December 10, 2009

Bruce Lee's Rules to Live By

Almost 10 years ago I covered the Bruce Lee: A Retrospective exhibit in San Francisco--at the time, the only exhibit of Lee's memorabilia and personal papers to date (there was a big exhibition in Seattle in 2003).

Lee was tremendously interested in the whole self-actualization, power of positive thinking, winning friends and influencing people thing. It was quite the rage during the 60s, and from a guy who was a philosophy major after all, such introspection would have been quite normal.

The exhibit had a small 3x5 card, with affirmations written by Lee in ballpoint pen. I wrote them down--these days you'd whip out your iPhone and take a photo of the exhibit in question, but back then you had to do things the old-fashioned journalist way, spiral notepad and all.

Here's what Lee wanted to remind himself:

  • You will never get any more out of life than you expect
  • Keep your mind on the things you want and of those you don't
  • Things live by moving and gain strength as they go
  • Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you
  • There is a difference a) the world + b) our reaction to it
  • Be aware of our conditioning! Drop and dissolve inner blockage
  • Inner to outer - we start by dissolving our attitude not by altering outer condition
  • See that there is no one to fight; only an illusion to see through
  • No one can hurt you unless you allow him to
  • Inwardly, psychologically, be a nobody

I guess if Lee were alive today he could've tweeted these to what I'm sure would've been an enormous rank of followers.

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