I’ve always known that 50 Cent/Curtis Jackson is more than just the image he gives off for his brand. And in his book “Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter”, he nicely breaks down the strategies of his methods for success.

He does this in an easy-to-understand manner that people from all walks of life would understand (including young people, and those without high levels of education). In this blog post, I’ll give you my thoughts, as well as what the book includes (notes) and what I learned from it.

For fans of 50 Cent and his group G-Unit, the book is somewhat of a must-have as he talks about interesting stories from his past as he came up, stayed on, and then transitioning into his new endeavours. 

But in every chapter, there was a focus/purpose to the stories he was writing about, that would be beneficial to those who are reading it for self-development.

For example, there would be a chapter on embracing competition, dealing with fear, or learning from losses. And in those chapters, it would include the stories of either his life or stories of other historical figures/moments that he was inspired by.

Book Notes:

Chapter 1 – Embracing Fear

• • He taught about embracing fear to take you to the next level. He tells story of a former colleague who lacked confidence in a business meeting that he set up, even though the guy had all the skills. He wasn’t confident enough to execute.

  Chapter 2 – Heart of a Hustler

  • “Commit to a clean lifestyle” – 50 believes he’s not the number 1 talented guy but he’s a hard worker – for example he wakes early and doesn’t get drunk or do drugs – this creates confidence that comes from within without crutches, but it also helps preserve your body
  • Gives his own workout routine and his dietary preferences and how he values sleep now.
  • He debunks the famous “sleep is for broke people” speech he gave – he states he has  reversed his perspective on that, as sleep and health is important.
  • 50 gives tips on how to switch your habits to healthy ones – saying “some of the things you ‘couldn’t live without’ are actually standing between you and your best life.” 
  • He included this nice fact: You’re 42 times more likely to succeed if you write down your goals
  • 50 said that in the streets, he moved on quickly if he encountered problems, but this is different for people in corporate world, as they complain a lot (VICTIM MENTALITY) 

   

  Chapter 3 – Constructing Your Crew

  • Coming up with G-Unit, he wanted to take them and the whole block with him – but learnt that you aren’t obligated to take the whole community with you. 
  • Success creates this strong sense of guilt in African American community – so this keeps negativity around you when you have day-1 people around you, which can lead to your downfall (E.g Nipsey/Jam Master Jay). The community have a Crab-in-the-barrel mentality.
  • A lack of leadership will lead to your failure (6ix9ine example)
  • Recognise what energy your different crew members respond to. He gave a tough speech to boxers (Deontay Wilder/Floyd Mayweather Jr.) before their bouts when they were too relaxed. However, with Omari Hardwick, he had to use a softer approach to motivate him when Omari auditioned for Power.

   

  Chapter 4 – Knowing Value

  • Hold out for what you feel you deserve in a deal – but do not use money as the only source of measurement. 
  • By only holding out for money, you may miss opportunities. Take other forms of value, such as attention, mentorship etc. 
  • Asking for equity is betting on yourself – this is what he did with the Vitamin water deal and the Power contract he received

   

  Chapter 5 – Evolve or Die

  • You can lead a horse to water but you can’t force it to drink – applies to his crew members who didn’t evolve. 
  • He’s stayed with the times which allowed him to stay in the spotlight.
  • For example, he learns from his new demographic of friends like Robert Greene and Deepak Chopra
  • His G-Unit members weren’t as keen to get out of the hood-mentality or stay with the times, which clipped their potential.

   

  Chapter 6 – Power of Perception (didn’t write notes)

  Chapter 7 – If we cant be friends, can we be enemies (Competition)

  • Embrace competition by appreciating others and challenging them
  • This helped his third album release as he competed with Kanye West, in almost like a boxing match build up. Although Kanye technically ‘won’ with more album sales, the beef helped him to sell more than he would’ve.

  Chapter 8 – Learning From Your Ls

  • No notes

  Chapter 9 – The Entitlement Trap

  • I didn’t take notes at the time, but I remember him writing about the entitlement of his baby mother, who felt as if she didn’t need to work anymore when he became rich and famous. She passed that mindset down to their son, which created a rift between father and son.

I personally quite liked the stories he included of other people that he was inspired by. And it wasn’t just stories of G-Unit that he included. It included Floyd Mayweather, 6ix9ine, Deontay Wilder, and even Roberte Green.

I think this book is one of those ones that even if you’ve read the typical self-help books, this would be a nice read. And it’s definitely good for the ones who don’t usually like to read often, as it is genuinely interesting. 

Hope this helped and watch the video review on the YouTube channel “The Superior Code” for a more in-depth assessment of this book. 

Definitely recommend!