“Get rich or die trying.”- the infamously famous quote from Curtis James Jackson III a.k.a. the gangsta rapper 50 cent. Who apparently liked it so much that he used it for the name of his debut studio album in early 2003. As well as his semi-autobiographical action/musical in late 2005.
This phrase (according to Mr. cent) signifies a determined, almost desperate, pursuit of success and wealth. Even if it means facing significant risks and challenges. It reflects a mindset of unwavering ambition and a refusal to settle for anything less than the top.
Pardon me whilst laughter is quelled.
Not at Fifty, but rather that when taken literally in this connotation, this is an utterly ridiculous maxim. It may work when applied to one single individual, but the fact is that we can’t all be on top, all at once, all of the time. Because if we’re all on top… nobody is. We’ve leveled out again and thus the top must get higher. Ergo it becomes forever unattainable… there is no ceiling here- we’ll boomerang back to being topless in a paragraph or so.
Perhaps, if taken not quite so literal, it is a variation of- never give up? Or maybe keep trying till you’re dying? How about whether you succeed or not, eventually you must at least try?
Any way you take it; it seems this mantra, or variation of it, needs to be expressed to up and coming generations. Emphasizing not so much on the endgame of success, but on the fact that you must first try. Not because of want but out of necessity.
A car pulls into the drive. A 20 something man-child, who refuses to get a job, driver’s license or bathe on the regular, bursts from the house and races towards it tearfully wailing in utter distress. The “boys” mother, who just finished a 12-hour shift, exits the car with the utmost concern for her offspring. What troubles him so that he is exclaiming he wants to kill himself? The Wi-Fi has been down for a whole hour and 23 minutes. And Jesus wept!
A grandmother forces a post-teen grandson into her car. He doesn’t have one and sees no point in having a license. Drives him to a place of employment (he sleeps in transit). Walks him inside, fills out his application for him and must accompany him during the interview to answer questions- he doesn’t like talking to people in person. Does he have reliable transport? Yes, she will drive him to work each day. Another tissue for the Son of God.
To be fair, where slacker-tude is concerned, during my first real job interview the HR director got a little miffed with me. When I lackadaisically told him I couldn’t start immediately due to a prior commitment with a friend. To which he made the most asinine query I have ever heard to this day- “Do you not want to work?”
Well sir, let me see, hmmm… that’d be a big- hell no! Seriously dude does anybody really “want” to work? Is there an alternative nobody’s told me about? One where I can just keep doing what I’m doing? Which was basically nothing.
This response wasn’t actually made. Because the answer was already known, obvious and it was- NO! And it is this we must emphasize to the tomorrow people.
Shatter the delusion that inhibits their trying. That delusion held by all children- what is in the now, will forever be. Do today’s youths think their parents and/or guardians are immortal? And thus, they can linger in teen angst eternally? If this blind mindset continues, what will the future bring?
Catching that boomerang…
We can’t all be on, let alone reach the top. We can’t all be famous. We can’t all be rich. We can’t all be pretty and popular enough to rest on our laurels. We can’t all be rags to riches rap stars, high profile CEOs, politicians, lotto winners or do-nothings for life (though many try).
You don’t want to work? Nobody does. But you can only retain some facsimile of desirable life as you know it if you do. Will you be happy, will you be successful, will you reach the top? Sometimes maybe, but you at least have to try… aside from dying there is nothing else.
I welcome almost all questions, comments via Focus, or E-mail me at wanderingchainsaw@gmail.com. Hope to hear from ya, until then try and stay focused! See ya.
