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50 Cent: Make Everything Your Own

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Chops

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cent/make-ev...n_b_356915.html

Excerpt:

When you work for others, you are at their mercy. They own your work; they own you. Your creative spirit is squashed. What keeps you in such positions is a fear of having to sink or swim on your own. Instead you should have a greater fear of what will happen to you if you remain dependent on others for power. Your goal in every maneuver in life must be ownership, working the corner for yourself. When it is yours, it is yours to lose -- you are more motivated, more creative, more alive. The ultimate power in life is to be completely self-reliant, completely yourself.

(bold mine)

Great post about overall self-reliance and ownership. I know very little (and by very little, I mean "nothing") about 50 Cent, but this definitely shows someone with a rational, possibly Objectivist, philosophy. Even the first comment on the page mentions how it's "too Randian."

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The excerpt reveals a misunderstanding of the trader principle. A trader recognizes the fact that an employer has a value to offer. He voluntarily trades his labor not because of "fear of having to sink or swim" on his own, but because he gains a value. So, it is wrong to say that he "should have a greater fear of what will happen" if he remains dependent. A rational man doesn't work for another man and is not "owned" by him either.

That motivation, creativity and aliveness can be achieved by seeking ownership is an attempt to reverse the relationship between values and virtues. There is an implication that values are sought in order to gain virtues.

p.s. I just read the excerpt, not the full article.

Edited by Rockefeller
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I know very little (and by very little, I mean "nothing") about 50 Cent,

No doubt the meat of those words are very promising.

The reference "working the corner for yourself" generally refers to being a street level drug dealer. Granted, this simply may be an occupation he is using from within his "frame of reference". Of course, if you are 'working a corner', you still have someone working over you. He has actually lived that life. It appears in recent years he has cleaned up a bit.

Wikipedia provides more specific information on 50 Cent.

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No doubt the meat of those words are very promising.

The reference "working the corner for yourself" generally refers to being a street level drug dealer. Granted, this simply may be an occupation he is using from within his "frame of reference". Of course, if you are 'working a corner', you still have someone working over you. He has actually lived that life. It appears in recent years he has cleaned up a bit.

Wikipedia provides more specific information on 50 Cent.

I thought it was a boxing term. Like when a boxing manager working his fighters corner, or when someone says their in your corner.

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I thought it was a boxing term. Like when a boxing manager working his fighters corner, or when someone says their in your corner.

Apparently it also refers to prostitution, and in that context working the corner by yourself means you wouldn't have a pimp.

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A trader recognizes the fact that an employer has a value to offer. He voluntarily trades his labor not because of "fear of having to sink or swim" on his own, but because he gains a value. So, it is wrong to say that he "should have a greater fear of what will happen" if he remains dependent. A rational man doesn't work for another man and is not "owned" by him either.

True, but if you work for someone, your work is owned by that someone. You're not owned, your work is owned. That's what the excerpt said, it never claimed that you are owned. Only your work.

That motivation, creativity and aliveness can be achieved by seeking ownership is an attempt to reverse the relationship between values and virtues. There is an implication that values are sought in order to gain virtues.

Motivation, creativity, and being alive (happiness), are values. Independence is a virtue. He is suggesting to seek the virtue of independence to gain those values, culminating in happiness. I agree, though not necessarily with the methods (While being self employed has its merits, it is not a universal requirement for happiness, as Mr. Cent :pimp: suggests. I believe that is true for him, but it is far from being a valid moral principle)

And yes, the excerpt is very Randian. Not because he's familiar with Rand, but because it shows an American sense of life. Good for him.

Edited by Jake_Ellison
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Apparently it also refers to prostitution, and in that context working the corner by yourself means you wouldn't have a pimp.

...and the Canadians in the group would have immediately thought the reference was related to hockey. Context is everything!

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...and the Canadians in the group would have immediately thought the reference was related to hockey. Context is everything!

#$^#@^ Hockey. I $^@^@ hate hockey. Stupid $^$&%#& lame %#$& ridiculous ^#&$*# game. The entirety of the NHL should be shot with a wad of their own hardened excrement and left on the side of the highway for the road crew to clean up.

:pimp:

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Okay..... for $100 (CDN or USD, doesn't make any difference right now) I *won't* pass that on to your employer--who would no doubt decide you were a "mole" and have you arrested. You can't actually be a real Canadian with that attitude, it's metaphysically impossible.

:pimp:

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It's definitely a conversation killer when someone asks what team I cheer for and I say "I don't like hockey", and they stare at me and say ".....oh.".

Heh, that's similar to the response I get when I say I don't care about football. Packer fans are rabid animals and seem to take offense to me not caring about "our" team.

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What good is a Canadian if he does not like Hockey?

I mean, what do you guys discuss at your lumberjack job site?

It does cut down the topics to a select few, eh? You know, like cold beer, touques and parkas, snow (all varieties), black flies, back bacon, the fur traps and ice fishing hut. Oh, and curling too, eh.

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Canadian newscast:

There was a horrible earthquake in Papua New Guinea this morning, killing 15,000. For more on this story and how it might affect the Toronto Maple Leafs chances of winning the Stanley Cup we are joined by Don Cherry...

<_<

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True, but if you work for someone, your work is owned by that someone. You're not owned, your work is owned. That's what the excerpt said, it never claimed that you are owned. Only your work.

Not the work, the product of it. The skill that allows the work to be done always belongs to the self. Working for others is a great way to practice and learn new skills.

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Canadian newscast:

There was a horrible earthquake in Papua New Guinea this morning, killing 15,000. For more on this story and how it might affect the Toronto Maple Leafs chances of winning the Stanley Cup we are joined by Don Cherry...

<_<

Reminds me of the Wall Street Journal--the time or two I've read it, it seemed like every news story ends with a paragraph or two describing the implications for the market.

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I thought it was a boxing term. Like when a boxing manager working his fighters corner, or when someone says their in your corner.

It may well be. I think the drug dealer context is more likely based on what I've read about him.

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You're not owned, your work is owned. That's what the excerpt said, it never claimed that you are owned. Only your work.

The original excerpt clearly says: "They own your work; they own you".

Motivation, creativity, and being alive (happiness), are values. Independence is a virtue. He is suggesting to seek the virtue of independence to gain those values, culminating in happiness.

You are right. Motivation and "being alive (happiness)" are certainly man's values. I am still confused about creativity, though. Shouldn't creativity be a virtue? After all anyone can exercise his creative faculty. The values gained by creativity are self-esteem and the products themselves.

There is another problem I have with the excerpt. I think the author advocates independence in a materialist sense, and not in the sense of judgement or self-reliance.

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OBVIOUSLY there are individuals that would rather be employees than employers. Not everyone wants to be an employer. It is ridiculous to say that some philosophical thought is latent/absent in all employees and is present in all employers. I think the error is made here, not just by 50 cent, but by some of you posting here. Also, the definition of creativity by 50 Cent is very vague here. His definition of creativity is probably different than a scientist's definition of creativity. Think about the abstractions he depends on in one of his rap songs like "In Da Club" (Funny, right?). A lot of learning can be done under an employer. Of course creativity cannot be forced upon anyone, which is why many employers are offering even more freedom to their employees. I highly doubt that a cardiologist working in a lab is given every instruction by his/her boss down to the last thought. Here lies the error. The context of someone's life always must apply.

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Ha... 50 Cent the Objectivist. He's not even that good of a rapper. However, whatever their deficiencies most rappers are mostly egoists and capitalists, but most lean toward the gangster version of both that makes us look bad.

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