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What Actors Can Learn from 50 Cent

Well, I suppose you weren’t expecting that title.  I guess I’m not the kind of guy that most people would associate with rap music.  But I’ve recently been listening to an audio book by Robert Greene (author of The 48 Laws of Power) and 50 Cent (yes, THAT Fiddy Cent).  They co-wrote a book together called The 50th Law and I’m enjoying it very much.  While I’m listening to it, I keep having moments of inspiration and thought that you could learn along with me.

So what can actors learn from Fiddy Cent? Fiddy Cent grew up on the tough streets of South Queens, he learned to be fearless, this fearlessness is the basis of his personal philosophy and guides him in all that he does.  Here’s what we can learn from Mr Cent.

ONE:  Fear is a prison, it holds you captive and prevents you from doing what you want.  The more fears you have, the more obstacles to getting what you want.  What are your fears? How can you remove them?

TWO:  Fear is primal, it is inherent in all of us.  It is strongly connected to our survival instinct.  But as the number of threats to our actual safety decreased, we’ve allowed smaller, more insidious anxieties to take their place.  The trouble is, that they are no longer useful to us in this way.  If you can’t let go of your fears, these fear change your perspective on the world and your life within it. You approach life from the perspective of fear.

THREE: The odds of failure and the fear that accompanies those odds are always present.  Self belief and action can overcome even the most powerful odds.

FOUR:  Be Patient, but don’t let patience lead to stasis built on fear.  Patiently wait, and take action as the moment arises.

FIVE:  Rejection is a strong primal fear.  We all have it and yet as actors, we must confront it constantly.  Accept it’s place in the scheme of things and move on.

SIX: Place yourself in the situations that cause anxiety and the fear of rejection, quickly those situations will lose their power over you.

SEVEN:  Without a Plan B, without a safety net, you are compelled to take action and go after your target.  When you have something to fall back on, you act with the knowledge of safety, you avoid trouble and you look for opportunities to return to that safety, rather than throwing yourself into the game.

EIGHT: ‘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.

NINE: We have little control over our circumstances, mainly we just react.  We struggle to maintain equilibrium but we have little control.  But we can our way of thinking about these circumstances, and if we can do this, we can change our circumstances.

TEN:  Bold action backed up by real confidence will be your secret power source.  When people are confronted by real confidence, they either back down or follow.  When someone expresses real confidence, people cannot help but admire it.

ELEVEN:  Don’t be afraid of change.  Be fluid. Go with the flow.  Everything, I mean EVERYTHING is an opportunity.

TWELVE:  Our days are numbered, it could all end tomorrow.  What did you do today to propel you towards your target?

THIRTEEN:  Ingratiation is weakness.  No one respects it.

FOURTEEN:  Refuse to avoid confrontation with your fears or those determined to get in your way.

FIFTEEN: Your fears exaggerate themselves.  When you confront them, you will overcome them as you see them in perspective.

To You, The Best!

Mark Westbrook
Senior Acting Coach
ACTING COACH SCOTLAND


Like What You Read? Want to Read More? Mark's eBook is available here
Looking for Acting Classes in Glasgow? Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2011

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