoon will bring Apacolypes Now 
Launchin’ Grenades
Takin’ over 
Your sector militant style

[Resin]
I was only 14 when they took me as a working slave
A prisoner of war even though I earned some pay
Just a Polish boy my name is Wojciech Lopaczyk
Forced to make ammunition and machine parts for these fascists
I wish they would bomb this whole factory to ashes
Along with the barracks since bugs infested my mattress
So I couldn't sleep, my whole body feeling weak
Because soup broth and bread is all we were given to eat
Some days I didn’t even really care if I died
Until i saw another worker getting buried alive
It was scary especially when they bombed us at night
Fighting a fire right in the middle of a fire fight
Now there’s a pension for all the work that I've done
But that won't repay all the years they took I was young
6 years of hell the war is done the enemy forfeits
So I joined a unit to hunt remaining enemy forces

[Chorus]
Yeah we War Born 
Got our Full Metal Jacket on 
Watch this Path of Glory 
We always causing a fire storm 
My platoon will bring Apacolypes Now 
Launchin’ Grenades
Takin’ over 
Your sector militant style

[Big Left]
They wanna turn the fuckin’ sky grey
Black clouds, blood rain, killing in vain
We won’t let em take it, fighting through pain
They came, armor-plated amphibian, vehicular manslaughter
Sneaking your daughter across the border
Motor rounds pound the ground, dig deep
Keeping the piece is keeping the pieces weak
Leaking the secrets through the cracks in the deep
Underground on the streets where we wise from the sleep
Tarantino thoughts support the cause in the blood war
Trained in the corps, squeeze first, kill em all
Scorched ground, air attacks and the bombs from the Lord
And the sword swing swift on the spinal chord 
Coroner called enemy mauled,
Problem solved – head on the chopper block I’m gone
Not long ago they tried to take your whole soul
Hold the ace, poker face, watch the leader fold

It's under control (Lost)
Robots painting pictures, like they seen our dreams (Theft)
Culture commodified by machine regimes (Sell out)
We need a Renaissance, not a coded clone (Revive)
Real artistry, from flesh and bone (Alive)
Check the scenario, actual factual
Rhymes artificial like they made in a factory (Plastic)
Digitized brush strokes paintin' catastrophe (Artificial)
Innovation's benched, now AI's the captain, see (Leader)
What happened to the days, spray cans and murals?

Plastic in the oceans, choking marine life, Trading nature’s beauty for a dollar and strife. Oil spills painting the seas with black despair, While leaders talk big but act like they don’t care.

Save it David
I need a leader
cnd want a meter for protocol
Would like a Miss Independent
cnd super know it all
Plus humility
Recognize inability
Boss chick
cnd still lemme demonstrate chivalry
You want a knight
I'm still emerging from it
I been crying in the rain
Hoping to speed up oxidation
Let me rust until this armor falls
It's some sweet and sour to it like it's crnold's Palms I been washing mine
But I cannot erase these
Stains I made with sharpie
Razor blades
Revealed cards said she bout it
She a queen I'm a joker
Played an ace won a book
Prolly reason she spayed
If I knew I wasn't staying then I shouldn't have stayed

cnother page flipped
Feeling like a master
Needed cargo in my slave ship
How I'm gon objectify and say I speak objectively
How I'm gonna bless and curse with one tongue respectively 
Impeccably reflective on the items in my recipe
Still forgot to set the heat
I was cooking sans the book
The word is life I mistook it
Proverbs 1 and 20
I heard wisdom crying but I surely wasn't looking
Tell me would you answer if I called?

Tryna get it popping like a blister
My dudes hit me up, so I pull up like a zipper
Start to find my shine, in the distance there's a flicker
Feel my magnitude on the mic, no Richter
I'm a ranger with the power, not a stranger to the danger
People don't get it, overcompensate with anger
I've been saving up, got me feeling like a savior
Not an average Joe, I stayed away from the manger
I'm a wrangler, not talking bout the Jeep
Yeah, I got my point across, then nobody said a peep
Yeah, I made my own route, keep on adding to the fleet
Wanna see how I roll, imma Heely through these streets
Innovation at its peak.

I know about Shaka Zulu!!  Oh Do you?
He was an innovative military leader! 
Would you like to be on this track. cs a Feature? 
Yay! Yes! Say less.
I'll even do it like you do it.

Snuggle down, cozy up and relax
Tonight we're traveling to the Sleevies
A moonlit mountain range beneath the mighty Handes
To meet BoBo, a Lullaby Llama who just loves
playing her panpipes whenever twilight falls

Sweet lullabies
Here beneath starlit skies

Somewhere in the Moshi world are mountains called the Handes
And when the moonlight catches them, their peaks glint just like candies
The snow that coats this mighty range is said to be enchanted
For when you roll around in it, a wish is sometimes granted
Beyond the Handes lie the Sleevies, smaller but quite hilly
And on their rocky lower slopes, BoBo's feeling silly
See BoBo is a llama, who loves her lullabies
She plays them on her panpipes for her friends with tired eyes
But not all llamas share her joy, in fact, they often hide
Cos BoBo cannot hold a tune, even if she tries
Her tuneless panpipe playing is enough to make you wince
And now her llama family has started dropping hints

Sweet lullabies
Here beneath starlit skies

BoBo knows the other llamas think her playing's bad
And the last thing that she wants to do is make them tired or sad
But then she hears about the Handes and their special magic snow
So she packs her panpipes in a bag and decides that she must go
BoBo sets off as the sun is setting in the west
She sees the distant Handes, and as ever, she's impressed
They soar towards the crimson sky, majestic, snow-flecked shards
And even for a llama, ascending them is hard
As she walks towards the Handes, BoBo plays her pipes
And cos she's all alone, she plays, well... anything she likes
A lullaby about a llama, with a dish and spoon
Followed by a ditty called Alpacas on the Moon

Sweet lullabies
Here beneath starlit skies

BoBo's on the foothills skirting round Lake Moshicaca
Playing something all about a little sheep called BaaBaa
The starlit slopes she's trotting up are green with Moshi grass
But then she sees some hints of snow beyond a deep crevasse
A little rope bridge lies ahead, it's not been used in years
And half its planks are missing, reinforcing BoBo's fears
She trots across the wonky bridge and leaps over the gaps
Then seconds after crossing, the bridge starts to collapse
But BoBo isn't looking and she's stopped playing her ditty
'Cos she's stumbled on a quite astounding ancient Moshi City
This must be Moshi Picchu, a legendary place
Built by cosmic llamas, said to be from outer space

Sweet lullabies
Here beneath starlit skies

Moshi Picchu's beautiful, of that there is no doubt
But there don't seem to be any cosmic llamas hanging out
Wandering round the ruins, Bobo plays her pipes once more
Then sees a Wonky Wizard, emerging from a door
The Wizard says, "You must be BoBo, judging from your, er, playing
I've not heard panpipes played like that... well, sorry, but... just sayin'
You should climb the Handes, and frolic in their snow
Then make a wish the tunes you play all sound like ones we know"
"Why do you think I'm heading there!?"

So over you is the greatest enemy a
Man can have and that is
Fear i know some of you are
Afraid to listen to the truth
You have been raised on fear and
Lies but i am going to
Preach to you the truth until you
Are free of that fear – Malcolm X

The fearful attitude

In the beginning, fear was a basic
Simple emotion for the human animal we
Confronted something overwhelming the
Imminent threat
Of death in the form of wars, plagues
And natural
Disasters and we felt fear as for any animal
This emotion had a protective function
It allowed us to take
Notice of a danger and retreat in time for us
Humans, it served an additional
Positive purpose we could remember the source
Of the threat and protect ourselves
Better the next time civilization depended on
This ability to foresee and
Forestall dangers from the environment
Out of fear
We also developed religion and various belief
Systems to comfort us fear is the oldest
And strongest emotion known to man
Something deeply inscribed in our
Nervous system and subconscious

Over time, however
Something strange began to happen the actual
Terrors that we faced began to
Lessen in intensity as we gained increasing
Control over our environment but
Instead of our fears lessening as well
They began to multiply in number we
Started to worry about our status in
Society whether people liked us
Or how we fit into the group
We became anxious for our
Livelihoods, the future of our families
And children, our personal health
And the aging
Process instead of a simple, intense fear
Of something powerful and real
We developed a kind of generalized anxiety
It was as if the thousands of years of
Feeling fear in the face of nature
Could not go away we had to find
Something at which to direct our anxiety
No matter how small or improbable

In the evolution of fear
A decisive moment occurred in the
Nineteenth century when people in
Advertising and journalism discovered that
If they framed
Their stories and appeals with fear
They could capture our
Attention it is an emotion we find
Hard to resist or control
And so they constantly shifted
Our focus to new possible
Sources of anxiety: the
Latest health scare, the new crime wave
A social faux pas we might be committing
And endless hazards in the environment of
Which we were not aware
With the increasing sophistication of
The media and
The visceral quality of the imagery
They have been able to give
Us the feeling that we are
Fragile creatures in an
Environment full of danger even
Though we live in a world infinitely safer
And more predictable than
Anything our ancestors knew with their help
Our anxieties have only increased
Fear is not designed for such a purpose
It's function is to stimulate powerful
Physical responses
Allowing an animal to retreat
In time after the event
It is supposed to go away an
Animal that cannot not let go
Of it's fears once the threat
Is gone will find
It hard to eat and sleep we are the
Animal that cannot get rid of
It's fears and when
So many of them lay inside of us
These fears tend to color how we view the
World we shift from feeling fear because
Of some threat
To having a fearful attitude towards life
It'self we come to see
Almost every event in terms of
Risk we exaggerate the
Dangers and our vulnerability we instantly
Focus on the adversity that
Is always possible we are generally
Unaware of this phenomenon
Because we accept it as normal
In times of prosperity, we have
The luxury of fretting over things
But in times of trouble
This fearful attitude becomes
Particularly pernicious
Such moments are when we
Need to solve problems, deal with
Reality, and move forward
But fear is a call to retreat and retrench

This is precisely what Franklin Delano
Roosevelt confronted when he
Took office in 1933 the
Great Depression that had
Begun with the stock market crash of 1929 was
Now at it's worst but what struck Roosevelt
Was not the actual economic factors
But the mood of
The public it seemed to him that people
Were not only more fearful
Than necessary but that
Their fears were making it harder to
Surmount adversity in his inaugural
Address to the country
He said that he would not ignore such
Obvious realities as the collapse of
The economy and that he would not
Preach a naive optimism but
He implored his listeners to
Remember that the country
Had faced worse things in it's past
Periods such
As the Civil War what had brought us out
Of such moments was our pioneer spirit
Our determination and resolve this is what
It means to be an American

Fear creates it's own
Self-fulfilling dynamic as
People give in to it, they lose energy and
Momentum their lack of confidence
Translates into inaction
That lowers confidence levels even further
On and
On "So, first of all, " he told the audience
"let me assert my firm belief
That the only thing we have to fear
Is fear it'self nameless
Unreasoning, unjustified terror
Which paralyzes needed efforts to
Convert retreat into advance"

What Roosevelt sketched out in his
Speech is the knife’s edge
That separates failure from success in
Life that edge is your attitude
Which has the power to
Help shape your reality
If you view everything through
The lens of fear
Then you tend to stay in retreat mode you can
Just as easily see a crisis or problem
As a challenge, an opportunity
To prove your mettle
The chance to strengthen and toughen
Yourself, or a call to collective action
By seeing it as a challenge, you
Will have converted this negative
Into a positive
Purely by a mental process that will
Result in positive action as well and
In fact, through his inspiring leadership
FDR was able to help the
Country shift it's mind-set
And confront the Depression with
A more enterprising spirit

Today we seem to face new problems and
Crises that test our national mettle
But just as FDR made the comparison
To even worse times in the
Past, we can say that what we are
Facing is not as bad as
The perils of the 1930s and the
Subsequent war years in fact
The reality of twenty-first-century
America is
Something more like the following:
Our physical environment is safer
And more secure than
Any other moment in our history
We live in the
Most prosperous country in the
World in the past
Only white males could play the
Power game now millions
Upon millions of minorities and
Women have been given entrance to the arena
Forever altering the dynamic making us the
Most socially advanced country in that
Regard advances in technology have
Opened up all kinds
Of new opportunities old business
Models are dissolving
Leaving the field wide open
For innovation it is
A time of sweeping change and revolution

We face certain challenges as well
The world has become
More competitive the economy has
Undeniable vulnerabilities and
Is in need of reinvention
As in all situations
The determining factor will be our attitude
How we choose to look at this reality if
We give in to the fear
We will give disproportionate attention
To the negative and manufacture the very
Adverse circumstances that
We dread if we go the opposite direction
Cultivating a fearless
Approach to life, attacking everything
With boldness and energy
Then we will create a much different dynamic

Understand: we are all too
Afraid of offending people, of
Stirring up conflict, of standing
Out from the crowd
Of taking bold action for thousands
Of years our relationship
To this emotion has evolved from
A primitive fear of nature
To generalized anxiety
About the future, to the fearful attitude
That now dominates us as rational
Productive adults we are called upon
To finally overcome this
Downward trend and to evolve beyond our fears

The fearless type

The very first thing i remember in
My early childhood is a flame
A blue flame jumping off a gas stove
Somebody lit i was three years old
I felt fear, real fear
For the first time in my life but i
Remember it also like some kind of
Adventure, some kind of weird joy
Too i guess that experience took
Me someplace in my head
I hadn’t been before to some
Frontier, the edge, maybe, of everything
Possible the fear i had was
Almost like an invitation
A challenge to go forward into
Something i knew nothing about
That’s where i think my personal
Philosophy of life started
With that moment in my mind
I have always believed and thought since then
That my motion had to be forward
Away from the heat of that flame
– Miles Davis

There are two ways of dealing with fear one
Passive, the other active in
The passive mode
We seek to avoid the situation that
Causes us anxiety this could
Translate into postponing any decisions
In which we
Might hurt people’s feelings it could
Mean opting for everything to be safe
And comfortable in our daily lives
So no amount of messiness can
Enter when we are
In this mode it is because we feel
That we are fragile and would be damaged by
An encounter with the thing we dread

The active variety is something most
Of us have experienced at
Some point in our lives: the
Risky or difficult situation
That we fear is thrust upon us it could be a
Natural disaster, a death of
Someone close to us
Or a reversal in fortune in which we lose
Something often in these moments we find an
Inner strength that surprises us
What we feared is
Not so bad we cannot avoid it
And have to find a way to overcome our fear
Or suffer real consequences such
Moments are oddly therapeutic
Because finally we are confronting something
Real not an imagined
Fear scenario fed to us by the media
We can let go of this fear the problem is
That such moments tend to not last very long
Or repeat themselves too often
They can quickly lose
Their value and we return to the passive
Avoidance mode

When we live in
Relatively comfortable circumstances
The environment does not press on us with
Obvious dangers, violence, or
Limitations to our movement our
Main goal then is
To maintain the comfort and security we have
And so we become more sensitive
To the slightest risk or
Threat to the status quo we find it harder
To tolerate feelings of fear because
They are more vague
And troubling so we remain
In the passive mode

Throughout history, however
There are people who
Have lived in much tighter circumstances
Dangers pressing in on them on a daily basis
These types must confront their fears in the
Active mode again and again and again this
Could be growing up in extreme poverty
Facing death on the battlefield or leading an
Army in war living through tumultuous
Revolutionary periods being a leader
In a time
Of crisis suffering personal loss or tragedy
Or having a brush with death countless people
Grow up in or with such
Circumstances and their spirit is
Crushed by adversity
But a few rise above it is
Their only positive choice they must confront
These daily fears and overcome them
Or submit to the downward
Pull they are toughened
And hardened to the point of steel
Understand: no one is born this way
It is unnatural to not feel
Fear it is a process that
Requires challenges and tests what
Separates those who go under and those
Who rise above adversity is
The strength of their will and
Their hunger for power

At some point
This defensive position of overcoming fears
Converts to an offensive
One a fearless attitude such
Types learn the value
Not only of being unafraid but
Also of attacking life with
A sense of boldness and urgency
And an unconventional approach
Creating new models instead of following old
Ones they see the great
Power this brings them and it
Soon becomes their dominant mind-set

We find these types in all cultures
And all time periods from
Socrates and the Stoics to Cornelius
Vanderbilt and Abraham Lincoln

Napoleon Bonaparte represents a classic
Fearless type he
Began his career in the military
Just as the French Revolution exploded at
This critical moment in his life
He had to experience one of the most
Chaotic and terrifying periods in history
He faced endless dangers on the battlefield
As a new kind of warfare was emerging
And he navigated through
Innumerable political intrigues
In which one wrong move could
Lead to the guillotine he emerged from
All of this with a fearless spirit
Embracing the chaos of the times and
The vast changes going on
In the art of war and in
One of his innumerable campaigns
He expressed the words that could serve as
The motto for all fearless types

In the spring of 1800 he
Was preparing to lead
An army into Italy his field marshals warned
Him that the Alps were not passable at that
Time of year and told him to wait
Even though waiting would spoil the
Chances for success the general
Replied to them, "For Napoleon’s army
There shall be
No Alps" And mounted on a mule
Napoleon proceeded to personally
Lead his troops
Through treacherous terrain and
Past innumerable obstacles it was the force
Of one man’s will that brought
Them through the Alps
Catching the enemy completely by
Surprise and defeating
Them there are no Alps and
No obstacles that can stand in the
Way of a person without fears

Another example of the type would have to
Be the great abolitionist
And writer Frederick
Douglass, who was born into
Slavery in Maryland
In 1817 as he later wrote
Slavery was a system that depended on the
Creation of deep levels of fear
Douglass continually forced himself
In the opposite direction despite
The threat of severe
Punishment, he secretly taught himself
To read and write when he was whipped for
His rebellious attitude, he fought back
And saw that he was whipped less
Often without money or connections
He escaped to the North at the age of
Twenty he became a leading abolitionist
Touring the North and telling audiences
About the evils of slavery
The abolitionists wanted him to stay
On his lecture circuit
And repeat the same stories over and over
But
Douglass wanted to do much more and he once
Again rebelled he founded his
Own antislavery newspaper
An unheard-of act for a former slave the
Newspaper went on to have tremendous success

At each stage of his life Douglass was tested
By the powerful odds against him instead of
Giving in to the fear of whippings, being
Alone on the streets of unfamiliar cities
Facing the wrath of the
Abolitionists he raised his
Level of boldness and pushed
Himself further onto
The offensive this confidence gave
Him the power to rise above the fierce
Resistances and animosities
Of those around him that is the physics that
All fearless types discover at some point
An appropriate ratcheting up of
Self-belief and energy
When facing negative or
Even impossible circumstances

Fearless people do not emerge exclusively
From poverty or a harsh
Physical environment franklin Delano
Roosevelt grew up in a wealthy
Privileged family at
The age of thirty-nine he contracted polio
Which paralyzed him from the
Waist down this was a turning
Point in his life, as he faced a severe
Limitation to his movement
And possibly an end to his political
Career he refused, however
To give in to the fear and the
Downward pull on his spirit he
Went the opposite direction
Struggling to make the most
Of his physical condition
And developing an indomitable spirit
That would transform him
Into our most fearless president for this
Type of person, any kind of encounter with
Adversity or limitation, at any age
Can serve as the crucible
For forging the attitude

The new fearless type

This past, the negro’s past, of rope, fire
Torture death and humiliation fear by day
And night, fear as deep as the
Marrow of the bone this past, this
Endless struggle to achieve and reveal and
Confirm a human identity yet contains
For all it's horror
Something very beautiful people who
Cannot suffer can never grow up
Can never discover who they are
– James Baldwin

Through much of the nineteenth century
Americans faced all kinds of dangers and
Adversity the hostile physical environment of
The frontier, sharp political divisions
A lawlessness and chaos that came out
Of great changes in technology and
Social mobility we responded to this
Constrictive environment by overcoming our
Fears and developing what came to be
Known as a pioneer spirit
Our sense of adventure and our
Renowned ability to solve problems

With our growing prosperity this began to
Change in the twentieth century, however
One environment remained as harsh as
Ever the black ghettos of
Inner-city America and out of such a
Crucible a new fearless type
Came forward, exemplified by such figures
As James Baldwin, Malcolm X
And Muhammad Ali but the racism
Of the times constricted
Their ability to give full
Rein to this spirit

In recent times
Newer types have emerged from inner-city
America with more freedom to
Advance to the highest points of power
In America in entertainment, politics
And business they come from a Wild
West–like environment in which they have
Learned to fend for themselves and
Give full rein to
Their ambition their education comes
From the streets and
Their own rough experiences in a way
They are throwbacks
To the freewheeling types of
The nineteenth century
Who had little formal schooling but
Created a new way
Of doing business their spirit
Fit's the disorder of
The twenty-first century they are
Fascinating to watch and
In some ways have much to teach us
The rapper known as 50 Cent
(aka Curtis Jackson) would have
To be considered one
Of the more dramatic contemporary
Examples of this
Phenomenon and this type he grew up in a
Particularly violent and tense
Neighborhood Southside Queens
In the midst of the crack epidemic of the
1980s and in each phase of his life
He has had to face a series of
Dangers that both tested and toughened him
Rituals of initiation into the fearless
Attitude he has slowly developed

One of the greatest fears that any child
Has is that of being abandoned
Left alone in a terrifying world
It is the source of our
Most primal nightmares this
Was Fifty’s reality he never knew his father
And his mother was murdered when
He was eight years
Old he quickly developed the habit of
Not depending on other people to
Protect or shelter him this meant
That in every subsequent encounter
In life in which he felt fear
He could turn only to
Himself if he did not want
To feel the emotion
He had to learn to overcome it on his own

He began hustling on the streets
At any early age
And there was no way he could avoid feeling
Fear on a daily basis he had to
Confront violence and aggression and seeing
Fear in action so routinely, he understood
What a destructive and
Debilitating emotion it
Could be on the streets
Showing fear would make people lose respect
For you you would end
Up being pushed around and more
Likely to suffer violence because
Of your desire to avoid it you
Had no choice if you
Were to have any kind of power as a hustler
You had to overcome this emotion no one could
Read it in your eyes this meant
That he would have to place
Himself again and again
In the situations that stimulated
Anxiety the first time
He faced someone with a gun
He was frightened
The second time, less so the third time
It meant nothing

Testing and proving his courage in this
Way gave him a feeling
Of tremendous power he quickly learned
The value of boldness, how
He could push others on their heels
By feeling supreme confidence in
Himself but no matter how tough
And hardened they become, hustlers usually
Face one daunting obstacle the fear of
Leaving the streets that are
So familiar and that have taught
Them all of their skills
They become addicted to the lifestyle
And even though they are likely
To end up in prison or die an early death
They cannot leave the hustling racket

Fifty, however, had greater ambitions than to
Become merely a successful hustler
And so he forced himself to face and
Overcome this one powerful fear at
The age of twenty
And at the peak of his hustling success
He decided to cut his ties to the game
And dive into the music
Racket without any connections or a
Safety net because he had no plan B
Because it was either succeed at
Music or go under, he
Operated with a frantic
Bold energy that got him noticed
In the rap world

He was still a very young
Man when he had faced
Down some of the worst fears
That can afflict a
Human abandonment, violence
Radical change and he had emerged stronger
And more resilient but at
The age of twenty-four
On the eve of the release
Of his first record
He came face-to-face with what many
Of us would consider
The ultimate fear that of
Death it'self in May
Of 2000 an assassin poured nine
Bullets into him in broad
Daylight as he sat in a
Car outside his house
One bullet going through his jaw and coming
Within a millimeter of killing him

In the aftermath of the shooting, Columbia
Records dropped him from the label
Canceling the release of his first album he
Was quickly blackballed from the industry
As record executives were afraid to
Have any kind of involvement
With him and the violence
He was associated with
Many of his friends turned against him
Perhaps sensing his
Weakness he now had no money
He couldn’t really return
To hustling after turning his back on it
And his music career seemed to
Be over this was one of those turning points
That reveals the power
Of one’s attitude in the face
Of adversity it was
As if he were confronting the impassable Alps

At this moment
He did as Frederick Douglass did
He decided to ratchet
Up his anger, energy, and fearlessness
Coming so close to death
He understood how short
Life could be he would not waste a
Second he would spurn the usual
Path to success working within the record
Industry, nabbing that golden deal
And putting out the music they
Thought would sell he
Would go his own way launching a mix tape
Campaign in which he would sell his music or
Give it away for free on the streets
In this way he could hone the hard and raw
Sounds that he felt were more natural to
Him he could speak the language of the hood
Without having to soften it at all

Suddenly he felt a great sense of freedom
He could create his own business model
Be as unconventional as he desired he felt
Like he had nothing to lose
As if the last bit's of
Fear that still remained
Within him had bled out in the car
That day in 2000 the mix
Tape campaign made him famous
On the streets and caught
The attention of Eminem
Who quickly signed Fifty
To his and Dr dre’s label
Setting the stage for Fifty’s meteoric
Rise to the top of the music world in 2003
And the subsequent creation of the business
Empire he has forged since

We are living through strange
Revolutionary times the old order
Is crumbling before our
Eyes on so many levels and yet
In such an unruly moment
Our leaders in business and politics cling to
The past and the old ways
Of doing things they are afraid of
Change and any kind of disorder

The new fearless types, as
Represented by Fifty
Move in the opposite direction
They find that the chaos of the times suit's
Their temperament they have
Grown up being unafraid
Of experimentation, hustling
And trying new ways of operating they
Embrace the advances in technology
That make others secretly fearful they let
Go of the past and
Create their own business model they
Do not give in to
The conservative spirit that haunts corporate
America in this radical period
And at the core of their
Success is a premise
A Law of Power that has been known and
Used by all the fearless spirit's in
The past and is the foundation of any
Kind of success in the world

THE 50TH LAW

The greatest fear people have is that
Of being themselves they want to
Be 50 cent or someone else
They do what everyone else
Does even if it doesn’t fit where
And who they are but
You get nowhere that way your
Energy is weak and
No one pays attention to you you’re
Running away from the one
Thing that you own what makes
You different i lost that
Fear and once i felt the power
That i had by showing
The world i didn’t care about
Being like other people
I could never go back – 50 Cent

The 50th Law is based on the following
Premise: We humans have
Generally little control
Over circumstances people intersect
Our lives, doing
Things directly and indirectly to us
And we spend our days reacting to what
They bring good things come our way
Followed by bad things we struggle
As best we can to gain some control
Because being helpless in the face
Of events makes us unhappy
Sometimes we succeed
But the margin of control that we have
Over people and circumstance
Is depressingly narrow

The 50th Law, however
States that there is one
Thing we can actually
Control the mind-set with which we respond to
These events around us and if
We are able to overcome
Our anxieties and forge a
Fearless attitude towards life
Something strange and remarkable can
Occur that margin of
Control over circumstance increases at
It's utmost point, we can even create
The circumstances themselves
Which is the source of the
Tremendous power that fearless
Types have had throughout history and the
People who practice the 50th Law
In their lives all share certain
Qualities supreme boldness
Unconventionality, fluidity
And a sense of urgency that give them
This unique ability to shape circumstance

A bold act requires a high degree
Of confidence people who are
The targets of an audacious act
Or who witness it
Cannot help but believe that such confidence
Is real and justified they
Respond instinctively by backing up, by
Getting out of the way
Or by following the confident person
A bold act can put people on their
Heels and eliminate obstacles in this way
It creates it's own favorable circumstances

We are social creatures
And so it is natural for us to
Want to conform to the people around
Us and the norms of the
Group but underneath this
Is a deep fear that of sticking out
Of following our own path no matter
What people think of us the
Fearless types are able to conquer this
Fear they fascinate us by
How far they go with
Their unconventionality we secretly
Admire and respect them for this we
Wish we could act more like they do
Normally it is hard to hold our
Attention we shift our interest
From one spectacle
To the next but those who fearlessly
Express their difference compel our
Attention on a
Deeper level for a longer duration
Which translates into power and control

Many of us respond to the shifting
Circumstances of life by trying
To micromanage everything in our immediate
Environment when something unexpected
Happens, we become rigid and we
Respond by employing some tactic
That worked in the past
If events change quickly
We are easily overwhelmed and lose
Control those who follow the 50th Law
Are not afraid of change or
Chaos they embrace it by being
As fluid as possible they
Move with the flow of events and
Then gently channel them in
The direction of their choice, exploiting
The moment through their mind-set
They convert a negative
(unexpected events) into a
Positive (an opportunity)

Having a brush with death
Or being reminded in a dramatic way
Of the shortness of our lives
Can have a positive
Therapeutic effect our days are
Numbered and so
It is best to make every moment
Count, to have a sense of
Urgency about life it
Could end at any moment
The fearless types usually
Gain such awareness through some
Traumatic experience they are
Energized to make the most of every action
And the momentum this gives them in life
Helps them determine what happens next

It is all rather simple: when
You transgress this fundamental
Law by bringing your usual
Fears into any encounter
You narrow your options and your
Capacity to shape events your fear can
Even bring you into a
Negative field where your powers are
Reversed being conservative, for instance
Can force you into a corner in which
You are more likely to lose
What you have in the long run
Because you also lose the
Capacity to adapt to change trying
So hard to please people can actually end up
Pushing them away it
Is hard to respect someone who
Has such an ingratiating
Attitude if you are afraid to learn from
Your mistakes, you will more than likely keep
Repeating them when you transgress this law
No amount of education, connections
Or technical knowledge can save you your
Fearful attitude encloses you in
An invisible prison
And there you will remain

Observing the 50th Law creates
The opposite dynamic
It opens possibilities, brings
Freedom of action
And helps create a forward momentum in life

The key to possessing this
Supreme power is to
Assume the active mode in dealing with
Your fears this means entering
The very arenas
You normally shy away from: making
The very hard decisions you
Have been avoiding
Confronting the people who are playing power
Games with you, thinking of yourself and what
You need instead of pleasing others
Making yourself change the direction of
Your life even though
Such change is the very thing you dread

You deliberately put yourself in
Difficult situations and
You examine your reactions in each case
You will notice that your fears were
Exaggerated and that confronting them
Has the bracing effect of bringing
You closer to reality

At some point you will discover the power
Of reversal overcoming the negative of
A particular fear leads to a positive
Quality self-reliance, patience
Supreme self-confidence, and on and on
(Each of the following chapters will
Highlight this reversal of
Perspective) And once you start on this path
It is hard to turn back
You will continue all the way to a bold and
Fearless approach to everything

Understand: you do not have to grow up
In Southside Queens or be the target
Of an assassin to develop the attitude
All of us face challenges, rivals
And setbacks we choose to ignore or avoid
Them out of fear it is
Not the physical reality of your environment
That matters but your mental state
How you come to deal with the adversity
That is part of life on
Every level fifty had to confront his
Fears you must choose to

Finally, your attitude has the power of
Shaping reality in two opposite
Directions one that constricts and corners
You in with fear, the other that opens up
Possibilities and freedom of
Action it is the same for the mind-set
And spirit that you bring to reading
The chapters that follow if you read them
With your ego out in front
Feeling that you are being judged
Here, or are under attack in other words
If you read them in a defensive
Mode then you will needlessly close
Yourself off from the power this could
Bring you we are all
Human we are all implicated by our fears
No one is being judged similarly
If you read
These words as narrow prescriptions
For your life
Trying to follow them to the letter
Then you are constricting their value
Their application to your reality

Instead you must absorb these words with
An open and fearless spirit
Letting the ideas get under your skin
And affect how you see the world do not be
Afraid to experiment with them in this way
You will shape this book
To your circumstances and
Gain a similar power over the world

In my view it is better to be impetuous
Than cautious, because fortune is a woman
And if you wish to dominate her you must beat
Her and batter her it is clear that she
Will let herself be won by men who are
Impetuous rather than by those
Who step cautiously – Niccolò Machiavelli