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Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's New Book Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter (and a Giveaway)

For any book discussion

MTF

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I've just finished reading Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's new book Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter and man, it's sooo goood!

32819

I have to admit that I was VERY into hip-hop culture as a teenager and in my early twenties which makes me biased but still— the book has SOLID advice, both general life advice as well as business advice. I loved reading Curtis's stories from his career as a rapper as well as a TV executive and investor. He has an admirable work ethic and an impressive long-term outlook (that legacy philosophy @Kak often mentions).

It's funny because I like to listen to 50 Cent when I want to pump myself up and bring out that inner hustler. I didn't know why his music worked so well for me (that's despite that I like only some of his songs). Turns out that I could actually feel his work ethic through his songs.

Here are some highlights from the book:

One thing I always try to assess in new business partners is what I call their “passion stance.” Just how passionate are they about making this thing happen? Someone with a weak passion stance will probably get knocked over the first time they meet a little resistance. I’m not interested in being around that sort of energy. Someone with a strong passion stance, on the other hand, will really dig in. Get their feet planted and shoulders squared up. So no matter how hard the world pushes back, or how much negativity gets thrown their way, they ain’t budging an inch. That’s the sort of energy I want to work with. The type of people I’m willing to put my money behind. A strong passion stance is what separates the hustlers who win from the people who always seem stuck in place.

You cannot, under any circumstances, compromise when it’s your vision on the line. You have to be prepared to go against popular opinion and turn down money—even if it jeopardizes your relationships—until you’re confident you’ve found the right opportunity.

Would you marry a man just because he proposed? Or a woman because your friends think she’s great? I hope not. You don’t make a commitment like that just because someone else wants you to. I don’t care if you’re single, thirty-seven years old, and every time you talk to your mother the first thing out of her mouth is, “When you giving me a grandchild?” You wait until you’re 100 percent sure he’s Mr. Right before you even think about saying yes.

Would you put an offer on a house because the agent you’re working with is getting tired of showing you around and just wants his commission? Hell, no! You’d get another agent and go to open house after open house until you finally find the home you can afford and that you’re excited to spend the rest of your life in.

When you settle, you’re demonstrating a lack of confidence. If your journey hasn’t been easy, you might start to question the value of what you’re doing. Maybe you’d better grab the next thing that gets offered before you never get offered anything again. When you begin thinking like that, you’ve lost the hustler’s spirit.

When we look back at how I evaluated the Eminem deal, notice all the positives I focused on: elite talent to work with, a lack of internal competition, and access to a new fan base.

Now notice what I didn’t mention: money.

I knew whatever number we agreed on would ultimately be irrelevant compared to what I would earn long term with the proper plan in place. My signing bonus with Shady Records was “only” one million dollars. But I ended up earning so much money off that deal, the signing bonus is almost irrelevant.

I built so much leverage that I just re-signed with Starz for $150 million. The deal includes a three-series commitment and a fund to help develop other G-Unit projects. When it’s all said and done, it will probably be worth a lot more than even that.

Even as I was hustlin’ on the set, in the writers’ room, and on the promo runs, I never for a second thought my true value was only $17,000 an episode. That was just the number I had to agree on to jump-start the process. My true value was going to lie in executive-producing and starring in a hit TV show that would birth multiple spin-offs—and multiple revenue streams. Everything I was doing in Season 1 was meant to put me in a better position to make that happen

When I took a hard look at my situation, the answer was clear: hip-hop culture had decided to give me resistance. I had come into the game as the underdog, but now that I was an international success, they couldn’t see me the same way anymore. I knew I was still the same guy, but hip-hop had moved on. It was imperative that I diversify if I wanted to keep growing financially and professionally.

When people don’t respond to what you give them, they’re telling you they’ve moved on, loud and clear. If you don’t hear them, then you’re just not listening.

You must find people who are going to inject new energy into your life. Because if you keep having the same conversations with the same people year after year, your energy is going to stagnate. Your ideas are going to get stale. Your momentum is going to get stuck.

The vast majority of people are attracted to the things they think they can’t have. No matter what the setting, unattainability is the ultimate aphrodisiac. When you’re looking for someone to invest time, money, or energy in you, you can never let them think they’re doing you a favor. You must make them believe that the favor is actually coming from you—that by being brought into your orbit, they will be setting themselves up for a win.

Sigmund Freud once said, “Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.” Well, I must not be most people then. You already know how I feel about freedom. And I absolutely love responsibility, too. I want as much of it as I can possibly get my hands on. I believe taking complete responsibility for your life is the best way to make sure you never fall into the entitlement trap.

Giveaway!

I'm giving away THREE Kindle copies of the book (sent as a gift via Amazon). Write a post in which you describe what hustling means to you and how you're hustling every day (bonus points if you delve into your long-term legacy strategy—no specifics about your business required, just general plans). I'll choose three best answers on Monday, May 11.
 
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AgainstAllOdds

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I'm giving away THREE Kindle copies of the book (sent as a gift via Amazon). Write a post in which you describe what hustling means to you and how you're hustling every day (bonus points if you delve into your long-term legacy strategy—no specifics about your business required, just general plans). I'll choose three best answers on Monday, May 11.

Hustling to me is the antithesis of complacency. It means never letting off the gas. It's a constant pursuit of growth and betterment - whether that be for yourself, your family, or those around you. It's a drive for tomorrow to be a little bit better than today.

In my business, right now we're in hustle mode. When coronavirus first hit, we scaled back on investments. "Let's see how this thing plays out." "Let's hold cash to see if there's anything we can capitalize on."

That lasted about a week before I got on a call with my partner telling him "Hey, I can't F*cking do this. I don't know how to sit back without growing. I know we should be holding cash, but I'm not doing that shit. We need to find something else to push up forward. I'm not letting growth stagnate."

After that, we hit the drawing board and started to look at different market segments. We had an idea of markets we wanted to get into, and started creating a product line for those markets. We sourced product. Created shitty catalogs. Started calls with people in our network. Those calls led to meetings with other people. Those meetings led to identifying new products - my partner calling me "Hey, we've been F*cking up ... you realize how much money is in this?"

Now we're at the stage of forming partnerships with some of the world's largest factories in the space.

While business owners and purchasing managers are scaling back, we're hustling. We're calling export managers and telling them "We've been growing. We're the youngest in the industry. We're looking for a partner like you to push the product you make." And they're receptive. Why? Because we're the only ones hustling and calling.

Meanwhile, we have samples being shipped to all the factories we already work with. Now is the time for R&D.

We have capital. We have projects we want to pursue. The opportunity cost today is very low. So we're lining up all the options for the future.

What's going to happen when the market comes back?

We're going to ride the wave because we hustled, while everyone else is going to play catchup.

In terms of legacy - my goal has always been to make the world a better place when I leave than when I came in. I'm still on the constant pursuit of building capital and allocating it to the right causes. Of helping friends through angel investment.

There's one friend that I started working with on a side project. There's other friends that I've been helping with loans and expertise. Day by day I'm pushing to help good people become great. My hope is that as I age, that ability exponentiates through hustle.

As for this post ... I'm mainly dumbfounded that no one on this forum actually reads the entire post, just likes and moves on. So I decided to hustle in hopes of winning a free book and posting a screenshot of me calling everyone that didn't an idiot for not hustling. Thanks for the opportunity @MTF
 

MTF

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And the competition has ended! Thank you to all who participated.

Here are the winners with the best responses (please send me a PM with your email address/wherever you want me to send the book as a gift):

#1 - @AgainstAllOdds

Hustling to me is the antithesis of complacency. It means never letting off the gas. It's a constant pursuit of growth and betterment - whether that be for yourself, your family, or those around you. It's a drive for tomorrow to be a little bit better than today.

In my business, right now we're in hustle mode. When coronavirus first hit, we scaled back on investments. "Let's see how this thing plays out." "Let's hold cash to see if there's anything we can capitalize on."

That lasted about a week before I got on a call with my partner telling him "Hey, I can't F*cking do this. I don't know how to sit back without growing. I know we should be holding cash, but I'm not doing that shit. We need to find something else to push up forward. I'm not letting growth stagnate."

After that, we hit the drawing board and started to look at different market segments. We had an idea of markets we wanted to get into, and started creating a product line for those markets. We sourced product. Created shitty catalogs. Started calls with people in our network. Those calls led to meetings with other people. Those meetings led to identifying new products - my partner calling me "Hey, we've been F*cking up ... you realize how much money is in this?"

Now we're at the stage of forming partnerships with some of the world's largest factories in the space.

While business owners and purchasing managers are scaling back, we're hustling. We're calling export managers and telling them "We've been growing. We're the youngest in the industry. We're looking for a partner like you to push the product you make." And they're receptive. Why? Because we're the only ones hustling and calling.

Meanwhile, we have samples being shipped to all the factories we already work with. Now is the time for R&D.

We have capital. We have projects we want to pursue. The opportunity cost today is very low. So we're lining up all the options for the future.

What's going to happen when the market comes back?

We're going to ride the wave because we hustled, while everyone else is going to play catchup.

In terms of legacy - my goal has always been to make the world a better place when I leave than when I came in. I'm still on the constant pursuit of building capital and allocating it to the right causes. Of helping friends through angel investment.

There's one friend that I started working with on a side project. There's other friends that I've been helping with loans and expertise. Day by day I'm pushing to help good people become great. My hope is that as I age, that ability exponentiates through hustle.

As for this post ... I'm mainly dumbfounded that no one on this forum actually reads the entire post, just likes and moves on. So I decided to hustle in hopes of winning a free book and posting a screenshot of me calling everyone that didn't an idiot for not hustling. Thanks for the opportunity @MTF

#2 - @Sheens

Ha, can't wait to read this book!

"Get Rich or Die Tryin" is decades old and still has not been surpassed as my all time favorite album.

Thank you for the recommendation @MTF!

Personal definition of hustle is to just F'n do. Think it, see it, do it.

Move through those three as many times as necessary and do each of them with clarity and purpose.

I do not have a fear of failure, heights, control, or letting go. I have a fear of not hustling hard enough, long enough, or with enough purpose. It's taught me to challenge myself and push harder on each one of those every day.

It's a choice to hustle. It's a choice to F'n do something. It's a choice to do it better today than I did yesterday.

Those choices lead to freedom. I want more of it. I want it for those I love and I will get it for them. Hustle now.

#3 - @ApparentHorizon

I can't sum it up better than Urban Dictionary:

To have the courage, confidence, self belief, and self-determination to go out there and work it out until you find the opportunities you want in life.

What's great about this quote is that it doesn't mention failure.

Let me explain why that's a good thing...

Often people mistakenly embrace failure as a badge of honor. To get brownie points showing everyone that they're doing something. Never really reaching their potential.

You can see it on the forum. (And this is not a dig at anyone). The posts that fade into oblivion are execution threads that don't go anywhere.

The ones getting upvotes are the people who disappear for a while. Then come back with a bang. Opening a thread with the story. The hardships, the failures, and finally the success at the end.

Failure is part of the game. The quote implies it, but forms it in a glass half full perspective.

(Looks like not many replies on this thread, so if I win, I'll have you send the book to a buddy if that's possible.)

As @AgainstAllOdds mentioned in the last paragraph of his excellent reply), I was also curious how many people would make an effort to write a solid post in exchange for a book, particularly after noticing there were very few responses (and thus, a very high chance to win).

Turns out it was just a handful of people—and that's on a forum with hundreds, possibly thousands of people who want to start a business and complain they don't know what to do. Guess what—it all starts with some hustle, even if that hustle is just writing a high-quality post on a forum to get a cool book that might inspire you.

Of course, not everyone was interested in this book and not everyone was willing to spend a few minutes of their life in exchange for a chance to get a $15 book, but still—shows you how few people are willing to take action. Perhaps this will help some of you realize what the competition is like (hint: not very proactive).

Having said that, just to show what you can get if you hustle and make an effort to stand out, I'll gift @AgainstAllOdds a $50 Amazon gift card as well in addition to the book.
 

MTF

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I'm giving away THREE Kindle copies of the book (sent as a gift via Amazon). Write a post in which you describe what hustling means to you and how you're hustling every day (bonus points if you delve into your long-term legacy strategy—no specifics about your business required, just general plans). I'll choose three best answers on Monday, May 11.

Come on, guys, play with me!

Hustling for me is being obsessed about your goal—so much that you work on it day in, day out, pushing through every obstacle, and never, ever, ever giving up until you get where you want to go. It's determination, discipline, and dedication all at once.

I was a hustler when I was working on my self-publishing business the first year. I used to write up to 3,000 words (that's roughly 12 pages) every single day, writing book after book after book. That's what helped me improve my writing skills and grow my company quickly. It was also what I needed to build self-confidence that as long as you're hustling, you can get what you want.

I don't have the same hustler's mentality today (hitting your goals and then failing to identify new ones does that to a person) but I do want to bring it back, which is why the book resonated with me so much. My long-term goals revolve around the need to maximize freedom in my life, which means a new hustle and a personal evolution to take things to a higher level.

I want to develop a strong work ethic that I'll apply not only to business but also other pursuits in my life. I'm doing it with surfing now but it's a hard balancing act to push yourself but at the same time don't injure yourself (you can't go from zero to 100 overnight or you'll hurt yourself).

(Looks like not many replies on this thread, so if I win, I'll have you send the book to a buddy if that's possible.)

Cool, no worries.
 
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AgainstAllOdds

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Big thanks to @MTF!

Looking forward to reading this book and am extremely appreciative of all the value you've given to this forum time and time again. A real class act.
 
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ApparentHorizon

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I can't sum it up better than Urban Dictionary:

To have the courage, confidence, self belief, and self-determination to go out there and work it out until you find the opportunities you want in life.

What's great about this quote is that it doesn't mention failure.

Let me explain why that's a good thing...

Often people mistakenly embrace failure as a badge of honor. To get brownie points showing everyone that they're doing something. Never really reaching their potential.

You can see it on the forum. (And this is not a dig at anyone). The posts that fade into oblivion are execution threads that don't go anywhere.

The ones getting upvotes are the people who disappear for a while. Then come back with a bang. Opening a thread with the story. The hardships, the failures, and finally the success at the end.

Failure is part of the game. The quote implies it, but forms it in a glass half full perspective.

(Looks like not many replies on this thread, so if I win, I'll have you send the book to a buddy if that's possible.)
 

AgainstAllOdds

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And the competition has ended! Thank you to all who participated.

Here are the winners with the best responses (please send me a PM with your email address/wherever you want me to send the book as a gift):

#1 - @AgainstAllOdds



#2 - @Sheens



#3 - @ApparentHorizon



As @AgainstAllOdds mentioned in the last paragraph of his excellent reply), I was also curious how many people would make an effort to write a solid post in exchange for a book, particularly after noticing there were very few responses (and thus, a very high chance to win).

Turns out it was just a handful of people—and that's on a forum with hundreds, possibly thousands of people who want to start a business and complain they don't know what to do. Guess what—it all starts with some hustle, even if that hustle is just writing a high-quality post on a forum to get a cool book that might inspire you.

Of course, not everyone was interested in this book and not everyone was willing to spend a few minutes of their life in exchange for a chance to get a $15 book, but still—shows you how few people are willing to take action. Perhaps this will help some of you realize what the competition is like (hint: not very proactive).

Having said that, just to show what you can get if you hustle and make an effort to stand out, I'll gift @AgainstAllOdds a $50 Amazon gift card as well in addition to the book.

Wow.

The $50 Amazon gift card isn't necessary. If you want to give it, I'll regift it back in the form of books to others in your name.

But the Hustle Harder book I'll take. Looks like a good read and much appreciated!
 

SEBASTlAN

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To hustle is "to move from failure to failure without losing motivation".

I'm hustling every day by reading books & articles, writing books & blog posts, listening to podcasts and delivering great work to our clients.
 
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Sheens

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Ha, can't wait to read this book!

"Get Rich or Die Tryin" is decades old and still has not been surpassed as my all time favorite album.

Thank you for the recommendation @MTF!

Personal definition of hustle is to just F'n do. Think it, see it, do it.

Move through those three as many times as necessary and do each of them with clarity and purpose.

I do not have a fear of failure, heights, control, or letting go. I have a fear of not hustling hard enough, long enough, or with enough purpose. It's taught me to challenge myself and push harder on each one of those every day.

It's a choice to hustle. It's a choice to F'n do something. It's a choice to do it better today than I did yesterday.

Those choices lead to freedom. I want more of it. I want it for those I love and I will get it for them. Hustle now.
 

Primeperiwinkle

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Hustling to me means getting angry like an Apex predator that is interrupted in the middle of a hunt. It means growling at people and flexing my paws in the dust, tensing for action and not giving af if I get bloody.

Hustling means being hungry. Hustling means I stop my bitching and whining; I just go out and get my own damn food.

I don’t enjoy it though... it’s not fun or enjoyable and I get very little satisfaction from success unless it’s competitive-based. I’d rather chill and be happy with making connections for people or learning about stuff.

To be ambitious I have to stay angry
and competitive.. and I don’t like being angry. I kinda wish I could find a different emotion that motivated me half as much as being pissed off does.

I haven’t been hustling at all.. and I should be. I need something to help me think about it in a good way rather than in a bloodbath sort of way. Curious if Curtis is the right guy to guide me.. lol.
 

ace81385

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Great post. Funny I just reread 50th Law last week its been a few years.

Hustling to me means never giving up, continuing to pour blood sweat and tears into whatever you are working on. It's taking what little you have and making it work for you whether its calling hundreds of potential customers or standing on the street corner trying to get feedback for your product. Learning as you go and not looking back. Win or lose your never going to give up.
 

Raoul Duke

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The audio book is great as well. Read by him.
 
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Last edited:

MTF

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The $50 Amazon gift card isn't necessary. If you want to give it, I'll regift it back in the form of books to others in your name

Cool - I can send the gift card to you and you can use it however you want or you can choose three hustlers from the forum who you think would benefit from the book and I'll send it to them myself. Let me know.
 

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I am about halfway through the audio book! It's really a great and a fun listen. I guess it helps if you know a little bit about 50 cent and the hip-hop scene at that time. But even without that knowledge he offers solid advice. I had no idea that he is a complete different person than his character "50 Cent".
 

Martin.G

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This goes to my list of next to read. Recently I started watching "Power", where he is the executive producer and also perform a role. I don't know if he is a good actor or not, but I wonder how someone can achieve some many things in life. I have only respect and admiration for people like him.
Thanks for the recommendation, I love to when someone talks about a good book he read.
 

sparechange

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dam pretty cool, look forward to picking this up sometime
 

Jack Hammer

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Just read the excerpts and downloaded the audiobook. Looking forward to listening. Thanks!
 

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Thanks for posting this up! I'll make sure to check it out.
 

The-J

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I read The 50th Law a few days ago. Definitely gonna pick this one up.

Not gonna enter the giveaway; I've got Kindle credit, I'm good lol
 
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MTF

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Some awesome new responses with @AgainstAllOdds crushing it (and his last paragraph uncovering the idea behind the giveaway). I'll pick three winners in a few hours so it's your last chance!
 
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