Anyone who knows anything about Bruce Lee can’t help but be impressed by the amount he accomplished in his relatively short life. Not only was he an amazing martial artist, but also an tremendous actor and philosopher as well. What amazed me about Bruce Lee was his profound wisdom. I often use his quotes as a source of inspiration. My hope is that you can to. The following are some of my favorite quotes from Bruce Lee:
- “The “moment” has no yesterday or tomorrow. It is not the result of thought and therefore has no time.”
- “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough: we must do.”
- “Learning is never cumulative, it is a movement of knowing which has no beginning and no end.”
- “The measure of the moral worth of a man is his happiness. The better the man, the more happiness. Happiness is the synonym of well-being”
- ” Real living is living for others.”
- “Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.”
- “Never waste energy on worries or negative thoughts, all problems are brought into existence -drop them.”
- “A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at.”
- “Because one does not want to be disturbed, to be made uncertain, he establishes a pattern of conduct, of thought, a pattern of relationship to man etc. Then he becomes a slave to the patter and takes the pattern to be the real thing.”
- “Zen is not “attained” by mirror-wiping mediation, but by “self-forgetfulness in the existential ‘present’ of life here and now.” We do not “come”, we “are.” Don’t strive to become, but be.”
- “Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.”
- “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”
- “To grow, to discover, we need involvement which is something I experience everyday, sometimes good, sometimes frustrating.”
Bruce Lee is a personal hero of mine for he demonstrated what it means to be a truly compassionate human being. He not only gave out advice but actually lived a life according to his values. The fact that he was able to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time gives inspires me greatly. He truly was an “artist of life.”
No related posts.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
I tried to pick one quote to comment on but found I was liking all of them. Great article with some lasting thoughts to ponder.
Bud, I too love Bruce Lee quotes. Here is one of my favorites: “Circumstances hell! I make circumstances!”.
inspiring quotes =)
I never knew that Bruce Lee had so many great quotes. Thanks for sharing! I especially liked = ” Real living is living for others.”
Great List! I’ve always enjoyed…
“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.”
&
“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
-Bruce Lee
When did you first become a fan of Bruce Lee? Did one special movie get you interested or did you discover him by another means?
I became a HUGE fan of Bruce Lee back in the 70s when I was young. My dad was 2nd degree black belt and he loved Kung Fu movies. The “Old School” ones. He took me to see both The Big Boss (Fists of Fury) and The Chinese Connection.
Once I saw Bruce’s unique style and free flowing mannerisms or personality in his martial arts, iIwas hooked! And while I like alot of artists today; Don Wang Tao, Hwang Jang Lee, Dragon Lee, Bruce Li, Lo Lieh, Tommy Lee, Gordon Lu, Sammo Hung, Chang Yi, John Liu, Meng Fei, Alexander Fu Sheng, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and many others. There WILL NEVER BE another Bruce Lee. HE IS AND ALWAYS WILL BE THE MAN!
rest in peace Bruce.
I have been fascinated with Bruce Lee since a young age. His profound wisdom is simply extraordinary.
@Dave: What a great quote. Simplicity directly correlates with power.
@ Chick J: I actually haven’t seen many of his films. When I was younger I used to do Martial Arts, so I read quite a few books on him.
yesss dude
first time on your blog
propss
barely anyone regonizes bruce lee for the genius he really is
because to understand his values we have to first negate his impact as an international star and view him as a philosopher.
geniuss, his books really make up like a quarter of my philosophy collection
I agree with @Dave: my all time favorite Bruce Lee Quote:
““If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”
So many in this world are limited by faulty assumptions. Awesome list!
Isn’t it great? Before I became a musician, I was really into martial arts; but Bruce Lee’s quotes stuck with me into all of my phases of musicianship; applying these principals have made me a better musician, and being a better musician has made me a happier person. Great Stuff!
Bud, you should check out his movies. The acting and the dialogue in them isn’t great, but the martial arts make it worth the watch.
Here’s a great interview you should check out too, from 1971:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXOtmhA6Nvw
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”
“Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory. ”
“You just wait. I’m going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world. “
Bruce Lee accomplished a lot and changed a lot of peoples thinking. I appreciate him more for his ideas, than his amazing martial arts abilities.
One of my favourite Quote by Bruce Lee which shows the importance of PRACTICE.
” i am not afraid of the person who knows 1000 types of Martial Arts style, but i am afraid of the person who practices 1 style for 1000 times”
Bruce Lee is a philosopher and an inspiration not only to me but to my father as well.
My father liked him very much, upon knowing Lee’s story i found my self liking him like my father does. His movies, his quotes, his style without style, even the way he thinks and speaks… Amazing!
“using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation”
““Because one does not want to be disturbed, to be made uncertain, he establishes a pattern of conduct, of thought, a pattern of relationship to man etc. Then he becomes a slave to the patter and takes the pattern to be the real thing.”
”
I loved that. I also loved the quote about living for others. Most of the things Bruce says are things we all already know….I think it is just about pracitising them more.
Thank you for reminding me to practice them.
I agree with Bruce lees quotes. It really is all inspiring. Even when i go to school, i have it on the front of my binder to remind me who and how it inspired me. One of my favorites is “Knowing is not enough we must apply, Willing is not enough we must do”
I LOVE BRUCE LEE! I found him through my uncle, who is also a fan of his. He was taught Wing Chun through Master Jim Fung and passed on the basic knowledge to us kids as a means to defend ourselves if it ever came down to it.
He was truely inspriational & the most amazing thing is that there isn’t really any controversy with Bruce Lee, he was an honest & great man. It’s hard to find those qualities in people these days & it’s hard to want to inspire to them. He was truely an amazing man.