Bruce Lee Podcast

Gung fu translated means: discipline and training toward the mastery of some skill. It is applied to martial arts but it can be applied to anything. Ultimately, Gung fu is a pathway toward mastery and a deeper understanding of yourself and life. Yin Yang is the basic structure of Gung fu. This is expressed with the Law of Harmony: "One should be in harmony within and not rebellion against the strength and force of opposition." "The law of harmony thus fits in with the law of non-interference with nature, which teaches a Gung fu man to forget himself and follow his opponent. He does not move ahead but responds. So the basic idea is to defeat the opponent by yielding to him and using his own strength against him." "No-mindedness is not a blank mind that excludes emotions, nor is it simply a calm or quiet mind. It is the "non-graspiness" of the mind that constitutes the principle of no-mindedness. A Gung fu man employs his mind as a mirror, it grasps nothing, it refuses nothing, it receives but does not keep." "Concentration in Gung fu does not have the usual sense of restricting the attention to a single sense object. It is simply a quiet awareness of whatever happens to be here and now. The mind is present everywhere because it is nowhere attached to any particular object and it can remain present because even when relating to this or that it does not cling to it." If you have such artistry and mastery then in you are in the flow. The attainment of self-mastery or connectedness is grown through the daily practice of life. We can all be artists of our own lives, through our discipline, practice, and training at being a human being, you can gain freedom and transformation. "There are three stages in the cultivation of Gung fu: the primitive stage, the stage of art, and the stage of artlessness." "Remember that man created method and method did not create man. You yourself are expressing the technique, you're not doing or following the technique." Gung fu is anything you practice with effort, discipline, harmony, and humility, towards mastery. "True mastery 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." Take Action: What is your Gung fu? What is it that you are actively working on mastering? It doesn't have to be a physical skill, it's a skill that is natural to you and should excite you and bring you joy. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week our #AAHA is Korean-American filmmaker and actor Justin Chon. He just premiered his film "Gook" at Sundance. It's a film about living through the LA riots in the 90's and his family's experience owning a market that was looted. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the riots and Justin wanted to create a film about the Korean American experience during that time. About half of all the damage caused by the LA riots were to Korean businesses. The police weren't coming to help them so the shop owners had to defend the stores themselves. Justin raised money through Kickstarter, and actually raised double what he asked, which showed him that people really wanted this story told. We think it's great that you're creating your own projects, Justin--you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This week's #BruceLeeMoment excerpt comes from Matthew R.: "I suffer from PTSD, OCD, & Social Anxiety from the trauma of hearing of [my father's] death and other traumas I experienced in my life. I have always been a fan of your dad and his outlook on life. I recently started listening to the podcast and love it. It is very therapeutic for me. A quote, and the story behind it, of his that has recently made a big impact on my life is, "When life gives you obstacles you must summon the courage and walk on!" Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #Take Action progress with at [email protected] Full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

The idea of Personal Liberation was very important to Bruce Lee. This idea was so important that his wife Linda included the quote "Your inspiration continues to guide us towards our personal liberation," on Bruce's headstone in Seattle where he and his son Brandon are buried. Many of Bruce's writings cover the topic of personal liberation and its connection with flow and freedom. "Freedom is something that cannot be preconceived. To realize freedom requires an alert mind, a mind that is deep with energy, a mind that is capable of immediate perception without the process of graduation, without the idea of an end to be slowly achieved. Pre-formations simply lack the flexibility to adapt to the ever changing. At this point many would ask, 'How then do we gain this unlimited freedom?' I cannot tell you because it will then become an approach. Although I can tell you what it's not, I cannot tell you what it is. That, my friend, you will have to find out all by yourself, for there is no help, but self-help." Some patterns that we set-up are good for the moment, but we have to constantly be aware and tweaking so that we live in the moment. Personal liberation relates to being in a process, living and understanding your authentic self. "When our mind is tranquil, there will be an occasional pause to its feverish activities. There will be a letting go and it is only then, in the interval between two thoughts that a flash of understanding, understanding which is not thought, can take place." "Where there is resistance there is no understanding. A so-called well-disciplined mind is not a free mind. A choice method, however exacting, fixes the mind in a pattern, a crystallization. Fixing forms can never bring freedom. This type of dead drilling is not an adequate response to the ever-changing moment. This ever-changing moment must be met newly, freshly for the moment is always new." Freedom lies in understanding yourself from moment to moment. "Listen, can you hear the wind? And can you hear the birds singing? You have to hear it. Empty your mind. You know how water fills a cup? It becomes the cup. You have to think about nothing. You have to become nothing." Take Action: Observe closely what you normally practice without judgment. Where are you feeling stuck or trapped? Where are you striving and straining to do something? Document where you feel peace of mind, what is happening when you feel that freedom from patterns. If that can be captured and repeated, make time for that on your calendar and dedicate weekly time to create more moments of peace of mind. #AAHA This week's #AAHA shout-out goes to Vietnamese-American actor Ian Alexander. Ian's debuts his talents on Netflix's show The OA. His character is Buck Vu, an Asian transgender teen, just like Ian himself. At only 15, the OA is Ian's first acting project, but his performance is outstanding. He got the part because he responded to an online open casting call. Ian's family has lived in Japan, Hawaii, and D.C., and he's always had an interest in the arts and is an advocate for trans rights. We know that especially in the Asian community, it can be challenging to be anything but the "norm," so we want you to know you're awesome Ian! Check out The OA on Netflix, it's great and we love the diverse cast. #BruceLeeMoment This week's excerpt comes from Jeddy A. read more at Brucelee.com/podcast: My "Bruce Lee Moment" occurs every morning during my dawn meditation and movement practice. Every 15 minute bike ride to work. Every window of opportunity - however brief - to tap into your father's message and decide how that fits into my own experience. Of all the layers and textures of Bruce that I relate to, the most resonant is his journey of holding and living a massive vision while relishing in the magnificence of my wife and 1 year old son. Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]

"Life is wide, limitless, there is no border, no frontier." Bruce Lee believed that there were no limitations or borders in life, and this is reflected in his core tenet of Jeet Kune Do: "Using no way as way, having no limitation as limitation." When you encounter boundaries or walls in life, then it's time to step back and see if there is another way. These blocks mean the way you are going is not working, not that you can't do it. The baseline for living in oneness with life is embracing the limitless condition of life. You may face plateaus in life but there are no limits to how much more you can learn, grow, enjoy life, be happy and become conscious. "The oneness of all life is a truth that can be realized only when false notions of a separate self, whose destiny can be considered apart from the whole, are forever annihilated." Living in oneness is living in a connected state with your environment, nature, and those around you. The pain a lot of people experience is when they have feelings of isolation from their environment or other people. "We are always in a process of becoming and nothing is fixed have no rigid system in you and you will be flexible to change with the ever changing. Open yourself and flow my friend. Flow in the total openness of the living moment. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond, like an echo." "The western approach to reality is mostly through theory and theory begins by denying reality. You talk about reality, you go around reality, to catch anything that attracts our sense, intellect and abstract it away from reality." In Taoism: "The world is seen as an inseparable, interrelated field, no part of which can actually be separated from the other. That is, there would be no bright stars without dim stars and without the surrounding darkness no stars at all. There is no conflict between individual man and nature." "Life is a living now. Completeness, the now, is absence of the conscious mind striving to divide that which is indivisible. For once the completeness of things is taken apart, it is no longer complete." Take Action: What are some of the things keeping you isolated from others and your environment? What changes can you make? Take a survey of your activities, behavior, and space because sometimes you form habits that keep you separated. When you are feeling connected, how does that make you feel? How can you expand on that? #AAHA This week's #AAHA shout-out is a group since recently at the US Ice Skating Championships Asian Americans dominated taking home gold in three of the four events. Karen Chen won the women's title, Nathan Chen won the men's title, and Maia and Alex Shibutani nabbed their second consecutive title in ice dancing. Karen Chen, age 17, had a record breaking program which she choreographed herself. She is one of the big hopes for Olympic Gold. Nathan Chen, also 17, is the youngest men's champion in 51 years. He is the first skater to land five quads in a single performance. He is also America's hope for the Olympics. Maia and Alex Shibutani are a brother and sister ice dancing duo who returned as reigning champs and they held onto their title winning gold again. They are also considered favorites to win gold in the Olympics. You guys are killing it and we can't wait to see you in the Olympics! We think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This #BruceLeeMoment comes from Geovany C. read more at Brucelee.com/podcast: "I'm looking for a new kung fu studio. May I ask, is there a school in this world close to his teachings, and if there is one, please may your share this location? No matter where it is I will save up to go there. That's how much I believe it will better myself. I'm looking to really study and change my life into Bruce Lee's philosophy." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and your #ActionItem progress with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]

"Don't think. FEEEEEEEEL! It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all of the heavenly glory!" In this scene from Enter the Dragon, Bruce is teaching his student about the importance of staying fully present in the moment. If you just concentrate on the finger, you'll miss the glorious experience of the moon. We often take ourselves out of a moment we are experiencing for many reasons—to analyze it, to think about it, or document it. Even when we pause to take a picture of a beautiful sunset, we have to leave the moment of experiencing that sunset to take the picture. When we do this, we lose the feeling of the moment. "There's too much tendency to look inward at one's moods and to try and evaluate them, to stand on the outside and try to look inside is futile. It's like turning on a light to look at darkness. Analyze it and it's gone." "Feeling exists here and now when not interrupted and dissected by ideas or concepts. The moment we stop analyzing and let go we can start really seeing, feeling as one whole." An important part of the lesson Bruce is giving in this scene is about the process of relating, being in relationship with the whole thing, not isolated. "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." "To live is a constant process of relating, so come out of that shell of isolation and conclusion, and relate directly to what is being said." So many of us are hungering for a connection, even if we don't know to articulate it. What's driving a lot of the pain in the world is viewing people or the planet as separate from us or as the "other." "The primary reality is not what I think, but what I live." "I do not experience, I am experience, I am awareness." Bruce Lee was living in the present moment all the time. Take Action: Take note when you pull away from an experience to analyze it or try to hold onto it. When you feel the connectedness or excitement of the moment, instead of pulling away just be with it. Compare this feeling to when you pull away and document or think about the moment. Another practice is to have a moment of silence when you feel that connected experience to stay in the moment. #AAHA This week our #AAHA shout-out goes to Sammy Lee, the first Asian American man to win Olympic gold and the first American man to win two consecutive golds in platform diving. Sammy Lee was named to US Olympic Hall of Fame in 1990. Lee was also a physician and served in the US Army Medical Corps in South Korea and coached several Olympian divers. He learned to dive at a public pool in Pasadena, but was only allowed to go on Wednesdays, the only day Latinos, Asians, and African Americans were allowed to use the pool. Then the pool was drained and refilled with clean water. Even after becoming an Olympian, Lee continued to face discrimination, including being told he could not buy a house in a certain neighborhood. Sammy Lee Square is named after him in Koreatown, he has a spot on the Anaheim Walk of Stars, and an elementary school named after him. Sammy Lee, we honor you and think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This week our #BruceLeeMoment comes from Kristy, read more at brucelee.com/podcast: "Being keen to journal, I previously wrote down my bigger 'why' or purpose and steps to achieving what I most desired. However, I noticed, there it was again…that striver giving me plans, actions, strategies to be better - to become perfect! So, instead after your podcast I decided to revisit my why, and come up with my own affirmations and anchors back to stillness when my mind becomes noisy, not to become perfect, but instead to simply acknowledge and celebrate who I am." Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations or your #ActionItem progress with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]

The Root was an important concept to Bruce Lee. The Root is where real knowledge and real personal expression can spring from, the starting point and essence of "Who am I?" "What we are after is the root and not the branches. The root is the real knowledge and the branches are surface knowledge. Real knowledge breeds "body feel" and personal expression, and surface knowledge breeds mechanical conditioning, and imposing limitation and it squelches creativity." "The Root is the fulcrum on which will rest the expression of your soul. The Root is the starting point of all natural manifestation. It cannot be when the root is neglected that what should spring from it will be well ordered." Your body is the vehicle through which you manifest everything, even your thoughts. When we neglect the vehicle that holds our vital energy then we can get ungrounded. Bruce Lee was integrated with mind, body, spirit and his body was in service to his greater Purpose in this world. Even if your path in life is not of an athlete or martial artist like Bruce Lee, you still need your body to carry out your plans, dreams, and to move through the world. "The Root is the foundation and the Root is the knowing, it's the inner wisdom that you have." Your body is sending you signals all the time, and gives you a definite feeling about questions you ask yourself. You can use your body as a divining rod to gauge your true feelings about a situation or a decision. Bruce was directed by his heart--his love, passion, and joy were all strengthening his Root. "When I look around I always learn something, and that is, to be always yourself and to express yourself, to have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it, but start from the very root of your being which is: How can I be me?" "This achieving the center, being grounded in oneself is about the highest state a human being can achieve." "We realize that manipulation and control are not the ultimate joy in life, to become real, to learn to take a stand, to develop one's center to the support of our total personality, a release to spontaneity, yes, yes, yes." Take Action: If you're feeling unrooted, think of the last time that you felt in tune with your body--when was that? Write down the memories, you'll likely see a pattern. Identify discomfort in your body, aches or anxiety, where and when do you feel this way? Another exercise: write down the answer to "How can I be me?" Keep asking yourself this over time as it is answered differently as you grow. If you'd like to share how you're doing with this action item you can email us at [email protected] #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week our #AAHA is Aziz Ansari, American actor and comedian. Aziz is known for Masters of None, Parks and Recreation, and his stand-up comedy. Ansari was born in South Carolina, and graduated from NYU as a marketing major. He started doing stand-up while at NYU and in 2008 joined Parks and Rec. Ansari offers intelligent, thoughtful comedy and continues to do stand-up throughout his acting commitments. After the Boston Marathon bombings, Ansari performed a benefit at the Wilbur Theater in Boston and all ticket proceeds went to The One Fund and The Officer Richard Donohue Fund. Aziz, we love your work and think you're awesome, thank you for making us laugh! #BruceLeeMoment This week our #BruceLeeMoment comes from listener Gerry, read more online: As a long distance trail runner: "The miles in between are so tough but to arrive at an aid station, where there is water and food and just such beautiful powerful good energy, is so uplifting and strengthening that it renews ones life force to move through the race. So the phrase "aid station to aid station" came to represent the ideas both of reducing a larger challenge into smaller ones, and also that we can't do this alone." Share your #AAHAs and #BruceLeeMoments with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]

Bruce Lee was driven by his own Purpose in life: "All in all, the goal of my planning and doing is to find the true meaning in life: peace of mind." Bruce's Purpose was "peace of mind," rather than his specific goals of becoming a big movie star or financial success. His big Purpose was self-actualization. "Completeness, the now, is an absence of the conscious mind to strive to divide that which is indivisible. For once the completeness of things is taken a part, it is no longer complete. All the pieces of a car that has been taken a part may be there, but it is no longer a car in its original nature which is its function or life." If your goals are infused with purpose, then it never feels like you're striving, it feels like it's a pursuit of becoming. You feel like you're becoming more of yourself in the accomplishment of your goals rather than needing to accomplish goals for outside accolades and prestige. So much of our culture is built on the pursuit of things, prestige and status—these do not make us happier and often cause anxiety. "I don't really worry about the reward but to set into motion the machinery to achieve it." "A purpose is the eternal condition of success." It's hard to find your purpose if you are struggling with simple tasks, but if you can imbue your daily tasks with purpose, then they can be easier to accomplish and less overwhelming. "Come to some sort of realization as to whatever your pursuit might be. In my case, it has been the pursuit of becoming moment to moment, and constantly questioning myself: What is this Bruce? Is it true or not true? Do you really mean it or not mean it? Once I've found that out, that's it." For everyone asking what your purpose is, your main purpose is to become your true self. You don't have to have your purpose figured out, but put yourself on a path to find it. Do you feel like you're in the flow, or stagnant? Take Action: Ask this: Can I create purpose around whatever task that I have to do? Take a mundane task and infuse it with purpose. A larger research project would be to ask 10 people close to you how they experience your essence and the moments when they see you come alive and express joy. Ask: when do you see me light up or become joyful? People close to us can sometimes see us more clearly than we can see ourselves. AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week we highlight Lulu Wang, an American filmmaker and writer. Shannon knows Lulu because they worked together several years ago when Lulu was first starting out. Born in Beijing and classically trained in piano, Lulu graduated from Boston College with a double major in Literature and Music. In 2016, Lulu released her first feature length film "Posthumous" and earlier in 2014 she was awarded the Chaz and Roger Ebert Directing Fellowship. Her short film "Touch" premiered at the 2015 Palm Springs International ShortsFest and won Best Drama at the Asians on Film Festival. In May 2016, Lulu wrote a story for NPR's "This American Life" that is being developed into a feature film. Lulu you're successfully pursuing and we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This week's #BruceLeeMoment is from Gakuji Tobiyama, read the full version at brucelee.com/podcast: "When I first heard him talk about his water analogy, that was my first Bruce Lee Moment, because right then, I knew I had not been living my life like water but rather a block of ice. Drop me and I smash into pieces, clench me long enough and I'll give the beholder a mild frostbite…I'd been brittle solid ice for a long time, and Bruce Lee taught me to let my "mental molecules" change state to allow myself to flow smart or "crash" through mental barriers with intent and intensity." Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected].

During one of the busiest times in his life, Bruce Lee wrote a letter to himself titled "In My Own Process". When Bruce wrote this, he had just halted production on Game of Death was in mid-prep for Enter the Dragon which included re-writing script pages, creating fight choreography, and being a producer. He was moved to pause and write several drafts of this letter to himself—each version was an evolution of the ideas he began pondering. Through the different versions, you can witness his thinking and creative process—adding, building and refining with each iteration. He wrote: "At the moment I'm wondering for whom am I writing this organized mess? I have to say I am writing whatever wants to be written." "I have come to the realization that sooner or later what it really amounts to is the bare fact that even an attempt to really write something about ones self demands, first of all, an honesty towards oneself to be able to take responsibility to be what we actually are." "What it boils down to is my sincere and honest revelation of a man called Bruce Lee. Just who is Bruce Lee? Where is he heading? What does he hope to discover? To do this a person has to stand on his own two feet and find out the cause of ignorance. For the lazy and hopeless, they can forget it and do what they like best." Most of us spend our lives avoiding these questions or distracting ourselves, Bruce confronted these questions directly. "The truth is that life is an ever going process ever renewing and it just meant to be lived but not lived for. It is something that cannot be squeezed into a self-constructed security pattern, a game of rigid control and clever manipulation. Instead, to be what I term "a quality human being" one has to be transparently real and have the courage to be what he is." Take Action: When you feel compelled to express something meaningful to yourself, write it down. Keep track of all the different versions to research your own life and mark your progression. If you'd like to share how you're doing with this action item you can email us at [email protected] or on social @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week our #AAHA shout-out goes to a close family friend of Shannon's, Taky Kimura, a Japanese America, martial artist, and one of Bruce Lee's best friends. Taky was one of Bruce Lee's top students, closest friends, best man at Bruce's wedding, first person Bruce certified to teach Jeet Kune Do, one of Bruce's first assistant instructors, and was pallbearer at Bruce's funeral. Taky is in his 90's and still teaching in Seattle, WA. Taky's family was interred in WWII with his family and experienced a lot of the prejudice and racism that followed the war. Taky met Bruce when he was in his 30's and credits Bruce with renewing his spirit. Taky has lived a quiet life and has trained people in his family's grocery store basement for free. Taky, you have been a wonderful friend to Bruce and Shannon's family, and you're awesome, thank you! #BruceLeeMoment This week's #BruceLeeMoment comes from Felix Sinn in Hamburg, Germany, read the full version in our show notes online: "I moved away from my family and friends south Germany up north to Hamburg, where I am going my own way and where I founded my company. And I am not only working on the company but also on myself and on being myself which seems to be a lifetime challenge. I am 28 years old now and there is nobody who I could copy, nobody who tells me what to do, and no mentor. And although I did not know too much about Bruce´s person I felt his philosophy. It felt like some of his spirit lives in me all the time and now as I hear all the information about him and his philosophy in the podcast, it is like you would tell me all these things that I already had in my heart but couldn´t express it in words like Bruce did." Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]

This week we discuss a typical day in the life of Bruce Lee, his habits and activities on an average day when he wasn't filming. The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle has an exhibit called "A Day in the Life of Bruce Lee" and you can make your own "Day in the Life" infographic here. Bruce Lee believed in the restorative powers of sleep, typically getting about 8hrs a night. He went to sleep around 11pm and got up at 7am. In the mornings he would stretch and go for a jog. Bruce liked to use jogging as a form of meditation. Following his morning workout, Bruce had breakfast then played with the kids. Then he would usually teach a private lesson in his students' backyard or in his own backyard. Between the hours of noon and 4pm he would have lunch and then either teach or work on his writing. Then, he would have an hour and a half for his own personal training (his second workout of the day!) Bruce spent his early evening hanging out with the family and playing with the kids. For the rest of the evening, Bruce would have dinner and extra training with his students and friends. He had a Wednesday Night group, mainly students from his classes, who would come over for extra instruction and philosophical conversations that would turn into a communal dinner. Bruce didn't have a regular 9-5 job, but his workday consisted of a few hours of concentrated effort, a break, and then a couple more hours of concentrated effort and so on rather than one long 8 hour stretch. This Day in the Life of Bruce Lee shows what productivity and harmony is possible for anyone. What's obviously missing from his daily routine is any TV or computer time. Bruce dedicated time for physical, mental and spiritual development in his daily life—creating a harmonious day filled with training, learning, teaching and connecting with family and community. Take Action: Document your every day for a week or month to see how you spend your time. Technology makes it easy to record your day, find the app you like. Are there any changes you'd like to make or things you'd like to add to your life? You can also create your own day here. If you'd like to share how you're doing with this action item you can email us at [email protected] or on social @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast. Listener letters: We've been receiving lots of emails from our listeners updating us on their #ActionItems and their #DefiniteChiefAims so we'd like to share a few of them with you in our shownotes online. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week's #AAHA is Maya Lin, an American designer and artist known for her sculpture and land art. She first came to fame at 21 as the designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Maya won a public design competition for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and it was a controversial design since it was non-traditional, she was an Asian female, and she lacked professional experience. Maya actually had to go before Congress to get them to approve her design. She has said that had it not been a blind selection process then she wouldn't have been selected. Now she owns and operates the Maya Lin Studio in NYC and in 2016 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Maya we love your work and think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This week's #BruceLeeMoment comes from Eric Colby, who wrote us before about a leadership opportunity at his work and now he's writing to tell us how it went, read the full version at Brucelee.com. "The thoughts that I ultimately decided to share came from your episode on Goals, Mistakes, and Success…from aiming high in your goals in order to broaden your horizons and see what is possible, to listening to your mistakes in order to grow, to recognizing that defeat is a state of mind and only has power over you if you accept it, to defining success as "doing something sincerely and wholeheartedly."" Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]

When Bruce Lee was 21 he wrote: "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. Whether it is the godhead or not, I feel this great force, this untapped power, this dynamic something within me. This feeling defies description and no experience with which this feeling may be compared. It is something like a strong emotion mixed with faith, but a lot stronger." This energy is something that Bruce Lee talked about a lot, and energy is also often how we talk about Bruce Lee. Bruce would talk about energy in relation to his willpower, vital life-force to create, to move, to accomplish, and to motivate. He talked about it as a creative and spiritual force within himself and also talked about not wasting this force but using it for good. "A creation uncontaminated by thought. The creative tide in us that flows outward." Bruce also recognized that this energy is infinite and connected to the spiritual force of the universe. Like Bruce Lee, we all have this vital life-force within our bodies and it's ours to cultivate. "The function and duty of a human being, a quality human being that is, is the sincere and honest development of potential and self-actualization. One additional comment, the energy from within and the physical strength from your body, can guide you toward accomplishing your purpose in life and to actually act on actualizing your duty to yourself." Your energy can be really hampered by your mind when it gets into these worry-filled loops. This preoccupation with negative thoughts and worries will drain your energy. Be aware of where you're wasting your energy. Take Action: Run an experiment where you limit your exposure to draining people or activities, and increase your exposure to energizing people or activities that make you feel great. Reframe your negative thoughts into positive or neutral thoughts. See how you feel at the end of the day. Then you'll start to have all your energy to create and manifest your truest self. If you'd like to share how you're doing with this action item you can email us at [email protected] or on social @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week we want to recognize I. M. Pei, renowned Chinese-American architect. He was recruited in 1948 by New York real estate magnate William Zeckendorf and went on to establish his own independent design firm. I. M. Pei went on to design buildings around the world including the glass and steel pyramid for the Musee de Louvre in Paris. He came from a family known for selling medicinal herbs, but felt the call to pursue architecture and design. On April 26th, 2017 I. M. Pei will turn 100 years old! I. M. Pei, we find your work and life inspirational and think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment This week's #BruceLeeMoment comes from Emil Monajemzadeh, here's an excerpt and read the full version at brucelee.com/podcast "In January 2016 I found a school in Copenhagen where I could learn Kung Fu and Yoga. I remember talking to my shifu after my first training session, and our conversation went exactly like follows: "What do you do besides this?" "I study Philosophy." "Then you have come to the right place." " Yes I know." I think university students sometimes can be quite full of themselves thinking they are better than others. Because of this I felt like I couldn't use much of my knowledge for anything, also because of the pressure that is on all the subjects in the humanities right now. But in realising that all knowledge is self-knowledge I found a whole new way of studying - mainly to not study others through reading but rather myself." Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at [email protected]