In a special gathering to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s passing, Emmy Award-winning comedian and author W. Kamau Bell, Bruce Lee biographer and cultural critic Jeff Chang, Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, along with moderator and cultural anthropologist Sharon Ann Lee held a discussion on Bruce Lee’s long-lasting legacy and how he became an unexpected icon for Afro-Asian unity. This special event was hosted by AloudLA in July 2018. AloudLA is a series of dynamic conversations, readings, and performances that take place at the historic Central Library in DTLA. AloudLA is presented by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles which supports the Los Angeles Public Library.  You can watch the video of the event here: https://lfla.org/media-archive/bruce-lee-afro-asian-culture-connection-video/ Full notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast & check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

Bruce Lee Podcast

#115 AloudLA: Bruce Lee and the Afro-Asian Culture Connection

What would Bruce Lee Do? This is a question that many of our podcast listeners have wondered. Over the course of this podcast, people have written us with different life questions asking what would Bruce Lee do if he were in their situation. In this special episode of the podcast, Shannon and Sharon answer listener questions based on their personal opinions, life experiences, and their knowledge of Bruce Lee, his life and his philosophy. Full notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast & check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#114 What Would Bruce Lee Do?

How did Bruce Lee become a philosopher? Bruce wrote an essay on why he got interested in philosophy and what he hoped to do with it. Bruce Lee majored in philosophy at the University of Washington. At the beginning of this essay Bruce addresses the question people kept asking him after the completion of Big Boss: “What was it that made me give up career in the States and return to Hong Kong to shoot Chinese films?” Bruce writes: “Perhaps the general feeling was that it was all hell to have to work on Chinese films since the Chinese film industry was still so underdeveloped. To the above question I find no easy explanation except that I am Chinese and I have to fulfill my duty as a Chinese.” “The truth is, I am an American-born Chinese. That I should become an American-born Chinese was accidental, or it might have been my father’s arrangement. At that time, the Chinese inhabitants in the States, mostly from the province of Kwangtung, were very much homesick: nostalgia was held towards everything that was associated with their homeland.” “In this context, Chinese opera, with its unmistakably unique Chinese characteristics, won the day. My old mam was a famous artist of the Chinese opera and was popularly accepted by the people. Hence he spent a lot of time performing in the States. I was born when he brought my mother along during one of his performance trips.” “Yet my father did not want me to receive an American education. When I reached my school age, he sent me back to Hong Kong—his second homeland—to live with his kinsmen. It could have been a matter of heredity or environment; I cam to be greatly interested in the making of films when I was studying in Hong Kong. My father was then well acquainted with lots of movie stars and directors. They brought me into the studio and gave me some roles to play. I started off as a bit player and gradually became the star of the show.” “That was a very crucial experience in my life. For the first time I was confronted with genuine Chinese culture. The sense of being part of it was so strongly felt that I was enchanted. I didn’t realize it then, nor did I see how great an influence environment can have on the molding of one’s character and personality. Nevertheless, the notion of “being Chinese” was duly conceived.” It was being a child actor that really immersed Bruce in Chinese culture and being around Chinese artists fed his creativity. “From boyhood to adolescence, I presented myself as a troublemaker and was greatly disapproved of by my elders. I was extremely mischievous, aggressive, hot-tempered, and fierce. Not only my “opponents” of more or less my age stayed out of my way, but even the adults sometimes gave in to my temper. I never knew what it was that made me so pugnacious. The first thought that came into my mind whenever I met somebody I disliked was, “Challenge him!” Challenge him with what? The only concrete thing that I could think of was my fists. I thought that victory gained by way of force was not real victory.” As a kid, Bruce was filled with an intense energy and did not know how to handle it except by challenging others. But later on he came to regret those actions. “When I enrolled in the University of Washington and was enlightened by philosophy, I regretted all my previous immature assumptions. My majoring in philosophy was closely related to the pugnacity of my childhood. I often ask myself these questions: What comes after victory? Why do people value victory so much? What is “glory”? What kind of “victory” is “glorious”? When my tutor assisted me in choosing my courses, he advised me to take up philosophy because of my inquisitiveness. He said, “Philosophy will tell you what man lives for.” When I told my friends and relatives that I had picked up philosophy, they were all amazed. Everybody thought I had better go into physical education since the only extra-curricular activity that I was interested in, from my childhood until I graduated from my secondary school, was Chinese martial arts. As a matter of fact, martial arts and philosophy seem to be antithetical to each other. But I think that the theoretical part of Chinese martial arts seems to be getting indistinct.” “Every action should have its why and wherefore; and there ought to be a complete and proficient theory to back up the whole concept of Chinese martial arts. I wish to infuse the spirit of philosophy into martial arts; therefore I insisted on studying philosophy.” Bruce could see that there was a fissure between martial arts and philosophy teachings. Growing up, Bruce was likely too young to appreciate the philosophy his sifu Yip Man shared with him while teaching him martial arts. Now with some distance and age Bruce wanted to bring philosophy back into this martial arts practice. “I have never discontinued studying and practicing martial arts. While I am tracing the source and history of Chinese martial arts, this doubt always comes up: Now that every branch of Chinese gung fu has its own form, its own established style, are these the original intentions of their founders? I don’t think so.” This bold statement is likely why Bruce Lee received criticism from the Chinese gung fu establishment; they did not appreciate him questioning their methods.  Bruce was clear with his intention to infuse philosophy into martial arts. He recognized that the wholeness of the art was being compartmentalized and made less distinct by the different styles. “Formality could be a hindrance to progress; this is applicable to everything, including philosophy.” People can be very rigid about philosophy. It becomes one school of thought versus another, creating arguments over which philosophy is right. Arguing about who is better hinders growth and progress. “Philosophy brings my jeet kune do into a new realm in the sphere of martial arts, and jeet kune do brings my acting career to a new horizon.” The philosophy is like water, it cannot be contained to one area. Bruce realized that if he applied philosophy to one area of his life, like martial arts, he could apply it to other parts such as his acting career. Bruce moved from needing to win to questioning what it was to have victory and why people find it important. He remained present in his life and because of his naturally inquisitive nature was able to shift easily through needing victory to asking what comes after victory. Bruce remained curious about everything he did in his life. He was able to reflect on his experiences, see how he learned from them, and acted according to what he had learned. Pause, breathe, and ask: Why am I doing this? What is happening next for you that you are really excited about? This is about going deep under our superficial layers and see what is really driving us. What Bruce Lee is modeling in this essay is: be curious about this philosophy and energy that is you. Take time to reflect on your life and energy. What do you see?   Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#113 Why Philosophy?

This topic comes from an essay that Bruce Lee wrote about how to choose a martial arts instructor, but the advice can be applied in general to mentors, teachers, or guides. “I sincerely give this advice to all who are about to take up martial arts. Believe only half of what you see and definitely nothing that you hear. Before you take any lessons from any instructor, find out clearly from him what his method is and politely request that he demonstrate to you how some techniques operate. Use your common sense and if he convinces you, then, by all means go ahead.” Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#112 How to Choose a Teacher

 The invention of an empirical self that observes itself Viewing one’s thoughts as a kind of object or possession, situating it in a separate, isolated part of itself – I “have” a mind The striving to wipe the mirror These three faults are the mistakes and obstacles that we make in our seeking for consciousness. Fault 1 is about ego-consciousness and our identification with our egos and our intelligence. Fault 2 is about giving too much power to our thoughts and our cleverness. Fault 3 is about believing we can attain enlightenment through outwitting reality and possessing an empty mind. Join Shannon and Sharon as they discuss the Three Faults, and how they affect our journey towards enlightenment. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#111 The Three Faults

As we have mentioned before, Bruce Lee was an avid reader and pursuer of knowledge. Bruce had a passionate intensity around his desire to learn. He had an extensive library and would annotate many of his books. After reading these books, Bruce would write journal entries about what he had read. Bruce would read these books and synthesize the ideas, he would take the bits he liked, and you’ll notice that he used similar language in his own writings. Now we have those books as a part of the Bruce Lee Archive. This week we share another book from the Bruce Lee Library, Commentaries on Living 1st Series by Jiddu Krishnamurti. Jiddu Krishnamurti (11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. His subject matter included psychological revolution, the nature of mind, meditation, inquiry, human relationships, and bringing about radical change in society. He constantly stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political, or social. It's clear through Bruce's annotations that Krishnamurti's ideas resonated with Bruce Lee's own perspectives and philosophies. Join Shannon and Sharon as they go through Bruce Lee's annotations in Commentaries on Living 1st Series and discuss the parallels between Bruce Lee and Krishnamurti. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#110 Bruce Lee Library - Commentaries on Living

“Gung fu is so extraordinary because it is nothing at all special, it is simply the direct expression of one’s feeling with the minimum of lines and energy. Every movement is being so of itself without the artificiality with which we tend to complicate them. The closer to the true way, the less wastage of expression there is.” What did Bruce mean by the extraordinary being nothing at all special? Join Shannon and Sharon as they discuss the ordinary day and what is “Nothing Special.” Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#109 Nothing Special

“The true gung fu master aims his blows at himself, and when successful, he may even succeed in knocking himself out. The primary function of one’s tools is really revealed when they are self-directed and used to destroy greed, fear, anger and folly. Manipulative skill is not the goal. After years of training, one hopes to achieve a vital loosening and equability of all powers.” “In every day life the mind is capable of moving from one thought to one object to another. However, when one is face to face with an opponent in a deadly contest, the mind tends to lose its mobility and get sticky and stopped. This is a problem that haunts everyone.” “Purposelessness”, “empty-mindedness” or “no art” are frequent terms used to denote the ultimate achievement of a martial artist. According to zen, the spirit is by nature formless and no “things” are to harbored in it. When anything is harbored there, psychic energy loses its balance, native activity becomes cramped, and the spirit no longer flows with the stream. When the energy is tipped out of balance, it is unable to cope with the ever-changing situations. But when there prevails a state of fluidity, the spirit harbors nothing in it, nor is it tipped out of balance. It transcends both subject and object and responds with an empty mind to whatever is happening.” “True mastery transcends any particular art. It stems from mastery of oneself – the ability, developed through self-discipline, to be calm, fully aware, and completely in tune with oneself and the surroundings in the midst of the ever-changing moment.” Join Shannon and Sharon as they explore the idea of True Mastery and discuss Bruce Lee’s life lessons learned in the practice of martial arts. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at hello@brucelee.com

#108 True Mastery

“In the long history of martial art, the instinct to follow and imitate seems to be inherent in most martial artists – instructors and students alike. This is due partly to being human and partly due to patterns of styles. Ever since the establishment of institutes, academies, schools and their instructors, the need for a “pointer of the Way” is echoed.” “Each man belongs to a style that claims to possess the truth to the exclusion of all other styles, and these styles become institutes with their explanations, dissecting and isolating the harmony, establishing forms as the encyclopedia of their particular techniques.” “All goals apart from the means are therefore an illusion. Becoming becomes a denial of being. By an error repeated throughout the ages, truth becomes law or faith and therefore places obstacles in the way of knowledge. Method, which is in its very substance ignorance, encloses truth in a vicious circle. We should break such circles not by seeking knowledge but by discovering the cause of our ignorance.” Join Shannon and Sharon as they discuss obstacles that interrupt Flow and how to discover the cause of our ignorance. We’d love to hear about your journey! Email us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!

#107 Obstacles in the Way

“The void may be said to have two aspects: It simply is what it is. It is realized; it is aware of itself. And to speak improperly, this awareness is “in us,” or better, we are “in it.”” Void = Nothingess = Emptiness = The Origin of Things = Tao The first form of the Void where ‘it simply is what it is,’ is to cultivate an acceptance of reality as it is; to engage in simplicity and everyday mind; to simply be with acceptance and without force.  The second form of the Void is aware of itself – this is a more developed sense of emptiness, an emptiness where we are “of it” or “we are it.” Join Shannon and Sharon as they discuss the practice of finding your path, knowing yourself, and freeing yourself. We’d love to hear from you! Email us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!

#106 The Void

This episode is a follow up to episode #87 Becoming a Warrior. In this episode, we revisit what it is to Become a Warrior, Shannon shares her progress on Becoming a Warrior, discusses different self-experiments she’s trying, and what it’s like to develop your own warrior code. “The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus.” We would love to hear about your path to becoming a true warrior! If you would like to share your own stories about your path to becoming a true warrior email us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!

#105 Becoming a Warrior Part 2

This week we have a special episode where Shannon and Sharon share wisdom from Bruce Lee Podcast listeners. We asked for our listeners to share their #BruceLeeMoments and we’ve gotten emails from around the world!  Shannon and Sharon love reading the stories about how Bruce Lee has affected so many people’s lives. It is wonderful when listeners share their wisdom and insights they’ve gained from listening to the Bruce Lee Podcast. By implementing Bruce Lee’s philosophy into their lives, people are staying present, being in flow, and living life authentically. Thank you to all of our listeners for sharing your wisdoms and insights! We appreciate you and support you in your journey towards self-actualization. Be water, my friend. Go to our show notes to read in full the wisdom and insights shared in this episode. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Have a #BruceLeeMoment or insight you’ve gained from listening to the podcast? We’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us on social media @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!  

#104 Listener Wisdom

“Fluidity of mind – the moon in the stream – where it is at once movable and immovable.” Your mind is the moon and all the thoughts and awareness that move through it is the stream. The goal is to cultivate a mind that is both still, but also able to move and take in everything at the same time. Bruce Lee thought that the mind was endowed with infinite mobility. “The mind itself is endowed with infinite mobilities that know no hindrances.” Bruce had a story about the many-armed Kwan Yin. All of her arms are holding and doing different things, and if she stops to think about what one arm is doing then all of her arms stop. This is because she is no longer in flow as she has drawn back to question if she can operate all of these things at once. This is the idea of the moon and the stream, as applied to our mind. We can take in all manner of input and still have a point of view. “Moving and yet not moving, in tension and yet relaxed, seeing everything that is going on and yet not at all anxious about the way it may turn, with nothing purposely designed, nothing consciously calculated, no anticipation, no expectation – in short, standing innocently like a baby and yet with all the cunning of the keenest intelligence of a fully matured mind.” The mind is easily distracted because it loved to analyze. Bruce believed that the native structure of the mind is fluidity. We are born with minds that sense and take it all in. It is through our experiences and input that we can start to shut down and fixate on certain experiences getting stuck in a mental loop. “The delusional mind is the mind intellectually and effectively burdened. It thus cannot move on from one move to another without stopping and reflecting on itself, and this obstructs its native fluidity – its creativity.” “The wheel revolves when it is not too tightly attached to the axle. When the mind is tied up, it feels inhibited in every move it makes, and nothing will be accomplished with any sense of spontaneity. Not only that, the work itself will be of poor quality or may never be finished.” When the mind is too bound up, we become paralyzed. Fear is a distraction that can block up our mind and paralyze us. We replay experiences repeatedly and get trapped in this loop. We have to let go of these replays, no matter how difficult it is. “Recollection and anticipation are fine qualities of consciousness; they are useful and serve their purposes, but when actions are directly related to the problem of life and death, recollection and anticipation must be given up so that they will not interfere with the fluidity of mentation and the lightning rapidity of action.” When we have fluidity of mind, the mind is infinitely mobile and creative. Sometimes we get caught up in the fear that pain in life will last forever and crush us, but life does not stay fixed, it flows forward. Life moves all the time, the bad things move and the good things move. You must make the bad decisions so you can get the experience to make good decisions. If you have a fluid mind, it is easier to traverse rough terrain. Much of the pain we feel is due to resistance and bracing for the worst. All of the difficult experiences in your life are to help you practice the Moon and the Stream. Peacefulness is does not mean that nothing bad never happens, but instead peacefulness is letting bad things flow through you instead of creating blockage or a whirlpool of emotion inside you. “It is the ego that stands rigidly against things coming from the outside. It is this “ego rigidity” that makes it impossible for us to be fluid and accepting.” Do not beat yourself up if you have a hard time being fluid in a situation; know that there will be another time where you can put fluidity into practice. It takes dedicated practice to have a fluid mind. Notice when you have difficulty having fluidity of mind. Notice when you have an insight and put it into practice. “The waters are in motion all the time, but the moon retains its serenity. The mind moves in response to the ten thousand situations but remains ever the same.” What are you experiences of the Moon and the Stream? We’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us on social media @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!

#103 The Moon and the Stream

“An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind. It is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is one which is constantly learning, never concluding – styles and patterns have come to conclusion, therefore they have ceased to be intelligent.” Bruce Lee trained his mind as diligently as he trained his body. An intelligent mind is a curious mind that is constantly learning. “Knowledge is the past; learning is the present.” In the past, memorizing facts was what was considered intelligent and not everyone had access to educational resources. Now, we have computers, the internet, and smart phones that give us wide access to information, so having an intelligent mind is about how we use that access to information. “Not “what” to think but “how” to think.” There are all kinds of intelligence, not just intelligence based on how much you know or how many facts you can recall. “Intelligence is the understanding of self.” “Intelligence is sometimes defined as the capacity of the individual to adjust himself successfully to his environment, or to adjust the environment to his needs.” The intelligence of understanding yourself is challenging. It requires you to look deeply at both the good and the bad. Sometimes people show a performance of intelligence through eloquent words and fact recall, but have no understanding of their self. These people tend to rely on using other people’s words and quotes in everyday conversations, instead of voicing their own thoughts and words. If you are only using other people’s words without putting them into practice, then you are living a performance.  It is good to use quotes from inspirational people such as Bruce Lee, but you should not use them in a superficial way. “Learning is discovery. The best way of learning is not the computation of information, but discovering and uncovering what there is in us – our own abilities, our own eyes, in order to find our potential.” Bruce Lee held the belief that self-education makes a great person and to use your mind instead of being used by your mind. The intelligent mind is the mind that we are using. It is important that your mind and your outward expression be as in line as possible. When the words do not match the actions, there is a feeling of inauthenticity that is felt by you and everyone you are in relationship with. With an intelligent mind it is important to notice and be open to feedback you receive from your environment and relationships. “Life is something for which there is no answer. It must be understood from moment to moment.” If you make the shift from a fixed mind to a curious mind, then you can invite discussion instead if shutting down discussion.  "A conditioned mind is not a free mind." “Real freedom is the outcome of intelligence.” If you are adaptable, if you are always learning and present, then the ability to be more free comes from that. Understanding yourself is difficult because examining your self and looking within can be painful. Use what is going on inside yourself to fuel your curiosity. The study of imperfection can perfectly lead you to a more free existence. If you saw Bruce Lee walk into a room, he was fluid, real, present, and alive in his mind. The intelligent mind is an alive mind, a mind that is actively engaged. “You have to raise your mind up to absolute awareness.” Conversing and engaging with new people can be difficult, especially now when we can go on our phones and use that isolated activity as a shield in social situations. Mindfully entering a new space requires awareness and conversing with people in a meaningful way requires being fully present and engaged. “If you learn concepts and information, then you don’t understand. You only explain. When a man thinks, he stands off from what he is trying to understand."  “Drop and dissolve inner blockage.” “A concentrated mind is not an attentive mind, but a mind that is in a state of open awareness can concentrate. We are concerned with the total process of living, and to concentrate exclusively on any particular aspect of life, belittles life.” Sometimes a concentrated mind is needed in order to solve a specific problem, but the mistake is to bring the concentrated mind into all situations, instead then you need an attentive mind. You can concentrate and be open and aware of your surroundings at the same time. “The thought of a distracted mind cannot be sincere. Sincere thought means thought of quiet awareness.” When your mind is distracted you cannot be fully sincere or fully engaged with what is happening.  “What is” is more important than what should be. Too many people are looking at “what is” from a position of thinking “what should be”.” Often we become preoccupied with thoughts about what we would like a situation or person to be, and miss what is actually happening or who that person actually is. Let people be who they are, and just observe, learn and be curious.  “When you are awake, you must be fully awake and conscious about everything. This is a wonderful mental exercise.” “The important thing is to be alert, to question, to find out, so that your own initiative may be awakened.”  We’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us on social media @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!

#102 The Intelligent Mind

  “The conformer seldom learns to depend upon himself for expression; rather he faithfully follows a pattern. As time passes, he will probably learn some dead routines and be good according to his set patterns, but he has not come to understand himself.” If you follow patterns in life to seek approval and to be “good” you can be shutting down your true essence. This is just going through the motions of living life, and then we do things we do not want to because we are trained to please. In the business and career world, there is a lot of focus on productivity and efficiency. This can create dead patterns that are automatic responses to situations in order to achieve a certain level of efficiency. When we follow dead patterns we miss out on connecting with people. To be a complete human, you show up in the full aliveness of your experience, you show up with the availability of all your attention to engage in an intimate and real way.  It can be scary to move away from the prepared pattern and be fully present because you do not know what someone will say or how they will react. This is where all your self-work comes into play. All the work that you have done on knowing yourself, and discovering what you are passionate about, will serve you in these situations. “A live person is not a “dead” product of this or that; he is an individual. And the individual is always more important than the system. Drilling on set patterns and routines will eventually make a person good according to the routine, but only self-awareness and self-expression can lead to truth.” It feels safe to have a routine because you know that it works. This routine may work for a while, but eventually you will run into a situation where it will not work because the circumstances have changed while you have not. “Many people derive their techniques and principles from intellectual theories and not from application. He can talk about (and there are some master talkers), but he cannot teach it.” Instead of just regurgitating Bruce Lee’s quotes, we have to apply his philosophy to our lives. These inspirational quotes make us feel good, but it is important to integrate that lesson into our actual lives, which can be challenging. This requires you to really think about what you say and ask, “Am I walking the walk or just talking the talk?” While it can be challenging at first to live the principles, ultimately it takes less energy to live authentically than to be living a performance. “An excellent guide should be excellent at what he does. And inactive or mediocre guide might be of some help to the mediocre student but he can never truly understand.” “Of this I am certain: superior performances will rest in future development and not on existing methods.”  When Bruce Lee says performances, he means the ability to execute. With future development you have to be open to change, growth, and evolution of oneself. Every time Bruce broke out of a dead routine or a set pattern or an establishment, he would get negative feedback from others, and because he was so grounded that negative feedback did not affect him as much. However, we are not all Bruce Lee, and for most of us we have fear around being exposed and vulnerable to outside criticism. This fear causes a hindrance as we do things in order to avoid that criticism. When you start to feel uncomfortable in a situation or something that you’re choosing, is your response to withdraw or explore? “You can employ a systematic approach to training and practicing but never a method of [living]. [Life] is a process, not a goal; a means but not an end; a constant movement rather than an established pattern.” Without thinking we can let these productivity systems take us over. The rhythm of our daily life should not feel like a machine. “Mechanical efficiency or manipulatory skill is never as important as inward awareness.” It can feel painful to take an honest look inwards, but it is in the looking that you get real information. There is a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. In the fixed mindset we believe that our abilities, talents, and situations are fixed and we cannot have expansion. In the growth mindset we have the openness that anything is possible. The Conformer = Fixed Mindset The Complete Human = Growth Mindset “A true warrior “listens” to circumstances, while a conformer “recites” his circumstances.” If you ask a question and a person responds with a canned response that is unspecific, this is them acting as a conformer reciting their circumstances. However, if you ask a question and a person is a complete human and listens, then if they do not know the answer they can answer honestly or help figure out the answer. “As a person matures, he will realize that his skills are not so much tools used to conquer others, but tools used to explode his ego and all its follies. All the practice is to round him up to be a complete man.” When you fully engage with life in all its scariness and uncertainty, then you become more comfortable with the unknown and start to find the unknown exciting. “In short, the idea is to enter a mold yet not be caged in it, or to obey the principles without being bound by them. This is important, for a pliable, choiceless observation without exclusion is foundation of a [complete human being].” Are there any cages you are stuck inside? How can you go from conformer to complete human? We’d love to hear from you! Please write to us at hello@brucelee.com or tag us on social media @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store!

#101 The Complete Human

Join Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee and cultural anthropologist Sharon Ann Lee for a conversation about the life and philosophy of Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was a famous martial artist, movie star and cultural icon--but his philosophy has caught fire around the world inspiring millions searching for meaning and consciousness. Each episode will dig deep into Bruce’s philosophy to provide guidance and action on cultivating your truest self. “Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, 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.”

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