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The Philosophy Of Bruce Lee


Deva

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Lessons Learned from Bruce Lee
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Sure you know Bruce Lee the martial artist and movie star.  But do you know Bruce Lee the philosopher, comedian or master of personal development?  Bruce was one of my early inspirations.   He continuously pushed his mind and body to new levels and his physical prowess inspired and influenced body builders and martial artists alike.  As far as heroes go, Bruce Lee truly set an example of what it means to be YOUR best.  Bruce was all about making the most of what you’ve got, seeking truth knowledge, and applying what you know.   If you’ve seen him in movies or you know some of his quotes, you know exactly what I mean.   In this post, I share my lessons from Bruce Lee.

My Top 10 Lessons from Bruce Lee

These are my top 10 lessons from Bruce Lee:

  • Be YOUR best.  It’s not about following in someone else’s footsteps or trying to be somebody you’re not.  It’s about unleashing your best version of yourself.  According to Bruce, “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”
  • Absorb what is useful.  It’s not about blindly adopting patterns and practices.  It’s about taking the best of the best and tailoring it.  It’s also about throwing away what doesn’t work.  Bruce borrowed concepts and techniques from everybody and every art in a relentless pursuit of the best of the best.  According to Bruce, “Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”
  • Keep an open mind.  You have to be willing to throw out what you already know and have a curiosity to explore new paths.  If you’re cup is already full, you can’t learn new things.  According to Bruce, “First empty your cup.”
  • Aim past your target. Aim past your target, so when you fall short, you still land in the ballpark of success.  Bruce Lee was famous for his one-inch punch, but in reality he was aiming past the one-inch.  According to Bruce, “Don’t fear failure.  Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.”
  • Stay flexible.  Be flexible in your approach.  Learn from everybody and everything and don’t get locked into a particular style.  According to Bruce, “Expose yourself to various conditions and learn.”
  • Focus on growth.   Push past your limits.  According to Bruce, “There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
  • Know yourself. Your blind spots and ignorance can be your biggest weakness.  According to Bruce, “After all, all knowledge simply means self-knowledge.”
  • Master your mind and body.   It’s not enough just to be smart.  It’s not enough just to master your body.  Your body and mind support each other.  Your body helps turn what you think or dream up into results.  According to Bruce, “As you think, so shall you become.”
  • Apply what you know.  Life is not about watching from the sidelines.  Use what you know and put knowledge into practice.  Test yourself.  According to Bruce, “Knowing is not enough, we must do.  Willing is not enough, we must apply.”
  • Make things happen.  When there is no wave, make one.  According to Bruce, “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

 

from:

http://sourcesofinsight.com/lessons-learned-from-bruce-lee/

 

I was totally inspired to carry on during a really tough period in my life by thinking about the philosophy of Bruce Lee, and Buddhism.. 

 

Although I am far from even physically fit, I carry over into life these ideas, which were expressed by him in the form of physical activity, but also has a far larger application..

 

Bruce Lee studied philosophy in college and derived his philosophy from Taoism, Buddhism and the works of J. Krishnamurti.  Anyone else inspired? Discuss.

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Yes:

 

“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”

 

That is the story of my life. As an apprentice I payed attention to the older guys who I worked for during those years. And over time I collected all of the knowledge that I found useful, disregarded what I found not, and then applied my own ideas and became a master tradesman myself. When I rose into sales and management I kept the philosophy going. I found that everyone I've worked for in life had something useful to offer but at the same time they've all had things to discard too. Usually they only had a minority of pluses and a vast majority of minuses. 

 

And when I'm training in people myself I give them this same advise. I tell them that I'm going teach them what I know and they may likely discard some of it later in favor of trying to improve upon it. But while working here you are to do as instructed and when on your own you're free to change whatever you'd like. But the results have to pass. The way to get there is not as important as it is to achieve the proper results in the end by whichever way gets you to the results. 

 

Which brings me to my favorite Bruce Lee philosophy:

 

"Having no way as way, Having no limitation as limitation." 

 

I think that he expressed this in the movie "The Game of Death." In martial arts everyone had a way and that way was their limitation. I say was because Bruce began a change. On one level he'd fight a master of some given way. He'd learn the limitation of their way and then defeat the opponent.  Then he'd go up to another level and do the same until reached the top. The whole point of the movie was to demonstrate the philosophy. He wore a necklace that had this philosophy written on it. That's something that really caught my attention because I've always been into improvising and staying fluid, adapting to changing conditions and so on,

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  • Make things happen.  When there is no wave, make one.  According to Bruce, “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

 

That's really the best advice. Successful people learn how to create opportunities. They don't sit around waiting for opportunity to magically happen. This is a hard lesson since most people are shy and reticent and want to relax when they have free time. 

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Yes, Josh. I am now reading "The Tao of Jeet Kune Do" by Bruce.  Its the kind of book you want to read a couple of paragraphs every day and just think about.

 

Its good advice for life. Especially since I have come out of a very restrictive, straitjacket sort of religion, I don't think there is anything I would just accept in its totality.  If there is something in the philosophy/religion that I can use in my life that is positive, I take it, and if it doesn't, I leave it. "Absorb what is useful, discard what is not."

 

Also, no two of us see life the same way -- we are all influenced by genetics, our own unique past experiences and it is necessary to do what YOU think is best "add what is uniquely your own."

 

"Having no way as way, Having no limitation as limitation." - Agree that this is the core of Lee's philosophy. He had a medallion and it showed the Yin and Yang symbol, but it also has arrows around the circle, showing that it is all in constant motion. I like that very much.

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Reading Bruce Lee has brought me back to another author who writes about Zen in a different way.  The author is Wei Wu Wei and the book is "Posthumous Pieces".  Reading Wei Wu Wei is quite a cosmic type of experience for me. He is much like Alan Watts, but more cryptic.  Makes you wonder who or what you really are and how much of reality is actually "real." Highly recommended.

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If it's like Watt's then I'll have to check it out. 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Wu_Wei

 

The quote on the wiki page certainly is interesting: 

 

Why are you unhappy?

Because 99.9 per cent Of everything you think,

And of everything you do,

Is for yourself — And there isn't one.

 

— Ask The Awakened

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Yes, Josh, I have read far more of Wei Wu Wei than I have of Watts, but I think you would really like him if you like Watts.

 

To me, the language is a bit more difficult in Wei Wu Wei than in Watts, but I think they are discussing the same subject. It really helps if you have read a lot of Buddhist sutras and philosophy in general.

 

For your enjoyment:  http://www.weiwuwei.8k.com/bits.html

 

The philosophy of Bruce Lee is so similar to Wei Wu Wei that I couldn't resist introducing him here, but perhaps another thread? Not sure.

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