Bruce Lee Podcast

Today's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast is a solo Shannon episode. She thought as we head into Lunar New Year she might just take a moment to dive into the philosophy as we head into the year of the metal Ox. Gung Hay Fat Choy! Find this episode's show notes and other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

Shannon's final interview for this season of the Bruce Lee Podcast is with a deep and generous soul named Mozez Wright. You may know Mozez's work from his time fronting the musical group Zero7. His smooth and transcendent vocal delivery found him an instant following, and he has gone on to co-write, record and tour with Nightmares On Wax as well as release a number of solo projects on his own record label Numen Records. But Shannon knows Mozez because he has been a good friend of the Bruce Lee Family Company for a number of years even though this is the first time Shannon has had the pleasure of speaking with him. Mozez is a Bruce Lee admirer and supporter and he has generously allowed us to use his music for some our videos and posts from time to time. He has also formed a bond of friendship with one of our own, Chris Husband, who creative directs a number of areas for the Bruce Lee Family Company. Shannon was really excited to chat with Mozez because firstly, she loves his music (please check out the show notes for more about Mozez and how to connect with him and his music), but also because she feels like he's been part of the Bruce Lee family for a while and their time to chat was just a matter of the stars aligning and they finally have. Please take a listen to this wise and wonderful soul as Shannon and Mozez talk about life's ups and downs and how to keep our spirits high. This is Mozez on the Bruce Lee Podcast! Get to know Mozez in our show notes and check out our other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

Shannon is so happy to introduce you to this week's guest if you don't already know him. Cal Fussman is a journalist and New York times bestselling author who has interviewed a variety of leaders from around the world, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Jeff Bezos, Robert DeNiro, Muhammed Ali, Quincy Jones, and the list goes on and on. But let us backtrack for a moment, Shannon met Cal on a whim in Lake Tahoe at a Spartan race where he was interviewing the founder of Spartan and getting ready to begin training to participate in his own Spartan event. Shannon and Cal road up and down the Tahoe summer slopes on a gondola while they had a wonderful chat. And what Shannon discovered is someone who is an amazing listener, and avid student of life, humorous and kind, and who has a huge heart. From there, Cal invited Shannon on his podcast Big Questions and Shannon is pleased to say their friendship has continued from there. His call to action of "Change your Questions and Change your Life" is an amazing perspective shift for those looking to change their trajectory. So when it came time for Shannon to ask people to read her book and offer their thoughts, Cal was top of her list, and he graciously undertook the task. Cal is a force to be reckoned with. He is an amazing speaker, writer, podcaster, and quester! For what his latest quest is, listen to this episode. Maybe there's a way you can help Cal out with the daunting task he has decided to dedicate himself to!! Shannon is always grateful for their conversations, and they've had a few now! And she is thrilled to finally have him on the podcast. Please check out the show notes for more info on Cal and how to connect with him. With Cal as a friend, Shannon truly feels like she has someone in her corner. He is a genuine gentleman who follows his heart. Shannon is thrilled to get to introduce you to Cal Fussman! Get to know Cal Fussman in our show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast Connect with Cal: https://www.calfussman.com/ Twitter: @CalFussman Instagram: @CalFussman Facebook: @CalFussman Podcast: Big Questions with Cal Fussman

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast Shannon's guest is professional beach volleyball player and multiple Olympic gold medalist, Kerri Walsh Jennings. Kerri is an ardent Bruce Lee fan as you will come to see when you listen to this episode. With Kerri, her energy leaps out at you. She is a fast paced, energetic woman who channels Bruce Lee (and two other icons) on the court. [And you'll want to find out which other 2 icons because it was pretty fascinating to Shannon.] Kerri admits her fallibility and knows she is still learning and growing everyday as she continues to train and shoot for Olympic gold! She is a driven, passionate woman who is dedicated to her sport, her family and her faith. She is truly a go-getter who finds grounding in gratitude. To learn more about Kerri and how to connect with her, please go to our show notes. Kerri has a wealth of information and learnings to share as she seeks to grow and retain champion athlete status. Come get in on the mind of an athlete with Kerri Walsh Jennings. Connect with Kerri: Twitter: @kerrileewalsh Instagram: @kerrileewalsh Facebook: @kerrileewalsh Get to know Kerri in our show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

Welcome to 2021, everyone. Shannon is excited to kick off the new year with a chat with personal trainer, educator, speaker and consultant, Ben Bruno. Ben works with an extremely wide range of clients from professional athletes, actors, musicians, models and even his mom. Ben is also passionate about educating people and has published or been featured in over 200 publications such as Men's Health, Women's Health, Sports Illustrated and ESPN. He also consults with several different sports organizations regarding their strength and conditioning programs and is regularly featured on the Today Show. Shannon and Bruno didn't know each other prior to this conversation, but as they chatted, Shannon was reminded again and again of some of her father's own principles and philosophies, such as, being the eternal student, individualized training to fit your needs, quality over quantity, and setting goals and applying oneself. But what Shannon really appreciated most about Ben was his laid back yet committed attitude and his desire to be practical and fun while achieving results. He made her want to train with him! So listen in for some thoughts on Bruce Lee's fitness through the eyes of a professional trainer and to get some much needed inspiration for the year ahead. Shannon feels like we could all use a little motivation and strength as this year kicks off so who better to talk to than trainer, Ben Bruno! Connect with Ben: www.benbruno.com IG - @benbrunotraining Twitter - @benbruno1 To get one of Ben's awesome tee shirts go here: https://www.theloyalist.com/brunostrong Get to know Ben Bruno in the show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

This episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast is a treat for Shannon and she hopes it will be a treat for you too. Today Shannon is having a chat with intuitive counselor and one of her closest friends, Tony LeRoy. Tony and Shannon have known each other for about 24 years. She first met Tony when she went to have a session with him way back in her twenties. Our session was so intense that he called Shannon up to check in on her a few days later and their friendship began. This episode is the last one in 2020 and will air during the holiday season and so Shannon thought it was only fitting that she chat with someone that she loves as well as someone who is a spiritual advisor. Tony helps clients get in touch with their true selves, navigate the roads ahead and heal their spirits; he holds classes on how to work with and increase your intuition, connect with your spirit guides and embrace your future self, and he helps people break challenging thought and behavior patterns using a technique called BWRT. To learn more about Tony and how to connect with him, please check out the show notes for this episode. Tony is a lovely human being and kindred soul to Shannon. She is so pleased to share this fun and meaningful conversation (cuz that's how they do when the two of them are together) with this bright light on the planet, Tony Leroy, for this, the last episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast for 2020. Enjoy! Learn more about Tony Leroy in the show notes and listen to other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon had the absolute pleasure of speaking with actor, writer, director and producer Randall Park. You may know Randall from such hits as the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, or Netflix's Always Be My Maybe as well as for characters he portrayed in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp and DC's Aquaman. Shannon certainly knew Randall's work but she had never met Randall until they sat down to chat for the podcast, and Shannon feels like she walked away from the conversation with a new friend. Randall is a warm and introspective soul and Shannon is so grateful for his vulnerability and willingness to talk Bruce Lee, philosophy and life freely with her. Listen in and you'll hear what Shannon feels is a really easeful and lovely conversation that we can all connect with as they talk about, among other things, the challenges of being oneself with the amazing Randall Park. Find out more about Randall Park in this episode's show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon engages in conversation with bantamweight UFC mixed martial artist, Dominick Cruz. Cruz is known as an agile fighter with an indomitable spirit, a two-time bantamweight champion who has come back from major injuries and setbacks and made a name for himself in and out of the Octagon. He currently does commentary and analysis for the UFC and hosts the show Unlocking Victory for ESPN as well as holds virtual training camps online, but he is clear that he is ready to get back into the octagon as soon as he hears the inner call, which, as it turns out since recording this chat, will be March 6, 2021. In her first meeting with Dominick, Shannon was impressed by his fighting spirit, his sharp presence and his insightful outlook on and passion for martial arts and life. His keen presence was engaging and his insights on overcoming obstacles, gratitude, how to create shifts in perspective and what it is to be a warrior were exciting. To learn more about Dominick and how to connect with him, please check out the show notes. For now, listen up – this is a rare glimpse into the mind of a truly focused, high level martial artist. This is Dominick Cruz. Learn more about Dominick Cruz in the show notes at Brucelee.com/Podcast Connect with Dominick: IG: @DominickCruz T: @DominickCruz FB: @DominatorCruz DominickCruzMMA.com

This week marks the final episode of season 2 of our show Warrior on Cinemax, and so it is only fitting that Shannon's guest this week is actress and one of the stars of Warrior, Olivia Cheng. Shannon met Olivia when she auditioned for Warrior. She came in and read for two different parts and she was such a pro. Little did Shannon know that just weeks before she had been contemplating giving up acting. We are so grateful she didn't! If you haven't seen the show, she is marvelous as the gutsy and smooth Ah Toy. But Shannon is not just speaking to Olivia on the podcast just because she's in Warrior. Shannon is speaking to her because she has become a friend, because she is a dynamic artist and because she's fun and curious and interested in being introspective and growing. Olivia has a background in journalism and has appeared on the shows Broken Trail and Netflix's Marco Polo, to name a few. She is a soulful, smart, and fun woman who is an activist for change in Hollywood and in the world. Olivia has a lot of insights and thoughts to share and so Shannon is pleased to gift you this conversation today with Olivia Cheng. Connect with Olivia: IG: @ThatOliviaCheng T: @ThatOliviaCheng www.OliviaCheng.com See Olivia on Warrior Season 2 on Fridays: Warrior on Cinemax Find out more about Olivia Cheng in this episode's show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

This episode airs the day before what would have been Bruce Lee's 80th birthday and so Shannon is thrilled to have as her guest, one of her father's dear friends, students and co-stars, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem is a legend in his own right. He was a student playing basketball for UCLA when he and Bruce Lee first became friends. He went on, of course, to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer. Kareem is a global icon that changed the game of professional basketball and went on to become a New York Times best-selling author, Emmy nominated filmmaker, 5x award-winning columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, and also writes regularly for The Los Angeles Times and The Guardian newspapers. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nations highest civilian honor by President Obama in 2016. Kareem also serves as the chairman of his Skyhook Foundation bringing outdoor environmental learning opportunities to underserved communities. See links below to connect Kareem and his many phenomenal accomplishments. It was such a pleasure for Shannon to speak about philosophy and life with an old family friend, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Visit kareemabduljabbar.com and shop.brucelee.com to check out the special Kareem x Bruce Lee collections. KareemAbdulJabbar.com Shop Limited Edition Bruce Lee Friends Tee

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon engages in conversation with Vietnamese American filmmaker Bao Nguyen. She first met Bao when she went to see the directorial debut of his documentary film Live From New York about Saturday Night Live in 2015. Bao was wanting to make a documentary about Bruce Lee way back then and they began talking about that possibility. One thing led to another and that project stalled out over time, as projects do, and Shannon wasn't sure they would ever work together. But Bao's passion for the subject matter and his tenacity to find a way to get it done, led to the creation of an ESPN 30 for 30 film called, none other than, Be Water. Bao interviewed Shannon for the project and asked her to read some of her father's quotes throughout the film, but this film was all his vision. And the end result is beautiful. In this episode Shannon and Bao talk about how they became better friends as the film was taking shape, his be like water journey through the making of the film, why the angle of viewing Bruce Lee's story through the lens of Asian representation was so meaningful for him, and what it means to stand in solidarity versus allyship. If you get a chance, please watch Be Water, available at ESPN+. There will also be a special drive in screening in San Francisco on Nov 27th, Bruce Lee's 80th birthday, as well as online, followed by a panel of special guests, including Bao and Shannon. The film is a wonderful piece of Academy Award eligible film making and you may learn something you didn't know about Bruce Lee! AND this episode airs on Bao's birthday. So happy birthday, Bao! Watch ESPN's 30 for 30 Be Water on ESPN+ Follow Bao on Twitter and IG @baomnguyen Find out more about Bao in this episode's show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon's guest is musician and wellness activist Khnum Ibomu also known as Stic. Stic is part of the duo known as dead prez as well as being a solo artist, producer, speaker, long distance running coach and author. His life experiences have led him to focus his life and music on promoting wellness and healthy living. Stic is someone who we at the Bruce Lee Family Companies have been in contact with for quite some time. He's a martial artist and jeet kune do practitioner himself, and is an all around lovely soul whose friendship Shannon is grateful for. Stic has his own health and wellness podcast through his lifestyle and holistic brand RBG Fit Club and if you are looking for music to workout to, well look no more - his albums the Workout and the Workout II are here to keep you moving with his brand of music he calls "fit hop". Check out the show notes for today's episode to learn more about Stic and how to connect with him while listening to Shannon and him discuss, among other things, the empty cup, martial arts, the power of positivity, and how a health crisis changed Stic's life and redirected his energy. Shannon is excited to share her conversation with you as Stic has lots of knowledge and many great resources to share with the world. Follow Stic at: @Stic @RBGFITCLUB Find out more about Stic in this episode's show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon's guest is mountaineer and activist and dear friend of hers, Wasfia Nazreen. Wasfia and Shannon met last year at a conference they both were speaking at and they immediately connected. As it turns out, Wasfia had just moved to LA so they were able to hang out. Shannon soon learned that Wasfia is leading a full and extraordinary life. She is most known for being the ONLY Bangladeshi and first Bengali in the world to climb the Seven Summits – which are the highest mountains of every continent. Including Chomolungma (that's Mount Everest to those of us who only know the colonialized name). Her passion, however, has always been driven by causes close to her heart, which are grounded in a strong foundation of meditation and self-realization practices. An outspoken activist since her late teens, Wasfia has risked everything for the causes she believes in. She has had the good fortune to learn meditation from some of the foremost teachers of our time, including His Holiness Dalai Lama (who she counts as a parental figure, mentor and lifelong friend.) Wasfia is a National Geographic Explorer AND Adventurer and the only woman to hold these simultaneous titles. Wasfia also recently battled her way through a very tough bout with the coronavirus this year. This nontraditional Bangladeshi woman is a survivor who found her home in the wilds of nature and her peace within. For her full bio, please see the show notes for this episode. And now, Shannon hopes you enjoy her conversation with this activist, speaker, pilot, spiritual seeker, explorer, adventurer and mountaineer, Wasfia Nazreen. IG: @wasfianazreen FB: FB.com/WasfiaNazreen T - @wasfia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wasfia/ https://www.wasfianazreen.com/ http://www.oselfoundation.org/ Find out more about Wasfia Nazreen in the show notes and check out other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

On this week's episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon's guest is actor and Warrior leading cast member, Andrew Koji. Andrew plays Ah Sahm on the Cinemax series Warrior based on Bruce Lee's treatment. Shannon met Andrew for the first time in his casting session for the show, which she executive produces. Andrew has done such a great job of bringing his own artistry to the role that Bruce Lee would have played without trying at all to imitate him. He showed up in his full soulfulness and genuineness and won the role. Since being cast, Shannon has had the privilege of getting to know Andrew. Andrew is a good egg, as they say, a hard worker, and a thoughtful man. That soulfulness felt in the audition is real! He pushes himself to be better in his craft and in his life, and it's working. Andrew will be getting to share his talents in the upcoming film Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt, but you can catch him now in season 2 of Warrior on Cinemax Friday nights. Andrew resides in London and after a few technical difficulties, they were able to get our conversation rolling. Please enjoy their chat about self reflection, their love of Warrior, trying to fill our own shoes rather than anyone else's, the ups and downs of quarantine, his life as an actor and being part of the Bruce Lee extended family forever. Check out Andrew on Warrior season 2 on Fridays: Warrior on Cinemax Show notes and other episodes on Brucelee.com/Podcast

On episode 2 of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon engages in conversation with middleweight UFC mixed martial artist Uriah Hall. Uriah and Shannon became friends last year when they met in New York at an event for Shannon's tv show Warrior, and they hit it off immediately. Uriah is getting ready to step into the octagon with his long time idol Anderson Silva on October 31st 2020. Considered one of the most devastatingly dynamic fighters out there, Shannon was reminded of this passage in her book: "Martial arts is a perfect metaphor for life. There are few disciplines where the stakes are so personal and so high as in a fight. Proficiency in martial arts is the practice of keeping centered and skillfully responsive under the direst of circumstances: The threat of physical harm. When you have mastery in combat, you not only meet a fight with composure and skill, you become an artist of movement, expressing yourself powerfully in the immediate, unfolding present with absolute freedom and certainty." Hope you enjoy this discussion with Uriah Hall about how he feels about going up against his idol in the octagon, how martial arts has shaped him, how he handles the wins and losses of life, and that, ultimately, he wants you to know that everything is going to be ok. Find out more about Uriah Hall in our show notes: BruceLee.com/podcast

On this first episode of the new edition of the Bruce Lee Podcast, Shannon engages in conversation with comedian, actor, dancer, writer, rapper, and music producer Affion Crockett. You may know Affion from his work in such projects as Def Comedy Jam, A Haunted House, the wedding ringer, or in the flow. But Shannon only knew Affion from conversations they had on social media before they sat down to talk for the first time during this episode. This conversation reminded Shannon of this passage from her book Be Water, My Friend, "In order to engage with what is happening openly, we have to be able to be fully honest and fully sincere with ourselves. We have to approach every experience head on without prejudice. If you can be fully present and honest about your experience you can begin to truly research it." Hope you enjoy this genuine discussion about life, therapy, flow, creativity, and keeping it simple with Affion Crockett. Check out Affion's work here: @affioncrockett on IG, FB, T Subscribe to Affion's YouTube channel oskamill Affion Crockett: Mirror II Society Nov 1, 2020 on Peacock

FINALLY! A new season of the Bruce Lee Podcast drops OCTOBER 15th! What's new? This season, I engage in conversations with special guests from all walks of life about their approach to living life fluidly and the wisdom they have gained along the way. In celebration of the publication of my book Be Water, My Friend and 80 years of Bruce Lee awesomeness, I continue to share my dad's philosophies as my guests and I dive deep into the challenges and joys of being human and the best practices for living a fulfilling life. Check out this brief teaser for season 2 and thanks for your patience everyone! I can't wait to share these conversations with you! xShannon For updates and to listen to other episodes of the Bruce Lee Podcast visit: BruceLee.com/podcast #BruceLee #WWBLD #BruceLeePodcast

New Episode! This is a special quarantine edition podcast episode from Shannon Lee. Originally a video, it can be found on our Bruce Lee youtube channel. Shannon made this "What Would Bruce Lee Do?" video as a way to be helpful in this time we find ourselves in during the Covid-19 Pandemic. She set up an email address at [email protected] (What Would Bruce Lee Do?) and asked her followers on her Instagram to submit questions. After answering questions in her video, Shannon wanted to share it as a special podcast episode for all the podcast listeners too. She hopes that this episode is useful and that her father's words are comforting and inspiring during this time. We hope that everyone is healthy and safe wherever you are. For our show notes and to listen to other episodes of the Bruce Lee Podcast visit: BruceLee.com/podcast #BruceLee #WWBLD #BruceLeePodcast

In this special episode Shannon and Sharon respond to questions from listeners wondering "What Would Bruce Lee Do?" With a mixture of Bruce Lee philosophy and personal experiences, Shannon and Sharon discuss choosing career paths, clarifying Bruce Lee's philosophy on goals, how to share spiritual experiences, and seeking validation from those you admire. This is an applied philosophy podcast and these listener questions are real life examples of when we can apply Bruce Lee's philosophy to our lives. Hopefully these listener questions and Shannon and Sharon's responses are helpful to all of our listeners, especially when they wonder, "What Would Bruce Lee Do?" Go to our show notes to read the full notes of listener questions and responses from Shannon and Sharon: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

The "On Guard" position is what Bruce Lee called his resting stance in JKD. This is the optimal stance from which movement can initiate. The On Guard stance can be used as a metaphor for having the proper stance and orientation in life. With this stance you are poised to initiate movement in your life. Bruce's On Guard stance was a strong side forward stance. For Bruce, he wanted his strongest weapon out front. His stance was a natural step apart and his rear heel was lifted like a "coiled snake, ready to spring." "The on-guard position is that position most favorable to the mechanical execution of all the total techniques and skills. It allows complete relaxation, yet, at the same time, gives a muscle the tension most favorable to quick reaction time. The on-guard position must, above all, be a 'proper spiritual attitude' stance." Bruce believed that this position was the most favorable for the execution of action. What is the stance for you that gives you a feeling of centeredness, knowingness, and confidence, that would allow you to move through your life with the most ease and power? The way that we stand and move about physically in this world projects and broadcasts our ideas and spiritual mindsets. Our body is an expression of our spirit. The on guard position is, "A simple and effective organization of oneself mentally and physically." What would it take for you to be organized in your mind and your body so that you can move through your life most easily? "Balance is the most important consideration in the on guard position." "The position adopted should be the one found to give maximum ease and relaxation, combined with smoothness of movement at all times." It takes a lot of self-work, self-discovery, and practice to understand what your effective ready position is and how you operate best. "Proper posture is a matter of effective interior organization of the body which can be achieved only by long and well-disciplined practice." It does not matter how well polished your performance is on the outside, if you are not in harmony and balance with the spirit inside then you will become depleted and break down. It takes a lot of effort to keep up a performance. "Fundamental positioning is the foundation." What is your foundation? Where is your set point from where you start and stop? You can start by examining how you begin and end your days. "Practice instantaneous explosion from neutrality and retain neutrality in commitment, all into one constant smooth flow." "Practice constantly to apply ALL tools from the on-guard position and return to the on-guard position with all possible rapidity. Shorten the gap time between position and execution more and more. Ease, speed, relay." It is impossible to always be in a state of neutrality in whatever we encounter in life, there will be times where circumstances knock us out of our neutral zone or we are required to have fast action. But it is how quickly we can return to our neutral foundation that is important, and then we can reflect on what happened with more clarity. If it takes you a long time to return to your foundation then that is important information to have about yourself. "Do not be tense, but ready; not thinking, but not dreaming; not being set, but flexible. It is being wholly and quietly alive, aware, and alert; ready for whatever may come." Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

We return to Bruce Lee's Library to examine another book that greatly influenced Bruce Lee's philosophy. Bruce would underline and annotate his books, and would journal about them creating his own version of a book report after reading. In his volume of Zen in Japanese Art, A Spiritual Experience by Toshimitsu Hasumi, Bruce highlighted passages, made notes throughout, and wrote a long note at the beginning of the book. This book, Zen in Japanese Art, A Spiritual Experience by Toshimitsu Hasumi, is about the notion that Japanese Art, or Zen in Japanese art, is a spiritual experience that is connected to nature, the Tao, the artist, and the viewer of the art. There is a spiritual essence woven within the art so that through the simple nature of the art much more can be felt. The first excerpt that Bruce Lee highlighted in this book is: "Art is the form-language of the human soul." For the full podcast notes and excerpts from the book go to: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

What does it mean to be healthy in our mind, body, and spirit? Health is not limited to our physical wellbeing, but encompasses our mind, body, and spirit. In order to get to optimal health, we have to be willing to look at the unhealthy parts of ourselves. Bruce Lee pursued not just his physical health, but also his mental and spiritual health. "Health is an appropriate balance of the coordination of all of what we are. A healthy person has both a good orientation (sensoric system) and ability to act (motoric system). So if there is no balance between sensing and doing, then you are out of gear." We all experience the issue where we know in our heads what we should be doing for our health, but avoid acting on it because it is hard or inconvenient. "Just as the maintaining of good health may require the taking of unpleasant medicine, so the condition of being able to do the things we enjoy often requires the performance of a few we don't. Remember, my friend, it is not what happens that counts; it is how you react to them. Your mental attitude determines what you make of it, either a stepping stone or a stumbling block." We can complain about the tasks that we do not enjoy, but we enjoy the results. Such as not wanting to do laundry, but enjoying having clean clothes, or not wanting to go to the gym, but wanting to be more physically fit. In order to maintain good health, where good health is the health of the soul, it is going to require us complete the tasks which stepping-stones towards the bigger picture of what we want. The aesthetics of physical health are heavily influenced by our society, but even though those ideals are what we think health looks like, if it is not total wellbeing of mind, body, and spirit it is not true health. It is important to take stock of how we feel physically, mentally, and spiritually on our health journeys. Be sure to ask yourself, "What is healthy for me?" Find out what works for your individual health instead of following along with what everyone else is doing. Pay attention to what your body is telling you because it will tell you what it needs. Do not listen to just what your mouth craves, but what your whole being needs. Full Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

"Don't think, FEEL." This line comes from a scene in Enter the Dragon where Bruce Lee is instructing a student. He tells the student to throw a kick, the student kicks, and Bruce says, "What was that? What is this an Exhibition? You need emotional content." The student kicks again and Bruce says, "I said emotional content not anger! Try again, but this time with me. Don't think FEEL." When Bruce Lee says, "Don't think," he means, "Get out of your head." When he says, "FEEL," he means really feel into the situation and sense what is happening here. When you are kicking you are kicking a person who is present, you are not trying to perform the perfect kick. That is what Bruce was saying when instructing the student to, "Don't think, FEEL." Often we are not fully present because we are instead trying to categorize, calculate, and think of the next five steps, or the situation is uncomfortable so we mentally checkout. When you "Don't think, FEEL," you are turning your body into a sensing organism. What you are feeling in that moment becomes useful information about yourself. When you are not focused just on your emotions, but are sensing with your whole body, you are more open to the use of your intuition. "Don't think – FEEL. Feeling exists here and now when not interrupted and dissected by ideas and concepts. The moment we stop analyzing and let go, we can start really seeing, feeling – as one whole. There is no actor or the one being acted upon but the action itself. I stayed with my feeling then – and I felt it to the full without naming it that. At last, the I and the feeling merged to become one. The I no longer feels the self to be separated from the you, and the whole idea of taking advantage of getting something out of something becomes absurd. To me, I have no other self (not to mention thought) that the oneness of things of which I was aware at the moment." Bruce Lee is saying in this quote that if we feel what is happening in the now, and we do not over analyze it and we stay present, then we can truly feel the whole of the experience. Then, we feel the whole experience instead of segmenting the parts of the experience we want to analyze. If we can do this without judgment, then what we are feeling and experiencing becomes one thing. We are no longer separate from what is happening around us because we are fully present in the experience. "Freedom requires great sensitivity." To actualize yourself, to truly know yourself, you have to feel yourself. "It is futility the maintaining of a façade to act in one way on the surface when actually experiencing something quite different inside. Being one's self leads to real relationships and acceptance of self leads to change." In our current culture, we often have an automated response when someone asks us how we are or how we are feeling. We will say that we are "fine," "okay," or "good", even when we are not any of those things. We hide our true feelings behind a façade of niceties because it is easier. It is harder to fake it when we are asked if we are truly "fine," and by diving deeper we can have a more meaningful exchange and conversation, which can be very nourishing. "We do not analyze, we integrate." In order to integrate, we have to let in the information and experience. If we analyze, then we are keeping the experience at a distance. Thinking is linear and feeling is expansive. A whole universe opens up when you feel into experiences. Feeling into something does not mean that you are hanging out in an exposed, vulnerable space, but instead it can help you decide how to navigate different situations. Emotions are clues to things we need to examine more closely. "To express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, is very hard to do." Full Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Taking action, the physical act of "doing" can be like salve to the soul. It can be a tool, a medicine, a cure, something that actually leads us on a path to healing and what we want to accomplish in our lives. If we get caught up in our thinking and thoughts it can be paralyzing. In order to free ourselves from that paralysis we have to take action and do something. A simple example is just to get up and move your body. If your body is feeling stiff, get up and stretch, go for a walk, and by moving your body will feel better. The actions can be small actions; they do not have to be big actions. Bruce Lee was a philosopher and he wrote a lot about his thoughts and how he thought that life should be lived. He did more than just write; he put his theories into practice and lived his philosophies. Bruce Lee was a normal person who lived his own philosophies and became a globally loved icon. "Action is a high road to confidence and self-esteem. Its rewards are tangible. The cultivation of the spirit is elusive and difficult and the tendency toward it is rarely spontaneous, whereas, the opportunities for action are many." When you put your mind to it, and you accomplish what you need to, it is empowering and boosts our self-esteem and confidence. In order to accomplish anything you have to take action. We must take conscious action. "Only actions give to life its strength." "The doer alone learns." "Action is our relationship to everything. Action is not a matter of right or wrong. It is only when action is partial that there is a right and wrong." When you only halfway do something, you do not learn anything and it does not help you grow. The quality of your action is important, even if it is small. "To be balanced is to be more or less at rest. Action, then, is the art or method of unbalancing toward keeping oneself striving and growing." "I've always been buffeted by circumstance because I thought of myself as a human being (affected by) outside conditioning. Now I realize that I am the power that commands the feeling of my mind and from which circumstances grow." Many times we feel as if we cannot take action because of how it affects others or outside influences have too much hold on us. Bruce Lee is saying that it is ourselves who hold the power, affects how we feel, and it is us as an individual who chooses the direction we want to go. "Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." "When actions are directly related to the problem of life and death, recollection and anticipation must be relinquished for the sake of fluidity of thought and lightening rapidity of action!" Full Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

"Using no way as way; having no limitation as limitation." The idea of being limitless was a core tenet of Bruce Lee's approach to his art and his life. He lived the philosophy of being limitless and took action. The idea of being limitless is a mindset and a sense of freedom within one's own life; it does not mean that you have no boundaries or that you are negligible of your environment or others around you. Being limitless is the ability to make the decision to be and do anything that is centered in your heart and in harmony with you and the world. You do not have to ask for permission or get approval from any outside institution, person, or society. Most of our excuses or rationalizations for why we cannot do something is us giving voice to a fear we have about it. Sometimes we limit ourselves because we fear criticism. It is inevitable that we will receive criticism when we follow our hearts, and that can be really hard, but it is important to stay true to our hearts. "Limitless means infinite mobility." When Bruce says, "Having no limitation as limitation," he is talking about the limitations that we put on ourselves. When we do not put ourselves in a box then we can move in any direction. Being limitless is to have infinite mobility, not that you have no path or direction. Being limitless means you have the freedom to pursue any direction to create your life in the way that is the best and most enjoyable for you. We do not have to limit ourselves to one pursuit in life. If we follow Bruce Lee's example then we can pursue many different interests and be an Artist of Life. Being limitless is to never feel trapped. "Be a practical dreamer backed by action." Dream something that is achievable, and then go for it. In order to be limitless you have to be present. You have to be present in your thoughts, feelings, and environment so that you can be infinitely mobile and take action. "If you are in the now, you are creative. If you are in the now, you are inventive." "Unlimited living is turned into something dead for the sake of security. Pattern = limit. One ought to throw away all ideals, patterns, styles and throw away any concepts about what is ideal. Can you look at a situation without naming it? Naming it causes fear." We must be willing to examine things in the present moment. If the path is not working for you give yourself permission to turnaround from it and find a different route. Being limitless is skillfully and thoughtfully following your enthusiasm in your life. "The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement. To spend your time sitting in what might be." You do not learn anything in the avoidance of difficult situations or choices. "It is indeed difficult to see a situation simply. Our minds are very complex." We want to complicate everything. We want to think of every possible way and outcome and this can carry us away from the center of what we want to do. When living limitless, we have to be present, and not judge with our preconceived notions, so that we have the freedom to consider that there might be a path to take we would not normally consider. "To bring the mind into sharp focus and to make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere, the mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought process, and even ordinary thought itself." "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. Preformations 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 is not, I cannot tell you what it is. That, my friend, you have to find out all by yourself." "Create immediately and atmosphere of freedom so that you can live and find out for yourself what is true, so that you are able to face the world with the ability to understand it, not just conform to it. One can tell for oneself whether the water is warm or cold. In the same way, a man must convince himself about these experiences, only then are they real." "A mind that has no dwelling continues to flow ceaselessly and ignores our limitations and our distinctions. Do not localize the mind anywhere but let it fill up the whole body; let if low freely throughout the totality of your being." Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Happy New Year! To kick off 2019, Shannon and Sharon wanted to share their goals for the New Year and have a discussion surrounding creating goals, working towards them and maintaining momentum. When creating and pursuing goals it is important to have awareness, intention, clarity, and the will to take action. Bruce Lee was a man with many goals. He had big, visionary life goals and he also had smaller daily goals. Bruce believed that goals often just serve as a target and that the important thing about goals is that they give you something to work toward, but not to lock you down if something is not working. Goals are as big as you want them to be to facilitate your dreaming, but it should not overwhelm you or make you feel trapped in any way, you should have freedom to pivot if needed. Bruce had the big goal to share the beauty of his art and culture with the world. Initially, his path to this goal was to open martial arts schools all across the US, but this shifted as Bruce learned how he liked to teach, how to reach a broader audience and the logistics of actually running multiple martial arts studios. His path to sharing his art and culture with the world shifted to sharing through Hollywood movies. Bruce ended up having to go to Hong Kong to get Hollywood to notice him, but he finally succeeded. His big goal did not change, just the path to his goal changed. "The spiritual power of man's will removes all obstacles." –Bruce Lee "Know what you want. I know my idea is right, and, therefore, the results would be satisfactory. I don't really worry about the reward, but to set in motion the machinery to achieve it. My contribution will be the measure of my reward and success. When you drop a pebble into a pool of water, the pebble starts a series of ripples that expand until they encompass the whole pool. This is exactly what will happen when I give my ideas a definite plan of action." – Bruce Lee Shannon's 2019 Goals: Finish writing her book "Be Water, My Friend." Execute in a full and complete way personal creative projects on an ongoing basis Change the way her business functions and grows Sharon's 2019 Goals: Optimum physical health. Creative Play. Get back to her own writing and writing whatever wants to be written. "The doer alone learns." – Bruce Lee What are your 2019 goals? We would love to hear from you! Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Thank you to all of our listeners for a wonderful year! In this episode Shannon and Sharon reflect on the lessons that they have learned in the past year. We want to encourage all of you to look back on the year and notice your progress. It is important to not only look forward, but to reflect on what we have learned. The end of a year is a good marker to reflect back on the progress we have made and we wanted to share the lessons we have learned over the past year with all of you. Bruce Lee was big on learning: constant discovery, self-knowledge, growth, maximizing one's potential, and self-actualizing. Bruce Lee was conscious and optimistic about continuing his own evolution. "Learning is discovery, the discovery of the cause of our ignorance. However, the best way of learning is not the computation of information. Learning is discovering, uncovering what is there in us. When we discover, we are uncovering our own ability, our own eyes, in order to find our potential, to see what is going on, to discover how we can enlarge our lives, to find means at our disposal that will let us cope with a difficult situation. And all this, I maintain, is taking place in the here and now." Sharon had some podcast episodes this year that really resonated with her, the first being "#99 Someone Real." She has found herself returning to the concept of "being real" repeatedly throughout this year. Not everyone responded well to realness, but the ones that did were those closest to her, her husband, her kids, and close friends. She found that she was craving more of the "real." Bruce Lee sought realness and wanted to be someone real. This realness is the reason that he is so engaging and that we are still talking about him all these years later. Shannon had a lot of learnings this past year around solid personal safety and self-love. She had realizations about feeling safe in herself and feeling grounded and centered in who she is; and then being able to go forth into the world as herself entirely. Sharon found that the episode "#119 The Nature of Water" struck home with her. She has always had a strong spiritual connection to water, and this is one of the Bruce Lee philosophies she uses constantly. Sharon has found that any time she is in a sticky, challenging situation, she can always throw water on it. The water philosophy can come into any situation and always show a way through it. One of Shannon's big learnings for the year has been about consistent forward motion. Like her father's philosophy surrounding the flow of water, Shannon has been cognizant of having less points of stagnation in her flow. She found that taking a rest was good at times, but when she finds herself going in circles, she has to take a step in any direction to get the forward motion she needs. Rest and Flow, rest and flow, has become a good rhythm for Shannon that has resulted in more productivity and forward motion. Sharon's third lesson came from the episode "#120 Letter to Pearl." She had read this letter many times before, but when they did this episode Sharon felt a strong resonance with the section where Bruce described his spiritual realization of how he has a vital spiritual force within him. Sharon has felt this vital spiritual force build within her throughout this year. Shannon's third lesson for this past year was to hear her intuition as her own voice. Ideas and thoughts would pop into head and she would discount them because they came to her in her own voice. This past year Shannon as been working on hearing that intuitive voice instead of ignoring it. "Daily discovery and understanding is the process of growth and learning. I am happy because I am growing daily and honestly don't know where my ultimate limit lies. To be certain, every day there can be a revelation or a new discovery that I can obtain." Full Notes and links to other episodes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

This week we share wisdom from our podcast listeners. We've selected a few stories to share about how listeners have incorporated Bruce Lee's philosophy into their everyday lives and the impact that the philosophy has had on them. Thank you to all of our listeners who write to us sharing the impact that Bruce Lee and this podcast has had on their lives! We love reading how you all are living your lives fully and authentically. We wanted to share these pieces of listener wisdom because they are all interpreting Bruce Lee's philosophy for themselves and using their own words. These pieces of wisdom resonated with us so we hope they resonate with you too. It is awesome and amazing that you all are taking the Bruce Lee's philosophies and creating your own recipes for life. Thank you all for listening and working with these philosophies in your own lives. Please continue to share your stories with us! Go to our show notes at brucelee.com/podcast to read the listener wisdom shared in this episode. Full Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

"The autonomous individual is only stable so long as he possessed of self-esteem. The maintenance of self-esteem is a continuous task which taxes all of the individual's power and inner resources. We have to prove our worth and justify our existence anew each day. When, for whatever reason, self-esteem is unattainable, the autonomous individual becomes a highly explosive entity. He turns away from an unpromising self and plunges into the pursuit of pride, the explosive substitute for self-esteem. All social disturbances and upheavals have their roots in crises of self-esteem, and the great endeavor in which the masses most readily unite is basically a search for pride." Bruce Lee had a lot of thoughts around the notion of self-worth and self-esteem. (Many of these quote and thoughts are from The Passionate State of Mind by Eric Hoffer.) Join Shannon & Sharon as they dive into self-esteem, taking action, and feeling worthy. Find our full show notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Disclaimer: Some of the language in this episode includes profanity In this episode Shannon and Sharon were joined on the podcast by special guest Mike Vallely. Mike Vallely is a professional skateboarder, owner of Street Plant, musician, actor, tv personality, stuntman, professional wrestler, and FHL hockey player. Mike shares with us his philosophy on skating, how he first encountered Bruce Lee at flea markets, what it was like growing up as a skater in 1980s New Jersey, and how he first started his family-run company Street Plant. Mike Vallely became obsessed with skateboarding when he was 14. He began skating by borrowing friends' boards, but finally got his own board for Christmas that year. From there he skated obsessively, even sneaking out at night to go skating. By 1986, Mike had an amateur sponsorship deal with Powell-Peralta Skateboards and his picture was in skateboard magazine Thrasher. After winning the amateur division in the 1986 "Street Attack" contest in Oceanside, CA, Mike Vallely was featured in a full-page spread in Transworld Skateboarding's September issue. Mike Vallely became a professional skater in May 1987 at age 16. Since becoming a professional skateboarder, Mike Vallely rode for many different skate companies and started many of his own companies. He also played in different bands over the years, most recently performing as Black Flag's lead singer. In 2010, Mike Vallely joined the Federal Hockey League as a professional hockey player. It was in 2015 when Mike started Street Plant with his family. Much of Mike Valley's philosophy on skateboarding is aligned with Bruce Lee's philosophy on martial arts. Both felt a need to portray their craft in a positive light and help others understand it better. It is this alignment of philosophies that led to collaboration between Street Plant and the Bruce Lee Family Company. Street Plant and the Bruce Lee Family Company teamed up to create a few different skateboard designs, and they're now available online at StreetPlantBrand.com. Check out this episode and others at BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Bruce Lee referred to the separateness of all the martial arts styles as a "Fancy Mess" or "Organized Despair." This included the blind devotion of martial arts students who lacked a real sense of individual and personal investigation and growth. Bruce Lee created his own art of Jeet Kune Do which he called the "style of no style." He was really interested, both combatively and philosophically, in researching one's own experience and creating what works for you as an individual. Bruce had his own ideas about his own techniques, what worked best and what had efficiency and simplicity when it came to fighting. He passed these ideas along to his students, but he was open to the idea that these ideas could be tested and changed depending on who you were as an individual. "A Fancy Mess" refers to the rigidity of certain styles of martial arts which require memorization and regurgitation without any deviation from the style. These different styles were often in competition with each other over which was the best. Bruce was against this form of competition and the rigidity of this thinking. "In the long history of martial arts, the instinct to follow and imitate seems to be inherent in martial artists, instructors and students alike. This is partly due to human tendency and partly because of the steep traditions behind multiple patterns of styles. Consequently, to find a refreshing, original master teacher is a rarity. The need for a 'pointer of the way' echoes." Everyone has to start with a style when they are just beginning their studies and it is natural for students to imitate the styles of their teachers as they learn. Bruce himself started by learning a style of martial arts called wing chun gung fu under renowned master Yip Man. However, Bruce believed that once you learn the basics you need to transcend to the next level instead of staying stuck in the routine. As a teacher, Bruce believed his function was to be a pointer of the way and not just hand down knowledge. With martial arts, teachers would be positioned as gurus with followers. These master teachers had a lot of expertise and knowledge and the people who followed them became blind devotees. This can make people very unaccepting of other ideas because anything outside of their system was deemed "wrong." "Each man belongs to a style which claims to possess truth to the exclusion of all other styles. These styles become institutes with their explanations of the "Way," dissecting and isolating the harmony of firmness and gentleness, establishing rhythmic forms as the particular state of techniques." These institutions provide safety, assurance, credibility and status, which all feel good when you are just a beginner and unsure about yourself. That feeling of belonging can feel so good that you shut down your curiosity and become blindly loyal. There is nothing wrong with being part of a group or having skill in a particular style. It only becomes an issue when it starts to create discord between yourself and other people. "Instead of facing combat in its suchness, then, most systems of martial art accumulate a "fancy mess" that distorts and cramps their practitioners and distracts them from the actual reality of combat, which is simple direct. Instead of going immediately to the heart of things, flowery forms (organized despair) and artificial techniques are ritualistically practiced to simulate actual combat. This, instead of "being" in combat these practitioners are "doing" something "about" combat." Full Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

In this episode Shannon and Sharon sit down with Doug Palmer, a student of and close friend to Bruce Lee. Doug shares with us personal stories and anecdotes about his friendship with Bruce, including how they spent a summer in Hong Kong together and went on double dates when they both still lived in Seattle. Doug first met Bruce Lee when he was in high school in Seattle during the summer of 1961. He first saw Bruce perform a demonstration at a Chinese cultural event in Seattle's Chinatown and then met him later at a Japanese community festival. Doug was fascinated by gung fu and asked Bruce if he could study with him, and Bruce told him to come to the next class, and if he was still interested after the class they could talk. From there their friendship grew. Bruce Lee became Doug's teacher and friend, having a lasting effect on Doug's life. Go to brucelee.com/podcast to see our show notes. Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

In this episode, we continue our discussion of Bruce Lee's cards he wrote to his friend and first assistant instructor Taky Kimura. In these cards to Taky, Bruce lays out these principles on how to be a Gung Fu man and how to own and operate a school in the best way without Bruce being there himself. In Part 1 we talked about self-cultivation, no-mind, no-thought, and following nature. Listen to #123 A Gung Fu Man: Part 1 at brucelee.com/podcast. Read Part 2 of the Taky Kimura letter at Brucelee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

In this episode we discuss some cards that Bruce Lee sent in 1964 to his best friend Taky Kimura. Taky was Bruce's best friend, he was the best man in Bruce and Linda's wedding, and Taky was Bruce's first assistant instructor in Bruce Lee's first school in Seattle at the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute. In 1964, Bruce Lee left Seattle and moved to Oakland to open a second school with James Lee. When Bruce moved he wrote these cards and gave them to Taky, who was now going to run the school in Seattle, as a way to prepare Taky to step into the role of teacher and to be a Gung Fu Man. An excerpt from the cards: "Self-Cultivation The point where to rest being known, the object of pursuit is then determined; and, that being determined, a calm unperturbedness may be attained too. To that calmness there will succeed a tranquil repose. In that repose there may be careful deliberation, and that deliberation will be followed by the attainment of the desired end." Read Part 1 of the Taky Kimura letter at Brucelee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Bruce Lee's The Tao of Jeet Kune Do was published posthumously in 1976 and the very first section is titled "On Zen." While the Tao of Jeet Kune Do is an instructional book, it is not structured that way as it begins and ends with sections on philosophy. This chapter "On Zen" was made the first section of the Tao because it is supposed to orient the practitioner to this mindset and also to infuse the practitioner with the importance of the philosophical approach to the art and not just the physical. This chapter orients the reader into having the right intention going into this practice. Like how the Be Water quote begins with "Empty your mind," the chapter "On Zen" orients the reader in a similar way. Zen has become slang for feeling peaceful and relaxed, or anything with an Asian aesthetic. In modern culture, zen has developed an insubstantial meaning. However, zen is a very substantial practice. For the Japanese Buddhist monks who practice zazen, which is the practice of sitting meditation, zen is a very deep and meaningful practice. "The oneness of all life is a truth that can be fully realized only when false notions of a separate self, whose destiny can be considered apart from the whole, are forever annihilated." - Bruce Lee Notes: BruceLee.com/podcast Check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

Bruce Lee had a giant library and read voraciously. He would annotate his books, and it's evident that these books helped influence his philosophies and approach to living life. We think it's important to share these books because they help illuminate the process of Bruce Lee becoming himself and how he used the insights gained from his reading and molded them to fit himself. In this episode we return to the Bruce Lee Library to discuss his annotations of the book, Great Ideas from the Great Books by Dr. Mortimer J. Adler, Director for Philosophical Research, Answers drawn from the wisdom of the past to the problems about which we are most concerned in the world today. Bruce Lee was a philosophy major in college, so it makes sense that he was in exploration of all the great philosophers in the world. He had a wonderful harmony of Eastern philosophy and Western philosophy. Check out our full show notes at Brucelee.com/podcast to see what Bruce Lee annotated in this book. Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast & check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

This episode features a letter that Bruce Lee wrote to his good family friend Pearl Tso when he was 21. Pearl was around Bruce's age, and her mother was Bruce's favorite auntie who was a mentor and good friend to him. Bruce wrote this letter after he had left Hong Kong and had been living in the United States for around three years. The reason we have this letter is because Bruce Lee liked to present a beautiful finished product and would create drafts of letters. This version of the letter that we have has cross-outs, corrections, and edited notes. After his practice draft, Bruce would write out a finished letter in his beautiful handwriting on nice paper. This letter is phenomenal and packed with a lot of Bruce Lee's ideas and philosophies. Bruce talks about his dreams, his practical approaches to these dreams, and his measure of success for himself. He sat down and thoughtfully expressed himself through this letter to his dear friend. We are lucky and thankful to have this letter because in the digital age the writing process would have been different and we would not have had a rough draft of this letter to Pearl. In our show notes at BruceLee.com/Podcast is the transcript of the letter as well as images from the original draft from the Bruce Lee Archive. Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast & check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Follow us @Brucelee & write us at [email protected]

"Be water, my friend." This is one of Bruce Lee's most famous quotes, but how did the idea first come to Bruce? In this episode we share and discuss an essay that Bruce wrote around his epiphany on the nature of water. When Bruce first had his epiphany on water he was 18 and this essay is him reflecting back on that time. When Bruce was 18, he had been studying wing chun gung fu with his sifu Yip Man for about four years. Being a teenager, Bruce was filled a fiery dragon energy, and was set on beating his opponents. During his training his teacher Yip Man continually tried to get Bruce to be more in tune with nature and his opponent instead of being so concentrated on winning. It was not until a solitary boat ride that Bruce's connection to nature was realized. Bruce's epiphany on the nature of water shifted his perspective forever on both gung fu and life. Read the full essay at 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 [email protected]

This week we have one of our favorite guests back on the show, Shannon's mom, Linda Lee Cadwell! Linda joins Shannon and Sharon to talk about the making of Enter the Dragon. With rare insights into Bruce Lee's process and experience on the set of Enter the Dragon, Linda shares behind the scenes stories, discusses how important this movie was to Bruce Lee, and talks about the lasting impact Enter the Dragon has had in action films. It is always wonderful having Linda on the Bruce Lee Podcast, and we are grateful every time she can join us for an episode. Thank you Linda for sharing these behind the scenes stories on the making of Enter the Dragon! We'd love to hear from you! Please write to us at [email protected] 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!

"Thinking is rehearsing in fantasy for the role you have to play to society. And when it comes to the moment of performance, and you're not sure whether your performance will be well received, then you get stage fright. This stage fright has been given by psychiatry the name "anxiety". "What will I have to say on the examination?" "What will I say in my lecture?" You meet a girl and you think, "What will I wear to impress her?" And so on. All this rehearsing for the role you play." Anxiety has become a part of our culture and it can cause us to reach an impasse in our lives. What is The Impasse? What roles are we rehearsing? Are we living in the moment? In this week's episode Shannon and Sharon discuss Bruce Lee's essay on "The Impasse." 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 [email protected]

"The ego boundary is the differentiation between the self and the other. It is not a fixed thing. If it is fixed, then is becomes a character or an armor like the shell of a turtle. The two phenomena of the ego boundary are identification and alienation. Inside the ego boundary, there is generally cohesion, love, cooperation; outside the ego boundary there is suspicion, strangeness, unfamiliarity." – Bruce Lee Join Shannon and Sharon as they discuss the ego boundary and the polarity between inside the boundary and outside the boundary. How are we denying parts of ourselves? Why is it bad to ignore our dissatisfaction? Explore all this and more in this episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast. 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 [email protected]

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 [email protected] vpfw9ttm

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 [email protected]

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 gu

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

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 [email protected]

"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 [email protected]

"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 [email protected]

"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 [email protected] 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!