This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The 50th Law" by 50 Cent and Robert Greene. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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Want to know how to become an inspiration to others? What steps can you take to convince others to believe in you?
According to the authors of The 50th Law, to become an inspiration to others, it’s important to fully believe in yourself. Once you’ve achieved this, there are three principles you can apply to your life that will help you to become an inspiration to others, claim the authors.
Read on to learn how to become an inspiration to others, based on the three principles in The 50th Law.
How to Become an Inspiration to Others
Fearlessness involves becoming an inspiring leader—someone who both you and others believe in. Authors Curtis Jackson and Robert Greene explain in The 50th Law that, to become an inspiration to others, you must believe in yourself intensely to the point where failure is not an option—you’re convinced that you’ll succeed. Doing this is crucial because you can only achieve what you think you can achieve.
Once you have this intense belief in yourself, share your dream with others and convince them to believe in you as well to become an inspiration to them. This authority will grant you power and success, claim the authors.
| Emotional Intelligence Is the Key to Becoming an Inspirational Leader In Primal Leadership, Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee agree that believing in yourself is crucial to becoming an inspiration to others and achieving success. However, they argue that many people lack the self-confidence necessary to inspire others and achieve their wildest dreams because they have low emotional intelligence—they’re unable to understand and manage their own emotions (including negativity and self-doubt), which often prevents them from being able to understand and effectively interact with others. They explain that the key to overcoming self-doubt and fear—and, in turn, becoming an inspirational leader—is to practice and improve on the four skills of emotional intelligence: – Self-awareness: understanding your emotions and accurately assessing your strengths and weaknesses – Self-management: managing and rationalizing your emotions – Social awareness: understanding others’ perspectives – Relationship management: using empathy to understand and manage your relationships |
Jackson and Greene present three principles for believing in yourself and becoming an inspiration to others.
#1: Break Societal Conventions
The biggest obstacle preventing us from achieving our wildest dreams is believing in societal conventions—what people tell us is and isn’t possible. Jackson and Greene argue that you can do anything you want if you believe you can. Consequently, don’t let the beliefs of society impact your goals or your belief in your ability to achieve them.
(Shortform note: In Bold, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler agree that thinking unconventionally and autonomously (breaking societal conventions) is crucial to becoming a successful, inspiring person. However, they warn that it can be hard to maintain this approach when facing barriers. To maintain this mindset, they recommend creating a list of facts that will inspire you to stay committed—for example, “people thought electricity was a fantasy until someone broke societal conventions and made it real.” Revisiting these facts when your doubts are plaguing you will remind you that breaking societal conventions is important.)
#2: Find a Driving Purpose
Jackson and Greene argue that one of the best ways to gain power and success is to believe that it’s your purpose in life to do so. Believe that a higher power is laying out a path to success for you. Not only will this help you believe in yourself and become an inspiration to others, but it’ll also motivate you to persist through any obstacles or doubts you might face.
(Shortform note: In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield reiterates the importance and benefits of finding a driving purpose. He also explains how to find your purpose: Ascertain your true passions (the things that make you happy and fulfilled) and desires in life. To find your passions, you could list the times you’ve felt the happiest in life or take a “passion test.” To identify what you truly want in life, you could identify 20 things you love to do or write 30 things you want to be, have, and do before you die.)
#3: Present Your Path to Success to Others
Once you’ve found your path to success, tell others about it and explain to them how exactly you’ll follow it to become an inspiration to them. Be passionate and emotionally compelling, and rally people behind a common cause. According to Jackson and Greene, this will convince people that you and your goal are worth believing in.
(Shortform note: In Bold, Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler agree that achieving large-scale success (like becoming a world-renowned rapper, as Jackson did) requires you to become an inspiration to others and get them to rally behind your cause. They elaborate that the best way to achieve this is by creating a compelling story. This story should follow a logical progression and emotionally appeal to others by explaining how your goals (like becoming a rapper) will benefit them and why they’re important. The story should also use keywords that appeal to your target audience.)
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Here's what you'll find in our full The 50th Law summary:
- Rapper 50 Cent and Robert Greene's perspectives on overcoming fear
- The story of how 50 Cent overcame adversity and became successful
- The rules and principles you must follow to become fearless
