The 50th Law

This is a video from 50 Cent promoting his book The 50th Law. I think it's a great book...everyone should definitely check it out.

Yates vs. Lee...Unsportsmanlike Conduct?

So I was driving to work this morning and I was listening to the radio. I heard that Yates beat Lee in basketball 170-35, a Texas record. While that was cool, I didn't really think much of it until the question was raised about whether or not Yates had unsportsmanlike conduct for beating Lee by so many points. This got me thinking...was it really unsportsman conduct? You know what, no, it wasn't. Sportsmanship is shaking the opposing team's hand after the game, whether you win or lose. Sportsmanship is not acting like it's the end of the world because you lost one game. We all fail at some point in life. That's just how it is.


The coach at Yates even put in his third string players during the game. Those kids had every right to play as hard as they could. They want to move off the third string and become starterss and one of the best ways to do that is to show the coach your skills. You can't do that by slacking off. Are we really going to fault the kids for playing their best?


We have become a society where losing is unheard of...where everyone wins something...a participation ribbon...a certificate...something teaching that mediocracy is okay. We teach our kids that as long as you try you're a winner. Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but life doesn't work that way and we are doing future generations a serious disservice by letting them think otherwise. Bun B said it best...in life there are people that win small and win big...there are also people that lose small and lose big. Lee just happened to be one of the ones that lost big. Let's not forget that it is just a game. This is not going to ruin their lives...there will be other games to play...over chances to "win" in life. If the players from Lee high school feel disrespected, hurt, or embarrased then they should take that all those negative emotions and channel them into getting better...into improving themselves. That's the real lesson that we should be teaching kids...sometimes life knocks you down, hard, the best thing you can do is learn from that and become better.

2009 is coming to a close...

It's about 10:30 PM on a Wednesday night and I'm in a reflective mood. It's partly due to this book I've been reading, The 50th Law (I'll elaborate on the book in a later posting). This year has been an interesting year for me. I went on my university's first civil rights' spring break tour...I graduated from college...I went to Las Vegas for the first time...I took a year off between college and law school...I got my first job in Corporate America.

As I reflect back on this year, I'm pretty proud of my accomplishments. I wrote my senior thesis, worked, helped run a sorority, and graduated from college...all without losing my mind (although I did lose some sleep lol). I've started my applications for law school and I'm on my way to becoming a lawyer.

While I feel that my academic/professional life is on a good track, I feel like I need to work on the social aspect of my life. Don't get me wrong, I've developed some really good friendships this year but I still feel like there's more that I'm missing out on.

So for 2010 I'm going to make some changes...I'm going to be more fearless and put myself out there more. This year is about change...it's time for a new chapter in my life and I'm ready for it...2010 here I come.

Nihil Timendum Est

I was at the bookstore for about two hours a couple of days ago and I ran across this book called The 50th Law by Robert Greene and 50 Cent. The book first caught my interest because it was in the management section and I saw 50 Cent's name on it. When I looked on the back cover I read "nihil timendum est" in gold foil letters...it means fear nothing. This caught my interest even more and I had to at least read the first couple of pages. Before I knew it, I had read the foreward and the introduction of the book. The book has to deal with the concept of fear and the role it plays in our lives.

The book begins by describing the initial role that fear played in our lives...that it was useful because it helped us stay alive and be more alert when we really needed it. However, over time an interesting thing happened, the actual fears that we faced decreased in intensity, but we became more fearful creatures. The media has done little to curb people's growing irrational fear. We are in a constant state of fear and anxiety...fear of being embarrassed, fear of losing our social status, fear of things that may never happen. This fear has become a hinderance to us. It keeps us from reaching our full potential. We stay in our comfort zones to avoid the anxiety and stress that comes with being put in fearful situations. The 50th law pretty much states that while we have little control over our environment, we do have control over our mind set in how we respond to the events that occur in our lives.

As I read this book, I can see the truth in it's words. I believe that fear is a major hinderance in our lives. Fear keeps us paralyzed...it keeps us from veering out into the unknown and learning just what we are made of. I think fear plays a major part of my life...fear that I won't succeed...fear that I'll disappoint...just fear of the unknown.

So my New Year's Resolution consists of applying ideas talked about in The 50th Law to my life and working on becoming fearless. And so the journey begins...