Bruce Lee has been one of the greatest athletes in the field of action sports. As I was growing up, he has been a role model for most of us growing up in the '70s to '90s along with other greats like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan. Specifically, the movies of Bruce Lee, such as "Enter the Dragon" and "Fist of Fury," my personal classics and I would personally sit and watch any time.
Bruce Lee's story is definitely enriching, and if you are interested in learning more about him, you can visit - www.brucelee.com, which has a detailed story about his life. The famous quote: "Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend." has a lot of expressions and deep thinking on his part and teaches us a lot about how to live life. He personally overcame a lot of challenges and has defined paths to achieve his dreams. The same expression can be applied in our day to day work, personal relationships, world travel, and many other scenarios.
The one which got my attention and definitely has become my mantra of looking at things in life:
"Research your own experience.
Absorb what is useful.
Reject what is useless.
Add what is specifically your own."
If you decode this particular statement and think about it. The thought is just profound and can be the key to success for many of us in our work and personal life. I always recommend to individuals that we need to carve our own paths and not try to copy or replicate what others do. From my other blog post, "Observational Learning," one should assimilate the knowledge from the world, learn and retain the understanding of what is important to you. In technology age and information overload, there is contradicting information to the thesis or specific area which you are trying to conduct your research or gain knowledge on. The quote can be applied in the approach, each one of us should control and imbibe on paths which are own, but informed and evaluated based on our thought on risks, gains, and outcomes at the end of it.
Whether it is fitness, health, career, relationship goals, faith, or any other areas which impact your life directly, the approach from the quote can be applied literally on each of the facets of our life. There is a Podcast on Bruce Lee which you can listen on:
Maybe you can call me a big fan of Bruce Lee, apart from being great at what he did, he was also stalwart having great wisdom for life. As I finish up writing this blog, I would like to leave you with few more quotes from the great.
Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strengths to endure a difficult one
I am a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, and I am actualizing myself daily to be an Artist of Life.
Each man binds himself – the fetters are ignorance, laziness, preoccupation with self and fear. You must liberate yourself.
Using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation.