Bruce Lee was a renowned martial artist, actor, and philosopher, born in San Francisco in 1940. Lee revolutionized martial arts and became a cultural figure because of his extraordinary speed, agility, and charisma. Millions of people across the world continue to be inspired by his self-expression, discipline, and adaptation philosophies.
"A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at."
"Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own."
"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one."
"In order to realize our true self, we must be willing to live without being dependent upon the opinion of others."
"Are you going to let the obstacles in your life be stumbling blocks or stepping stones? Choose the positive. You are the master of your attitude."
"Remember, success is a journey not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine."
"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
"When you say that something is impossible, you have made it impossible."
"Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity."
"Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."
"Everyone wants to learn how to win, but no one wants to learn how to accept defeat."
"To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is."
"Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."
"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."
"Emotion can be the enemy, if you give into your emotion, you lose yourself. You must be at one with your emotions, because the body always follows the mind."
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
"Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul."
"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind."
"Only the self-sufficient stand alone – most people follow the crowd and imitate."
"For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime."
"Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it."
"The moment is freedom. I couldn’t live by a rigid schedule. I try to live freely from moment to moment, letting things happen and adjusting to them."
"The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering."
"Knowledge will give you power, but character respect."
"The more we value things, the less we value ourselves."
"The doubters said, ‘Man cannot fly.’ The doers said, ‘Maybe, but we’ll try,’ and finally soared in the morning glow while non-believers lay dreaming."
"As you think, so shall you become."
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus."
"A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends."