Bruce Lee Podcast

We had a great time talking with Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge winner Michael R. about his experience with the challenge. Michael first discovered Bruce Lee when he was 12 and first started studying martial arts at a martial arts school. An older student recommended "The Art of Expressing the Human Body." After that, Michael was hooked on Bruce Lee. He discovered the Bruce Lee Podcast when he was looking for podcasts to listen to as he was remodeling his family's apartment. Struggling with depression due to lack of job opportunity, Michael knew he wanted to make a change in his life, but felt trapped. When the challenge was announced, he decided that this was an opportunity to reframe how he perceived his world and that would give him a way out. Michael shared with us a few of his affirmations: Recognizing that emotions are both positive and negative and that I can select how I act with their influence, I will dedicate my reasoning to draw out and accentuate the positive emotions and transfigure the negative into useful activity. Accepting that all people are in the process of their own journey, as I am in the process of mine, and that each person retains the agency to choose their own actions, I remove my expectations of others and remove the desire to live up to their expectations. I welcome and encourage everyone I meet with love and appreciation of who they are and the beauty that they bring into my life. During the challenge, Michael saw dramatic improvements in all areas of his life: "My relationships got better with my wife and kids especially, I lost weight, my blood pressure went down, my heart rate improved, I was less stressed, I was happier, I had more enjoyment of each moment, people started approaching me in public and interacting with me positively. But most importantly to me, my depression disappeared." The 2nd part of the challenge was: "I would feel better in my body if I spent 20 minutes in daily practice of movements, skills, and play. Honoring my body in its current state and yet purposefully driving myself toward the physical autonomy I desire to train my body and my mind in a continual moving mediation. I synthesize the mental and physical traits I have been given into the highest and most authentic expression of myself." The Harmony action item of "Letting others be," seemed like the easiest part of the challenge to Michael. However, he discovered when he started it that he interpreted "letting others be" as ignoring people versus actually just letting them be. He realized that was not working since he was still bothered by what others were doing. He found that there needed to be an interaction, recognize where the other person was coming from and then not make judgments and let it be. For those of you inspired by Michael's experience with the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge, go to brucelee.com/podcastchallenge to find out more. #AAHA Ed Kaihatsu is a long time fencer and is the US Veteran National Champion in men's foil 7 times. As of now Ed is the associate head coach of women's fencing at Northwestern University. He's now a teacher and has said that his whole purpose in teaching and being a fencing coach, is to make his students better in every way not just as fencers. #BruceLeeMoment From listener Nick B.: "I read the story of when Bruce was running with John Little and when John told Bruce he could not continue or else he would die Bruce responded with "Die Then". When I run to this day I will repeat this in my head over and over, at the ends of races when I am pushing harder than I can sustain I will chant it aloud. Last May I ran my marathon and was a couple minutes off of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I was running into 40 mile per hour headwind nonestop for the last 8 miles... Die Then was what pushed me on to the finish." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

This episode we had the pleasure of chatting with another Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge winner, Katrina R. Katrina knew about Bruce Lee as a kung fu master, but it wasn't until she was browsing youtube one day that she came across an interview Shannon did with NextShark. This interview sparked her interest in learning more about Bruce's philosophy. After finding the podcast, the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge popped up and she decided to do the challenge and found it to be extremely rewarding. Katrina is a single mom who works 40+ hours a week and didn't get out much. Her mom passed away suddenly a few years ago, and Katrina just put away her feelings and stopped living her life. For this challenge Katrina decided to take a big step towards loving herself again. Her affirmations she repeated every morning revolved around self-love. "Some of them as simple as "love yourself", "always look at problems as lessons, not mistakes" and "everyday is only as good as you make it" One of Katrina's affirmations was to ask herself throughout the day, "Am I being myself today?" Katrina had for doing the challenge is that she wants to be a better role model for her 4-year-old son. "I want him to believe in himself and know that he is capable of anything he sets his mind to, and to of course love and always be himself as well." For the Harmony part of the podcast challenge, Katrina's coworkers even noticed a difference. By "letting others be," Katrina dissolved her attitude and became neutral toward coworkers who are consistently problematic. She was able to avoid confrontation and find a way to flow around the issue, and avoid bringing home her work stress. By staying neutral, Katrina was able to deter her coworkers from bringing her into workplace drama. Part of Katrina's challenge was "I would feel better in my body if I was myself in my body." She had been taking her body for granted by working long hours and not taking the time to go out. Feeling better in her body involved Katrina going back out into the world and reconnecting with nature. Katrina's favorite Bruce Lee quote: "I feel I have this great creative and spiritual force within me that is greater than faith, greater than ambition, greater than confidence, greater than determination, greater than vision, it is all these combined. My brain becomes magnetized with this dominating force which I hold in my hand." Thank you for sharing your story with us Katrina, we loved talking with you and hearing about your Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge. Interested in the podcast challenge? Go to Brucelee.com/podcastchallenge #AAHA This week our #AAHA is a listener nomination from Christopher who nominated his BIL Keoni Chang: "Keoni was born in Hawaii went to college there and continued on to the mainland for culinary school in upstate NY. Keoni has been a mainstay in the kitchen. Cooking for such places as the greenbrier in West Virginia and the Eiffel Tower restaurant in Las Vegas. He also went on to go back to his homeland and became executive chef for food land food and was given an opportunity to compete at a supermarket chef competition where his recipe beat out hundreds of recipes. He continues to help leave an impact in his community and continue to help grow the food land name. He continues to inspire me not only as a businessman but as a family man as well." #Bruce Lee Moment From listener Ken M.: As I was riding along beautiful country roads beautiful scenery my mind was filled with things I needed to do after the ride. I suddenly realized I was not enjoying the ride that I needed to clear my mind and empty it. Then I thought of Bruce's pointing finger and then was able to enjoy the Beautiful scenery. At that moment I felt personal liberation from all the responsibilities I needed to do afterwards. I was living in the moment. Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

"The times of drastic change are times of passions. We can never be fit and ready for that which is wholly new, we have to adjust ourselves and every radical adjustment is a crisis in self-esteem. We undergo a test, we have to prove ourselves. A population subjected to drastic change is thus a population of misfits and misfits live and breathe in an atmosphere of passion." When you hear the word "misfit" it usually has a negative connotation, but Bruce Lee recasts misfits as unique individuals who are moved by their passions as he was. These misfits are passionate about ideas which society hasn't created space for yet, so the misfits are doing pioneering work by exploring their passion. Bruce Lee was a misfit in many respects. No one knew what martial arts were in the west, no one had seen an Asian man represent masculinity like Bruce, he was mixed race, and he was in an interracial relationship when it was illegal. Bruce received much negative feedback for his misfit way of living life, but that didn't discourage him from living in authenticity. A drastic change can feel like a major crisis, like a storm blowing through your life. We experience this personally and in our culture. It was during the 1960's, a time of much cultural change and exploration, when Bruce conceived his ideas on the "Population of Misfits." "With adversity, you are shocked to higher levels, much like a rainstorm that is violent but yet afterwards all the plants grow." Sometimes there is tumult you must go through, unrest, dissatisfaction, but if you can stay true to your focus and your path, much growth can come from the turbulent time. At some point, we all feel like the "other" and that we don't fit in--which is why Bruce Lee, the misfit, continues to resonate with people. "My contribution will be the measure of my reward and my success. Bruce and Linda weathered personal criticism and racism for being together during a time when the whole country, and their families, said that interracial relationships were wrong. If anyone started to give Bruce attitude based on his race, he would charm them with his humor and friendliness, and they would soften towards him. Showing up as himself was Bruce's contribution. He was able to reveal his humanity to people who thought he was less than. "Our own souls are what we must employ, to give new meaning and new form to the world." Take Action: What kind of misfit are you? Where is your area of enthusiasm, curiosity, and passion? #AAHA Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park are on the TV series Hawaii Five-0. Recently, they decided to quit the show because they asked to be paid the same amount as their Caucasian co-stars and they were denied. This was a bold move because as an Asian actor it's really difficult to get roles, especially on a network tv show. It takes a lot of courage to take a stand like that. Daniel Dae Kim is a Korean American actor, voice actor, producer, and director. He's known for his role as Jin-Soo Kwon on Lost, and most recently Hawaii Five-0. Grace Park is a Canadian-American actress of Korean heritage. She is known for her roles on Battlestar Galactica, Canadian teen soap opera Edgemont, and most recently Hawaii Five-0. Daniel and Grace, we admire your courage in taking a stand and we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment From Maria: "I felt, from the very first episode that Bruce Lee´s philosophy, he´s phrases and in general everything you discuss are very deep issues and least for me, it has taken time to digest, reflect, sink in and in time apply those ideas. I believe if I have had a Bruce Lee moment it has extended on time. I describe it as tiny lights lighting inside my brain, and for a moment I visualice their meaning briefly, then they disappear but leave a sort of indescribable trace of feeling." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

"Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is essentially your own." The idea of constantly researching and refining your own experience was key to Bruce Lee's way of life. When Bruce decided to break away from traditional martial arts, he wanted to know what really works in combat and how to train your body for real conflicts. Bruce only incorporated what was useful to him and left the rest behind. This quote is the recipe for finding your path in this world and the first step is "Research your own experience." Be neutral, be the researcher, understand what's going on with you from a neutral place. Notice what you normally gravitate towards and notice what you enjoy in the tasks you already do in life. Take note and journal your experience. The second step is: "Absorb what is useful." After researching and noticing, pull out the things that resonate with you and that are working for you. These are the things that you keep and take with you. The things that bring usefulness in your life, bring you joy and create threads that attract more of the same. Absorb what is useful to you personally, not what society or those around you accept as useful. Take note of moments that spark your interest and grab your attention. If you write down these moments and thoughts, you will get clues as to what interests you and it will guide you to your path in life. The third step is "Reject what is useless." This can be the most difficult step. It can be easy to identify the most negative things holding you back, but it's harder to identify the mediocre obstacles. When you're doing self-research, it's important to pick out what is useful to your journey and leave behind what doesn't work. If you don't reject the useless in your life, you end up carrying it around with you and it can block what is actually useful and interesting in your life. The final step is "Add what is essentially your own." This can seem daunting if you don't know what is "essentially your own." It is adding what speaks to you and having the confidence to believe in yourself. What inspires you, moves you, motivates you personally. This whole process is about radical trust in oneself and becoming the divining rod for our own experience. It is about paying attention to what ignites the spark within us. Take Action: In addition to Bruce Lee, who are your other teachers, philosophers, writers, creative people, who you really connect with? Make a list of those people. There is something in that list of people that continually draws you to them, what is it? Take note of any thought or thing that catches your interest throughout your day and write it down. At the end of the week examine your notes and see what speaks to you. #AAHA This week our #AAHA is Asian American comic book illustrator, Bernard Chang. Bernard did the cover for Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises, which is how Shannon got to know him. Bernard was born in Montreal, and started drawing comics professionally while attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY studying architecture. He has since gone on to draw for Marvel and DC comics, including X-Men, Deadpool, Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman. Bernard was also a "blue sky" concept designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, designing a bunch of attractions in the Disney parks. He just recently drew a book that is an all Asian Superman. Bernard, we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment Our moment comes from listener Alanzo: "I recently stumbled on the podcast, and, listening to you two have me hooked. The chemistry between you two resonates a powerful sophistication enriched with substance and candor. I guess discovering, and loving everything about the Podcast, I will say is my Bruce Lee Moment." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

The idea of True Flow comes directly from Bruce Lee's physical study of martial arts and specifically from his art of Jeet Kune Do, which literally translated means "the Way of the Intercepting Fist." One of the core tenets behind Jeet Kune Do is that there are no separate movements of offense and defense, they can happen simultaneously and flow quickly together. This is an idea that can be applied to our movements in life, bridging the gap between happenings so that you can flow easier from one thing to the next. If we collapse the space between two separate movements, the result is flow--and when you're in flow everything moves more quickly and smoothly without much effort. Forward movement becomes quicker when you don't force or strain--you adapt and adjust in real-time, all the time. Gentleness and Firmness are also work together to bridge the gap. There is an interplay of movement between them, they are not separate motions or ideas. "Gentleness alone cannot forever dissolve away great force, nor can sheer brute force forever subdue one's problems. In order to survive, the harmonious interfusion of gentleness and firmness as a whole is necessary, sometimes one dominating and sometimes the other, in wave like succession." "Instead of opposing force by force, one should complete an opposing movement by accepting the flow of energy from it and defeat it by borrowing from it. This is the law of adaption." If we can close that gap between our mistake and our learning, it can save us years of not growing. When we face challenges or make mistakes, if we can move quickly into "I was supposed to make this mistake so I could learn this lesson." "What we are aiming for is there to be no dislocation in the movements. They are done with flowing continuity like the movement of a river that is forever flowing without a moment of cessation or standing still." "In order to achieve oneness of movement and true flow, the gap between movements should be bridged." "One shouldn't, therefore, favor too much on either side alone. Remember, gentleness versus firmness is not the situation, but rather gentleness, firmness as a oneness is the way." Take Action: Look and see, where are you being too extreme? Where is there something in your life that, deep down, you know is a problem but you don't want to look at it? #AAHA "I wanted to reach out and recommend my best friend, Nick Maccarone, as someone who would be perfect for a feature. Nick is an Oakland native, half Korean/half Italian - an actor, filmmaker, published author and motivational speaker. Nick has done incredible volunteer work in Haiti, South Africa and Nepal which inspired him to create his own passion project here at home: OaklandGood.com. After years as a frustrated Asian-American actor in NYC, and with his mission of diversifying Hollywood and Broadway, Nick wrote a book "To the Perspective Artist: Lessons from an Unknown Actor," which was published earlier this year, along with the launch of his spin-off podcast. A few weeks ago, he was asked to give his inspiring TEDxTalk entitled, "6 Ways Actors & Artists Can Empower Themselves." Thank you Jen for nominating Nick, and Nick thank you for being awesome! #BruceLeeMoment From listener Benjamin: "In college I was casually learning Hapkido from a friend who had a black belt and also doing some recreational boxing. I looked for books at the library on martial arts and found one by Bruce Lee. I learned one of his quotes and still remember it today: "Mastery is not attained by accumulating knowledge but by stripping away to the essential." I was impressed with the deeper side of this man, as I had only know him in films." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

When Bruce talked about confrontation he was talking about it on two levels, physical confrontation and then confrontations between people in everyday life. As you become ore rooted and secure in yourself, the natural tendency is to feel that you can more easily avoid confrontation, that you don't need to prove yourself. What Bruce has learned from being challenged is: What is your reaction to being challenged? How does it affect you? If you're secure then you treat it lightly. Part of being able to handle confrontation is self-work. "Wisdom does not consist in trying to wrest the good from the evil, but in learning to ride them as a cork adapts itself to the crests and troughs of the waves." "The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of an engagement, you ought not to be thinking whether it ends in victory or defeat." A lot of times confrontation has nothing to do with you and has to do with the other person being wrapped up in something that triggers them. "A struggle of any nature can never be settled satisfactorily until the absolute fact is touched." "See that there is no one to fight, only an illusion to see through." "Intelligence, 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." If there is a confrontation presented to you, you want to wait a beat before reacting. "Who is there that can make muddy water clear? But if allowed to remain still, it will become clear of itself. Who is there that can secure a state of absolute repose, but keep calm and let time go on and the state of repose will gradually arrest." It's not about what happens, it's about your reaction to what happens. It's not a sign of weakness to stay calm and not respond to someone who is be aggressive towards you, it's a sign of strength and patience. "It's not a shame to be knocked down by other people, the important thing is to ask when being knocked down, why am I being knocked down? If a person can reflect in this way, there is hope for the person." Most of the time when Bruce was talking about confrontation, he was talking about physical confrontation. When someone is actually attacking you, you can discover your emotional response to confrontation, it's an amplified reaction of how you feel in other non-physical situations of confrontation. "If you want to see an opponent clearly, you must throw away prejudices, likes, and dislikes, and so forth. Then, your mind will cease all conflict and come to rest, in this silence, you will see totally and freshly." Take Action: Start with noticing your response to confrontation and conflict. What is going on within you? What can you learn about yourself? #AAHA Tamlyn Tomita is a Japanese born American actress. She made her acting debut in The Karate Kid Part II and was also in The Joy Luck Club, Four Rooms, and Day After Tomorrow. Recently, Tamlyn was in the news for standing up against the white washing that's been happening in Hollywood. Tamlyn was sent a script that she found extremely offensive, and she spoke out publicly about how terrible the script was and how it used offensive Asian stereotypes for the characters. We think it's awesome that she stood up for herself and her heritage, much in the way Bruce Lee did, especially because it's difficult to get roles as a minority in Hollywood. We think you're awesome Tamlyn! #BruceLeeMoment From listener Karen M.: "I have been struggling with Add/ADHD and dyslexia may entire life 55 years. I have always been on edge feeling like I have not been good enough because of my disabilities. Listening to your podcast about Bruce Lee has given me a chance to look at things in a different way. Letting me know that it's ok if i have to do things a different way." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

Choiceless Awareness is a path to peace of mind. It means having awareness in the moment as things are unfolding but not making a choice or judgment one way or the other about whether it's good or bad. Bruce talks about how, "There is an awareness without choice, without demand, an awareness in which there is no anxiety and in that state of mind there is perception and it's perception alone that will resolve our problems." Choiceless Awareness is about being the objective observer, standing back from the situation a little bit and not assign any blame one way or the other. Just say, "Here's what's happening, I'm perceiving what's happening, now what am I going to do?" This not easy because you have to battle the "shoulds"--what you think should or shouldn't be happening in the situation. Remember, Bruce Lee used "No way as way." "Just watch choicelessly, and in the watching lies the wonder. It is not an ideal end to be desired, but watching is a state of being already and not a state of becoming." If in this moment you can achieve this state of choiceless awareness, you can achieve wholeness because you're just being. "Choiceless Awareness. Do not condemn, do not justify. Awareness works only if it is allowed free play without interference." Awareness leads to discovery. Discovery leads to uncovering your potential. Bruce Lee often relates this idea of Choiceless Awareness to being in tune with "what is." "There is what is, only when there is no comparison at all. And to live with what is, is to be peaceful." "Awareness is never exclusive. It includes everything." The easiest way to explain this state is as "free play." Free play without judgment, like when you were a kid playing and pursuing what interested you. The technology we have now, such as smart phones, can bring us out of the moment. "I Bruce Lee am going to die some day with out having fulfilled all my ambitions. However, I am not afraid to die. I go on, I move forward. Because everything I've done, I've done sincerely, and wholeheartedly and to the best of my ability. What more can you ask for than that?" Take Action: Practice being the objective observer, try to remove your judgment from the present moment, and just let things be as they are. Take in everything. Create time for a place of "free play"—free of expectations and outcomes. Do something with your body to enter into the space of free play, such as running around like a kid or sing a fun song. This will help you remember what free play felt like. #AAHA This week our #AAHA is hapa Michelle Waterson who is half Thai. Michelle is an American Mixed Martial Artist and competes in the UFC. MMA is the fastest growing professional sport. Michelle is ranked #6 in the UFC strawweight division. Raised in Colorado, Michelle studied karate from the age of 10 and holds a black belt in the American Free Style Karate, and also trained in WuShu, Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, boxing, and wrestling. She started out as a ring girl, and she trained really hard and made her MMA debut in 2007. She made her debut without having any amateur fights. Michelle you're a badass, and we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment Our moment this week comes from Robby M. who shared with us this poem and his #BruceLeeMoment: Everything I know how to do, I learned first and foremost from Bruce Lee, I copied everything he did to the point where I got obsessed and erroneously thought myself to be his Reincarnation. Doing that, I realized I missed His central tenet of Life, Be Yourself! Express Yourself as creatively, profoundly, powerfully, dynamically, skillfully, and Honestly as humanly possible at all times no matter what the cost or situation." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

Often the immediate association with the word "Faith" is a religious one, but that's not the type of faith we are talking about in this episode. The definition of faith in the dictionary is: "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." That's how Bruce Lee interpreted "faith," to have trust and confidence in ones self and abilities. Bruce's definition of faith is: the spiritual power of man's will. Your will is your driver, something you can put effort into, but faith is the trust and confidence from the spirit. "Optimism is a faith that leads to success." As is enthusiasm and as is confidence. Having optimism, enthusiasm and confidence means that you have a certain amount of faith in what you're doing and who you are, and that things are going as they should. "True faith is faith back by action. Faith backed by action is applied faith." Sometimes when we think of faith, particularly religious faith, we think about surrendering to a higher power. Which has its time and place, but in this instance Bruce, is talking about action backed faith and surrendering to the higher power within oneself, not outside of yourself. Faith is a powerful source of unlimited energy. Bruce believed in the idea that faith can actually be conditioned. If you don't have faith in yourself, it is something you can teach yourself. "Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith can be introduced or created by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind through the principle of autosuggestion. This is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith." We all have this subconscious mind that sometimes goes into the habit of negative thinking. So it's important to train the subconscious mind in this optimism. You can encourage, develop, and condition your faith; you don't just put your faith outside of yourself hoping it will work out. "Faith is the maintaining of the soul through which one's aims may be translated into their physical equivalent." Faith is about tapping into your true essence and applying it toward the things that you want and translating that into physical reality. For Bruce, Faith leads to action. "Faith without work is death." "Enthusiasm is the godhead within us and instinctively becomes the art of the physical becoming." Everyone has faith, it's just a matter of coaxing it out and developing it. Take Action: Create some simple affirmations, you can use the three we talked about: optimism, enthusiasm, and confidence. Where do you have worries? How can you shift that into a more faith-filled outlook? #AAHA This week our #AAHA shout-out goes to Sal Khan, American educator and founder of the Khan Academy, an online educational platform. Khan Academy has produced over 6,500 video lessons teaching a wide variety of academic subjects, originally focusing on mathematics and sciences. Khan attended MIT, graduating with degrees in mathematics, electrical engineering, and computer science. In 2003, Khan started tutoring his cousin and when other friends and relatives sought his tutoring he began making tutorials on YouTube. His educational videos gained worldwide interest and popularity. The lessons are free, and have been translated into languages from all over the world. Sal Khan, you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment A moment from listener Damien L.: ""Do not run away; let go. Do not seek, for it will come when least expected." This quote made me realize that I do not have to keep searching for my answer because it will come when I least expect it. Since then I have been less worried and have accepted that I will find out when I am supposed to. Bruce Lee's philosophy has also helped me understand that if I do not get into the academy I can find another path for my life." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

We were overwhelmed with the responses for the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge and found it impossible to pick just one winner, so we'll be having several winners join us as guests on the podcast. This week we welcome our first Podcast Challenge winner, Kyoko @Jinjabrew! She lives in LA so Kyoko was able to join us in the studio for this special episode. Kyoko didn't grow up watching Bruce Lee films, but discovered him through activism and research in Asian-American history and politics. While studying the Civil Rights movement of the 60's, Kyoko wondered where the Asian Americans were in the movement. She started doing her own research by reading books by Fred Ho and learning about activist Yuri Kochiyama. It was a chapter in the book "Everybody was kung-fu fighting" by Vijay Prashad that introduced her to Bruce Lee's influence on the Afro-Asian cultural connection and this made her want to find out more about Bruce Lee. At the time she was reading this book, she was moving from Boston to LA, driving solo and looking for a good podcast to listen to on the long drive. Kyoko's main affirmation: "I am the master of my fate, captain of my soul. I can manifest all of my dreams and deepest sincere desires, but only through hard work and dedication – and the commitment to let go of fear on a daily basis – for it does not serve me. My path is unique to me, therefore, I will not compare or judge my intuition with others'. I will treasure my inner child, and ask it daily what it's needs are and how I can be of service and infuse the pathway for it to flourish. I will respect its need to create daily, and will carve out space for it to express daily. I am a creator, a creative person. If I don't allow it space to create, I can not flourish into my best self." For the second challenge, Kyoko's "I would feel better in my body if…" were: -I drank a glass of water when I woke up -Ate fresh fruit every morning -Meditated for 10 minutes daily -Commit to Wushu training for four hours a week During the challenge Kyoko worked on releasing her first song. Kyoko wrote the song "Prince," performed the music, and directed and edited the music video herself. This is the first project where Kyoko really felt in the flow. #AAHA Kyoko's AAHA is Angelia Trinidad, she's a Filipina entrepreneur and created a planner called "The Passion Planner." At first she studied to be a doctor and then decided to pursue art. After college, she felt stuck and lost on how to pursue her passions. Angelia realized that her passion and what's helped her so much is planning her time around her passions and she wanted to help other people plan their passions and implement it into their daily schedule. Kyoko has this planner and it's really helped her work on all her passion projects. Thanks Angelia for creating this great tool for passion projects—you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment "There's so much negativity on the media and social media about whitewashing in media and really trying to figure out a way in the audition room where everyone can win and that is a possibility. You can appeal to the producers, and you can also try and add depth and authenticity to your character so it resonates with other Asian Americans as well. Throughout both the audition room and downstairs in the waiting room, remembering Bruce Lee's philosophy has really helped me be present in the moment." Kyoko helped us close out the podcast episode by performing her song "Prince" live in the studio. https://youtu.be/YTnD66dOqPo Thank you for joining us Kyoko. It was a joy to have you on the podcast and to hear how you use Bruce Lee's philosophy in your daily life. Congratulations on releasing your song and thank you for sharing your gifts with the world. Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

"All knowledge ultimately means Self-knowledge." For all of his adult life, Bruce Lee was on a journey to understand the truest essence of himself. We remember him as the ultra confident movie star with martial arts mastery but even Bruce Lee was a work in progress. Self-knowledge is not a static idea of "who I am" but it's a forward motion pursuit of understanding your root. It is lifelong pursuit of knowing yourself. "Know the cause of your ignorance." "Instead of establishing rigid rules and separative thoughts, we should look within ourselves to see where our particular problems lie and our cause of ignorance.You see, ultimately all type of knowledge simply means self- knowledge. You must look for truth yourself and directly experience every minute detail for yourself." Anytime in your life when you're mired in confusion, uncertainty, or a recurring upset, you're holding onto ignorance about something. It's a great place to start examining and learning about yourself. Often it's difficult to look at these upsetting occasions since we've spent so much time burying or avoiding them Study yourself in relationship. "To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person. Relationship is a process of self–revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself. To be is to be related." The true test of who you are is shown in the real relationships in your life. These days there are so many ways to isolate yourself with technology, but who do you actually interact with daily and weekly, and what is the quality of those relationships? "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. Then and only then, can a person know himself." Bruce's true art was mastery of the self, and when you see him in the movies or interviews, he's bringing authenticity, energy, and calm. His unique energy still emanates through his art, film and writings--which is why we are still talking about him today. "Freedom lies in understanding yourself from moment to moment." When you are comfortable in your own skin, centered, grounded, and totally in touch, you're free because you no longer have to manufacture anything. "The sage attends to the inner self and not to the outward appearance." The more that Bruce Lee went inside, the more outwardly visible his essence became. The deeper you know your inner essence, the more you come into harmony with nature and everything around you. Take Action: Look at your relationships, check them out, what is the quality? Can you sustain them? Or do you cycle through them? Make a list of strengths and weaknesses—both are great teachers. #AAHA Miwa Matreyek is an animator, director, designer, and performer living and working in Los Angeles. Miwa is an animator who creates films and then performs along with the animation. She has screens set up where she has one screen in the front where the film is projected onto and she's behind it doing live shadow-play interacting with her animations as a shadow silhouette. She premiered her work "Myth and Infrastructure" at the TED Conference in Oxford. Miwa, we think you're doing amazing work in the world and we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This week our moment comes from Aleisha: "I look forward to your podcast each week and use it as part of my spiritual journey. I am currently in recovery from addiction issues that have plagued me throughout my life. This peaked 4 1/2 years when I lost my mother to a short battle with cancer. I know I can only live my life 1 day at a time and this recovery will be forever but I just wanted to thank you for being apart of my recovery." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast