Getting Life in Shape with Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee is my idol all my life. There aren’t  still many Asian men nowadays in America who can exude the level of masculinity like he was.  I found myself often looking back to him for inspiration when I felt down or stressed-out.  Recently, I turned to him again for some guidance on how to lead a better life.  I came across this article by Henrik Edberg who had some good insights on the application of Bruce’s philosophy. I think it’s a good idea to share with every one.  For the complete article, click here.

The author points out Bruce’s 7 fundamental concepts that resonate very much with me. In response, I tried to sort out my thoughts by following the author’s approach.

1. “As you think, so shall you become.” – What are you really thinking about today?

This concept brings out a very conscious reminder to me that what I want to become for getting into the game in the first place. The man that I’ve always wanted to become. Am I living congruency to my thought? Is it in line with my reality? How am I getting back on track to work on myself?

2. “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” – Simplify.

This is like another punch to me. Everything that the author said about this concept hit on my spine. He tells me to focus. Gotta get yourself out there. Just do it.

3. “To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.”- Learn about yourself in interactions.

I was like…omg…this is exactly what I’m trying to do in order to improve my game with women. It’s hard sometime to notice yourself consciously during the interaction. Oftertime, my mind just can’t rev up fast enough to tune in to others. I often try to play back in my mind to study what I could adjust better next time.

4. “Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.” – Do not divide.

Actually I find this one pretty hard to apply in life, where you have to fight your ego logically because the ego likes to divide from others. I’ve improved over the years to manage to put my ego aside to certain extent. It’s the only way to learn from others through conscious observing.

5. “I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” – Avoid a dependency on validation from others.

Wow, this is so true. We learn that women respond to such kind of men. The guys who’re naturally good with women don’t have this problem. I wonder if that’s because they have plenty experience so that they don’t need it anymore. I also wonder that how a guy who never had validations from women can become self-validated. I think ‘experience’ is the dirty secret of the naturals.

6. “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” – Be proactive.

Bruce and Henrik are both absolutely right on the point. The only way to succeed is to look for it.

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

I don’t know how much this concept affects me. Everything I do is toward this goal, but it’s just so hard to do without conscious effort and proactive self-guidance. This whole game thing is designed to simulate the naturals. Hopefully, we’ll be one of them later. Like others questioned Bruce before, how can I find my own way without a way? How can I get there? I guess everything gotta start somewhere.

Let me know what’s your take. Feedback are always welcomed.