Wise Words of Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee, born Lee Jun-fan (November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist, martial arts instructor, actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and philosopher. He’s considered to be the most influential martial artist of all time and helped change the way Asians were represented in American movies.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Bruce Lee.

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.”

“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one”

“If you don't want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today.”

“Be happy, but never satisfied.”

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”

“Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul.”

“The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits.”

“Self-knowledge involves relationship. To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Relationship is a process of self-evaluation and self-revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself - to be is to be related.”

“The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.”

“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.”

“As long as I can remember I feel I have had this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision. It is all these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand.”

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.”

“Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system.”

“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.”

“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.”

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.”

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.”

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”

“If there is a God, he is within. You don't ask God to give you things, you depend on God for your inner theme.”

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.”

“For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime.”

“A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence. ”

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”

“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”

“A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.”

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”

“Time means a lot to me because you see I am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing.”

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”

“Obey the principles without being bound by them.”

“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.”

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

“Be self-aware, rather than a repetitious robot”

“As you think, so shall you become.”

“Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.”

“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”

“The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a pattern of systems.”

“If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

“Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can.”

“Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.”

“Everything you do, if not in a relaxed state will be done at a lesser level than you are proficient. Thus the tensed expert marksman will aim at a level less than his/her student.”

“Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.”

“The More we value things, the less we value ourselves”

“All knowledge leads to self-knowledge.”

“Preparation for tomorrow is hard work today.”

“To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.”

“The word ‘superstar’ is an illusion”

Copyright © Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo