Bruce Lee Podcast

"The void may be said to have two aspects: It simply is what it is. It is realized; it is aware of itself. And to speak improperly, this awareness is "in us," or better, we are "in it."" Void = Nothingess = Emptiness = The Origin of Things = Tao The first form of the Void where 'it simply is what it is,' is to cultivate an acceptance of reality as it is; to engage in simplicity and everyday mind; to simply be with acceptance and without force. The second form of the Void is aware of itself – this is a more developed sense of emptiness, an emptiness where we are "of it" or "we are it." Join Shannon and Sharon as they discuss the practice of finding your path, knowing yourself, and freeing yourself. We'd love to hear from you! 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!

This episode is a follow up to episode #87 Becoming a Warrior. In this episode, we revisit what it is to Become a Warrior, Shannon shares her progress on Becoming a Warrior, discusses different self-experiments she's trying, and what it's like to develop your own warrior code. "The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus." We would love to hear about your path to becoming a true warrior! If you would like to share your own stories about your path to becoming a true warrior 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!

This week we have a special episode where Shannon and Sharon share wisdom from Bruce Lee Podcast listeners. We asked for our listeners to share their #BruceLeeMoments and we've gotten emails from around the world! Shannon and Sharon love reading the stories about how Bruce Lee has affected so many people's lives. It is wonderful when listeners share their wisdom and insights they've gained from listening to the Bruce Lee Podcast. By implementing Bruce Lee's philosophy into their lives, people are staying present, being in flow, and living life authentically. Thank you to all of our listeners for sharing your wisdoms and insights! We appreciate you and support you in your journey towards self-actualization. Be water, my friend. Go to our show notes to read in full the wisdom and insights shared in this episode. Full notes at BruceLee.com/podcast Have a #BruceLeeMoment or insight you've gained from listening to the podcast? 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!

"Fluidity of mind – the moon in the stream – where it is at once movable and immovable." Your mind is the moon and all the thoughts and awareness that move through it is the stream. The goal is to cultivate a mind that is both still, but also able to move and take in everything at the same time. Bruce Lee thought that the mind was endowed with infinite mobility. "The mind itself is endowed with infinite mobilities that know no hindrances." Bruce had a story about the many-armed Kwan Yin. All of her arms are holding and doing different things, and if she stops to think about what one arm is doing then all of her arms stop. This is because she is no longer in flow as she has drawn back to question if she can operate all of these things at once. This is the idea of the moon and the stream, as applied to our mind. We can take in all manner of input and still have a point of view. "Moving and yet not moving, in tension and yet relaxed, seeing everything that is going on and yet not at all anxious about the way it may turn, with nothing purposely designed, nothing consciously calculated, no anticipation, no expectation – in short, standing innocently like a baby and yet with all the cunning of the keenest intelligence of a fully matured mind." The mind is easily distracted because it loved to analyze. Bruce believed that the native structure of the mind is fluidity. We are born with minds that sense and take it all in. It is through our experiences and input that we can start to shut down and fixate on certain experiences getting stuck in a mental loop. "The delusional mind is the mind intellectually and effectively burdened. It thus cannot move on from one move to another without stopping and reflecting on itself, and this obstructs its native fluidity – its creativity." "The wheel revolves when it is not too tightly attached to the axle. When the mind is tied up, it feels inhibited in every move it makes, and nothing will be accomplished with any sense of spontaneity. Not only that, the work itself will be of poor quality or may never be finished." When the mind is too bound up, we become paralyzed. Fear is a distraction that can block up our mind and paralyze us. We replay experiences repeatedly and get trapped in this loop. We have to let go of these replays, no matter how difficult it is. "Recollection and anticipation are fine qualities of consciousness; they are useful and serve their purposes, but when actions are directly related to the problem of life and death, recollection and anticipation must be given up so that they will not interfere with the fluidity of mentation and the lightning rapidity of action." When we have fluidity of mind, the mind is infinitely mobile and creative. Sometimes we get caught up in the fear that pain in life will last forever and crush us, but life does not stay fixed, it flows forward. Life moves all the time, the bad things move and the good things move. You must make the bad decisions so you can get the experience to make good decisions. If you have a fluid mind, it is easier to traverse rough terrain. Much of the pain we feel is due to resistance and bracing for the worst. All of the difficult experiences in your life are to help you practice the Moon and the Stream. Peacefulness is does not mean that nothing bad never happens, but instead peacefulness is letting bad things flow through you instead of creating blockage or a whirlpool of emotion inside you. "It is the ego that stands rigidly against things coming from the outside. It is this "ego rigidity" that makes it impossible for us to be fluid and accepting." Do not beat yourself up if you have a hard time being fluid in a situation; know that there will be another time where you can put fluidity into practice. It takes dedicated practice to have a fluid mind. Notice when you have difficulty having fluidity of mind. Notice when you have an insight and put it into practice. "The waters are in motion all the time, but the moon retains its serenity. The mind moves in response to the ten thousand situations but remains ever the same." What are you experiences of the Moon and the Stream? 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!

"An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind. It is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion. An intelligent mind is one which is constantly learning, never concluding – styles and patterns have come to conclusion, therefore they have ceased to be intelligent." Bruce Lee trained his mind as diligently as he trained his body. An intelligent mind is a curious mind that is constantly learning. "Knowledge is the past; learning is the present." In the past, memorizing facts was what was considered intelligent and not everyone had access to educational resources. Now, we have computers, the internet, and smart phones that give us wide access to information, so having an intelligent mind is about how we use that access to information. "Not "what" to think but "how" to think." There are all kinds of intelligence, not just intelligence based on how much you know or how many facts you can recall. "Intelligence is the understanding of self." "Intelligence is sometimes defined as the capacity of the individual to adjust himself successfully to his environment, or to adjust the environment to his needs." The intelligence of understanding yourself is challenging. It requires you to look deeply at both the good and the bad. Sometimes people show a performance of intelligence through eloquent words and fact recall, but have no understanding of their self. These people tend to rely on using other people's words and quotes in everyday conversations, instead of voicing their own thoughts and words. If you are only using other people's words without putting them into practice, then you are living a performance. It is good to use quotes from inspirational people such as Bruce Lee, but you should not use them in a superficial way. "Learning is discovery. The best way of learning is not the computation of information, but discovering and uncovering what there is in us – our own abilities, our own eyes, in order to find our potential." Bruce Lee held the belief that self-education makes a great person and to use your mind instead of being used by your mind. The intelligent mind is the mind that we are using. It is important that your mind and your outward expression be as in line as possible. When the words do not match the actions, there is a feeling of inauthenticity that is felt by you and everyone you are in relationship with. With an intelligent mind it is important to notice and be open to feedback you receive from your environment and relationships. "Life is something for which there is no answer. It must be understood from moment to moment." If you make the shift from a fixed mind to a curious mind, then you can invite discussion instead if shutting down discussion. "A conditioned mind is not a free mind." "Real freedom is the outcome of intelligence." If you are adaptable, if you are always learning and present, then the ability to be more free comes from that. Understanding yourself is difficult because examining your self and looking within can be painful. Use what is going on inside yourself to fuel your curiosity. The study of imperfection can perfectly lead you to a more free existence. If you saw Bruce Lee walk into a room, he was fluid, real, present, and alive in his mind. The intelligent mind is an alive mind, a mind that is actively engaged. "You have to raise your mind up to absolute awareness." Conversing and engaging with new people can be difficult, especially now when we can go on our phones and use that isolated activity as a shield in social situations. Mindfully entering a new space requires awareness and conversing with people in a meaningful way requires being fully present and engaged. "If you learn concepts and information, then you don't understand. You only explain. When a man thinks, he stands off from what he is trying to understand." "Drop and dissolve inner blockage." "A concentrated mind is not an attentive mind, but a mind that is in a state of open awareness can concentrate. We are concerned with the total process of living, and to concentrate exclusively on any particular aspect of life, belittles life." Sometimes a concentrated mind is needed in order to solve a specific problem, but the mistake is to bring the concentrated mind into all situations, instead then you need an attentive mind. You can concentrate and be open and aware of your surroundings at the same time. "The thought of a distracted mind cannot be sincere. Sincere thought means thought of quiet awareness." When your mind is distracted you cannot be fully sincere or fully engaged with what is happening. "What is" is more important than what should be. Too many people are looking at "what is" from a position of thinking "what should be"." Often we become preoccupied with thoughts about what we would like a situation or person to be, and miss what is actually happening or who that person actually is. Let people be who they are, and just ob

"The conformer seldom learns to depend upon himself for expression; rather he faithfully follows a pattern. As time passes, he will probably learn some dead routines and be good according to his set patterns, but he has not come to understand himself." If you follow patterns in life to seek approval and to be "good" you can be shutting down your true essence. This is just going through the motions of living life, and then we do things we do not want to because we are trained to please. In the business and career world, there is a lot of focus on productivity and efficiency. This can create dead patterns that are automatic responses to situations in order to achieve a certain level of efficiency. When we follow dead patterns we miss out on connecting with people. To be a complete human, you show up in the full aliveness of your experience, you show up with the availability of all your attention to engage in an intimate and real way. It can be scary to move away from the prepared pattern and be fully present because you do not know what someone will say or how they will react. This is where all your self-work comes into play. All the work that you have done on knowing yourself, and discovering what you are passionate about, will serve you in these situations. "A live person is not a "dead" product of this or that; he is an individual. And the individual is always more important than the system. Drilling on set patterns and routines will eventually make a person good according to the routine, but only self-awareness and self-expression can lead to truth." It feels safe to have a routine because you know that it works. This routine may work for a while, but eventually you will run into a situation where it will not work because the circumstances have changed while you have not. "Many people derive their techniques and principles from intellectual theories and not from application. He can talk about (and there are some master talkers), but he cannot teach it." Instead of just regurgitating Bruce Lee's quotes, we have to apply his philosophy to our lives. These inspirational quotes make us feel good, but it is important to integrate that lesson into our actual lives, which can be challenging. This requires you to really think about what you say and ask, "Am I walking the walk or just talking the talk?" While it can be challenging at first to live the principles, ultimately it takes less energy to live authentically than to be living a performance. "An excellent guide should be excellent at what he does. And inactive or mediocre guide might be of some help to the mediocre student but he can never truly understand." "Of this I am certain: superior performances will rest in future development and not on existing methods." When Bruce Lee says performances, he means the ability to execute. With future development you have to be open to change, growth, and evolution of oneself. Every time Bruce broke out of a dead routine or a set pattern or an establishment, he would get negative feedback from others, and because he was so grounded that negative feedback did not affect him as much. However, we are not all Bruce Lee, and for most of us we have fear around being exposed and vulnerable to outside criticism. This fear causes a hindrance as we do things in order to avoid that criticism. When you start to feel uncomfortable in a situation or something that you're choosing, is your response to withdraw or explore? "You can employ a systematic approach to training and practicing but never a method of [living]. [Life] is a process, not a goal; a means but not an end; a constant movement rather than an established pattern." Without thinking we can let these productivity systems take us over. The rhythm of our daily life should not feel like a machine. "Mechanical efficiency or manipulatory skill is never as important as inward awareness." It can feel painful to take an honest look inwards, but it is in the looking that you get real information. There is a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. In the fixed mindset we believe that our abilities, talents, and situations are fixed and we cannot have expansion. In the growth mindset we have the openness that anything is possible. The Conformer = Fixed Mindset The Complete Human = Growth Mindset "A true warrior "listens" to circumstances, while a conformer "recites" his circumstances." If you ask a question and a person responds with a canned response that is unspecific, this is them acting as a conformer reciting their circumstances. However, if you ask a question and a person is a complete human and listens, then if they do not know the answer they can answer honestly or help figure out the answer. "As a person matures, he will realize that his skills are not so much tools used to conquer others, but tools used to explode his ego and all its follies. All the practice is to round him up to be a complete man." When you fully engage with life in all its scariness and uncertainty, then y

It's the 100th episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast! For this monumental episode Shannon and Sharon discuss freedom. Freedom, both what it is and how we can work towards it, was very important to Bruce Lee. Within freedom rests peacefulness and harmony, and Bruce wanted to live in harmony. What freedom feels like will be different for everyone because it is based on what makes you personally feel at peace. "Although I can tell you what is not freedom, I cannot tell you what is because that you must discover for yourself." Freedom has to do with the practice of researching your own experience, self-knowledge, understanding oneself, and self-actualizing at a deep level. "Free equals the absence of a feeling of constraint. Different people feel free in different ways, so the question is "how free are you?"" Where are you feeling constraint in your life and how can you examine that? You have to observe what your normally practice without condemning it. Having freedom in its primary sense is to be not limited by attachments, confinements, partialization, complexities. You have to get to a practice of neutrality and observation to move towards freedom. "Freedom is pliability of mind, neutrality of mind, and effortless of mind." Our minds are made for thinking, and sometimes we can be distracted by negative and/or limiting thoughts, so it is important to practice not letting those thoughts bog you down. But also thoughts or ideas can appear in your mind that energize you and you have the freedom to pursue those ideas. It is important to trust your feelings. "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 is the moment we start really seeing and feeling as one whole. Stay with your feeling and feel it to the full without naming it. You and the feeling will merge and become one and there will be no other self than the oneness of that which is the moment." Many times when we feel strong feelings, especially painful feelings of sadness or anger, we have the urge to shut down that feeling. But what does it feel like when we feel that feeling all the way through? When you feel a feeling all the way through, then you can let it go, freeing yourself. Freedom is being fully present, having your body be fully sensing, and knowing yourself well. "Freedom is something that cannot be preconceived. To realize freedom requires a mind capable of immediate perception without the process of graduation, without the idea of an end to be slowly achieved." Sometimes we can disconnect from our bodies to go into our mind. There, we can get stuck and ignore how we feel. This will interrupt your flow. To achieve freedom you must stay in flow, with your mind and body connected. Trust your intuition. "The truth lived and experienced in concrete and existential awareness is what makes us free." "There is no freedom if you are enclosed by self-interest and walls of discipline." When there is too much rigidity or ego there will never be freedom. But if you are disciplined about practicing openness, observation, experimentation, and sensing with your body, will lead you to a path of freedom. Freedom has always been with us. You do not have to go on a great outward journey to find freedom it is within us all. "One must practice freedom in order to understand freedom. Create immediately an atmosphere of freedom so that you can live and find out for yourself what is true, so that you can face the world with the ability to understand it. One can tell for oneself whether the water is warm or cold." Practice freedom: Ask yourself, how free are you? Where do you feel the restraints? Where do you feel confined? See if it is possible to perceive your confinement in any other way. How does practicing freedom feel? Please write to us at [email protected] or tag us on social media @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast

"Somehow, one day, you will hear, "Hey, now that is quality. That is someone REAL." I would like that." We are still drawn to Bruce Lee and his performances are so magnetizing because there is authenticity and energy emanating from him. It was Bruce's ultimate goal that he be known for quality and realness. In order to achieve realness Bruce had to really know himself and not get distracted by performing a fake image or shortcuts in life. It was a big part of Bruce's life work to stay in the realness of himself. It is exhausting to constantly project a false image of yourself. "In life, what can you ask for but to be real; to fulfill your potential instead of wasting energy on actualizing your dissipating image, which is not real and expends your vital energy." In our modern society, social media has made a mass market of projecting an image of our lives. People work to project a perfect image of their lives through their social media even if their reality is different from that. With social media there is a cultural expectation that not only do you need it to create your self-image, but that you don't exist without it. Social media and projecting a curated image of yourself can be intoxicating. Image creation can become addicting when that image receives positive accolades from society. When you expend energy towards image creation you are putting energy towards maintaining an image that is not real, but is a performance or a disguise. We live in a world where people can reach you at any time and there is often no boundary between life and work. It can be hard to take a rest when you are constantly available, but if you take time to properly rest yourself then you will have more energy to devote to your work and life. The cultivation and proper use of your vital energy is an important Bruce Lee lesson. We are not machines, we are real people, and because we are real we need rest and nourishment as a regular part of our daily lives. "The truth is that life is an ever-going process, ever-renewing and it is just meant to be lived, but not lived for." If you are living only for external things it will deplete your energy and you are not truly living life. "To be what I term a "quality" human being, one has to be transparently real and have the courage to be what he is." It takes a lot of courage to be real and vulnerable. There are some people who are on social media being real and vulnerable and are building a community around that because people gravitate towards realness. Social media is a reflection of our society. People are putting on a performance in their jobs and personal lives, no one wants to be the one who "sticks out." "To be what I term a "quality" human being, one has to be transparently real and have the courage to be what he is. Yet most people are doing just the opposite; they engage in a protective daily routine of security (a kind of thumb-sucking)." It can feel safe and comfortable to hide behind a performance. However, you can also feel safe and comfortable in yourself when you know who you are. When you move through the world with realness and authenticity then you know your interactions and relationships are real. "Someone Real has an urge to be honest, to express themselves honestly. You are what you are and self-honesty occupies a definite and vital part in the ever-growing process to become a "real" human being. Someone Real works their ass off and commits to constant learning and discovering. Someone Real takes responsibility to be what he actually is. Someone Real has an instinctive urge for growth and daily expansion of his/her potential. Someone Real participates in "what is" rather than get caught up in "what should be". Someone Real understands the distinction between self-actualization and self-image actualization." "To be Someone Real means to have a burning enthusiasm with the neutrality to choose to be." "Someone Real takes responsibility for one's actions, good and bad." "Someone Real centers their energy on expanding and broadening their potential or on expressing and relaying a unified energy for their clearest communication. Someone Real is a changing person because he is and always will be learning, discovering and expanding." "Someone Real demands the absence of prejudice, superstition, and ignorance, and leaves the circus acts to the circus performers." In your search to become Someone Real, ask yourself (substitute your name): "What it boils down to is a sincere and honest revelation about a person called ______________ - his viewpoint, who he is, where he is heading, what he hopes to discover. To do this, a person must stand on their own two feet and find out the cause of their ignorance." We support you on your path to being Someone Real and we'd love to hear about your explorations into becoming Someone Real. Please write to us at [email protected] or tag us on social media @BruceLee #BruceLeePodcast

Bruce Lee was a prolific reader; we have around 1,700 books in the Bruce Lee Archive. In the Bruce Lee Library series we will explore different books from Bruce's library, sharing his annotations and underlined passages, and discussing how these books contributed to Bruce's philosophy and life. Bruce Lee was extremely well read, his library had a range of topics on things he was interested in from philosophy to fighting techniques to self-help to acting and directing. The first book that we will be sharing from the Bruce Lee Library is the Tao Te King by Lao Tzu Interpreted as Nature and Intelligence by Archie J Bahm. Tao Te Ching is an ancient Chinese text written some time during the 5th or 4th century BC and its author Lao Tzu (Old Master) was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer, and the founder of philosophical Taoism. The book itself is only 81 sections and it's very poetic. The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages over 250 times. Full show notes at Brucelee.com/podcast 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!

This week we have a special guest on the podcast, Shannon's mom Linda Lee Cadwell! Linda joins us to share her firsthand stories of Bruce and their life as a family. She talks about Bruce's back injury, how Bruce was better than her at English grammar, and how Bruce charmed his way up to first class with the Cha Cha. It is always a pleasure to have Linda on the podcast, and we love that she was able to join us for this episode. Thank you Linda for sharing your stories with us! 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!

Five Ways of Flow The highest truth is inexpressible. Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated. In the last resort nothing is gained. There is nothing much in the teaching. In throwing punches and moving, therein lies the wonderful Tao. 1. The highest truth is inexpressible. The highest truth, your truth, is an experience, a knowing, it is a reverberation in the soul and heart of man. "When both the man and his surroundings are eliminated, neither man nor his surroundings are eliminated – Walk On!" "Between enlightenment and knowledge, in the latter a contrast exists between the knower and the known, whereas in the former, there is no such contrast." 2. Spiritual cultivation cannot be cultivated. After spiritual cultivation you return to the ordinariness of life but filled with the extraordinariness of life; gratitude; acceptance; allowance; flow; a return to effortlessness. "After the completion of cultivation, one remains amid the phenomenal yet devoid of the phenomenal." "The aim is not the one-sided promotion of spirit, soul and senses, but the opening of all human capacities to the life rhythm of the world and nature." 3. In the last resort nothing is gained. When we come down to the last resort of a situation, we are reaching a sort of giving up - a place where we have reconciled ourselves with losing; so don't hang onto a last resort, rather be willing to die. "Are you a flowing entity capable to flow with circumstances?" "Do not run away; let go. Do not seek; it will come when least expected." 4. There is nothing much in the teaching. Modeling as a form of teaching. A teacher is a guide, the student has to experience things for themselves. "A good teacher functions as a pointer to truth but not a giver of truth. He employs a minimum of form to lead his student to the formless. Furthermore, he points out the importance of being able to enter a mold without being imprisoned by it or to follow the principles without being bound by them." "There is no fixed teaching. All I can provide is an appropriate medicine for a particular ailment." 5. In throwing punches and moving, therein lies the wonderful Tao. In instinctual and direct movement, the flow of the universe is revealed. "Behind every motion is the music of the soul made visible." "The spirit of the universe or the integrating principle of the whole – instinct with contrivance which flows with purpose." "Simplicty. Directness. Freedom." 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!

"A struggle of any nature can never be settled satisfactorily until the absolute fact is touched. Where neither opponent can affect the other – not neutrality, not indifference, but TRANSCENDENCE is the thing needed." The dictionary definition of Transcendence is: Extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience; transcending material existence; universally applicable or significant The 19th century movement of Transcendentalism had the core belief that there is an inherent goodness of people and nature. Transcendentalists also believed that society and its institutions have corrupted the purity of the individual and they have faith that people are at their best when truly self-reliant and independent. They believed that man was one with nature, emphasized personal freedom, and also attempted to embrace the empiricism of science. (Some famous Transcendentalists are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.) Parts of the movement of Transcendentalism align with Bruce Lee's philosophies. In martial arts, Bruce rejected reliance on institutions and wanted everyone to create their own style. The focus on the individual, pursuing your own path, and being one with nature are all a part of Bruce's philosophy. Transcendence is a useful daily tool for our lives. Transcendence is about seeing the "big picture." It is a change in perspective where you can take in the whole of the situation to better move through what you are struggling with. It is hard to have transcendence when you are in the thick of being "for" or "against" something. In that situation the other person has to be "wrong" in order for you to be "right." "See that there is no one to fight, only an illusion to see through. Be aware of illusions." Seeing through an illusion can be difficult because it is hard to give up your position in a fight with another person. It takes practice to be able to zoom out and see the big picture when you are in the midst of conflict. A way to transcend a situation is to ask yourself, "What am I projecting onto this situation that may or may not be true? How am I trying to make this other person wrong? Why am I doing that? What am I projecting out of myself in order to win this argument?" Sometimes in order to justify our thinking we have to make the other person "wrong." We set up our thinking in ways that only show the other person as being wrong so that we can be right. This can keep us in anger and held in a state of confrontation and combat. This way of thinking does not rise above and it does not heal. "To transcend the dualistic comprehension of a situation, let go at the point where the mind stops to abide – where it attaches to an object and stops the flow; don't allow your attention to be arrested." Instead of fixating on the words or the blame, pull back and let go to take in the full picture and see your part in the situation. Transcendence is a practice, and it can be difficult, but it is also extremely healing. Another way to transcend when you are in an "I'm right and you're wrong," conflict is to try to see how both of you could be right or both of you could be wrong. This thought practice will give you some headspace to help transcend the conflict. "Awareness is never exclusive – it includes everything." If you want to have a sense of full awareness, you have to include everything, not just your side. At the Bruce Lee Family Company, when we are looking for partners and collaborators, we want our collaborative work to result in "1+1=11." This means that when we come together with a partner we make something BIGGER, our work is not just additive it is transcendent. This type of transcendental relationship makes collaboration and working together more fun and produces better solutions. When you're confronted with a difficult challenge, it can be easy to shut down, ignore it, or avoid it. But if you shift your energy towards embracing the challenge, whether you succeed or fail, ultimately you transcend the challenge and move beyond it instead of remaining stuck. "The waters are in motion all the time, but the moon retains its serenity. The mind moves in response to the ten thousand situations but remains ever the same." There is always something happening around you, the waters are always in motion, but the goal is to remain serene, still, and secure in your root. "The mind must be wide open to function freely in thought. A limited mind cannot think freely." In order to transcend, you have to pull back and see the big picture. You have to feel the feelings in your body. Part of allowing yourself to feel your feelings, even grief and sadness, is that once you have allowed yourself to feel then you can return to a calm stillness and begin to transcend. "No-mindedness is not being without emotion or feeling but being one in whom feeling is not sticky or blocked - the non-grasping mind." Feel your feelings, but do not hold onto them and get stuck. Once you have felt your feelings you can release t

Help support the Bruce Lee Podcast and check out our Podcast Bundle on the Bruce Lee Store! Any item is 15% off and if you buy the entire bundle it is 20% off. A portion of all proceeds go to support the Bruce Lee Foundation and the Podcast Bundle helps support the Bruce Lee Podcast! "Centering is the reconciliation of opposites so that they no longer waste energy in useless struggle with each other but can join in productive combination and interplay." Often we waste energy by engaging in the struggle between two opposing things. But if you can take these two opposing things and join them into a productive combination and interplay then you can use their energy instead of waste it. "We are vortices whose center is a point that is motionless and eternal but which appears in manifestation as motion which increases in velocity in the manner of a whirlpool or tornado. The nucleus is reality whereas the vortex is phenomenon. Hold to the core!" If you are centered, then your power is the center of the storm and there is stillness there. This manifests in your life as a powerful motion that you are engaged in. Bruce Lee is a great physical example of this powerful motion. On screen you can see that right before he moves to attack he has stillness, like a cat about to pounce. He wastes no energy before moving to attack; he gathers his energy into his stillness before a whirlwind attack. As in the concept of Yin Yang, things are not truly opposite; they are compliments to each other. They are extremes as part of one whole, such as how hot and cold are not opposites, but extremes of temperature. As a part of reconciling these opposites it is important to know that they are not separate, but are on the same scale. "When we hold to the core, the opposite sides are the same if seen from the center of a moving circle." We want to look at the sides of ourselves, and the sides of other people, as having gradation of scale rather than as "good" and "bad." You have to be aware and neutral in your assessments in order to recognize that one extreme is the expression of the other extreme. "It is futile to argue as to which single leaf, which design of branch or which attractive flower you like; when you understand the root, you understand all its blossoming." When it comes to our minds and our hearts, we cannot separate them out into different parts; they are all apart of the same whole. The moment we bump into something about ourselves that we do not like and we push it away, we are not integrating or accepting what we do not like about ourselves. This can lead to self-hatred because we are labeling part of ourselves as the "other" or as "wrong." Since we still have to live with ourselves we start to beat ourselves up over this part of us that is "wrong" and this becomes an energy depleting exercise of self-hate. You have to neutrally examine that part of yourself you do not like, feel how it feels in your body, and assess how it is showing what you need in your life. This will help your form an understanding of yourself and will help in your centering. The reason centering is hard is because we are in the habit of picking one side or the other to identify with. By examining yourself neutrally without judgment, you can really see and process difficult parts of yourself, integrate those parts, and then center yourself. If you are stuck more on one side or the other, and it cures into more extreme versions, it makes us feel more and more separate. Centering yourself is not just about calming you down from one extreme towards the center; it is also about finding this power source. If you confront a situation from your center then you have both sides to put your energy towards, instead of just limiting your energy to one side. Be willing to give yourself a break when you overshoot to one extreme or another. Life has waves and we are only human. Take each overshoot as a learning experience and eventually your pendulum will swing less wide and you will remain closer to your center. Centering is a difficult process. It is challenging in real life to integrate this learning in the moment. "You are what you are, and self-honesty occupies a definite and vital part in the ever-growing process to become a "real" human being." Self-honesty is hard because we do not want to get real with ourselves and look at the ugly parts. We want to place the blame outside of ourselves, but we have to own our own involvement. "Instead of establishing rigid rules and separative thoughts, we should look within ourselves to see where our particular problems lie and our cause of ignorance. You must look for the truth yourself and experience every minute detail of for yourself." To find the "cause of our ignorance" we have to look deeply into what we do not know or what causes us confusion. Everything is an experiment and a process to know your self. You have to practice and accept that it will be hard. A good place to start your process of centering is by e

"A man is born to achieve great things if he can conquer himself." Last episode we talked about the things with which we shackle ourselves, and this episode we discuss the keys that will unlock our fetters and liberate us. "True mastery stems from mastery of oneself." Although you can apply this idea to the mastery of a skill, this quote is really about the knowing and the freeing oneself. But in mastering a skill, knowing oneself masterfully, will only make one more artful in that discipline. True mastery is built up through the mastery of oneself. The fetters were: Fear Ignorance Self-consciousness Laziness The keys are: Know Yourself (Self-knowledge) Optimism Self-Awareness Learning Remain Neutral Taking Action "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." Sometimes we use action as a distraction technique, doing the small things to avoid looking inwards to what actually need to be done. If your sequence of actions are taking you away from Self-Knowledge, that is not the type of action we want when we Take Action. Act instead of distract. Self-Knowledge "Self-knowledge has a liberating quality." Self-knowledge gives you your freedom. Self-knowledge is not about finding just the positive in yourself; it is the willingness to look at your whole self, shadow and the light. Be honest with yourself. Create intimacy with yourself so that you feel safe in your mind and heart in order to really examine your whole self. "We should look within ourselves to see where our particular problems lie and our cause of ignorance. You see, ultimately all types of knowledge simply means self-knowledge. You must look for the truth yourself and directly experience every minute detail for yourself." For those who tend towards just the negative, this is not an inventory of everything bad about you. Looking inward is about every detail and being honest with yourself about the good and the bad. "A man is at his worst when he does not understand himself." The Self-Knowledge journey will be hard work, but the gift is that you know your true self. Optimism It is important to have optimism when looking at your tools and getting to know them, so that you will have faith that those experiences will teach you and help you grow into your best self. "Optimism is a faith that leads to success." "Pessimism blunts the tools you need to succeed." Learning When looking at your ignorance, it is a void of good information and it becomes a great opportunity to fill that void with good information. Seek out the information and teachers to help you fill that void of ignorance. "Learning is discovery, the discovery of the cause of our ignorance." Ignorance is just something that you do not know. People can have a lot of shame around not wanting to admit their ignorance out of fearing that they will look stupid to others. Acknowledging your ignorance is a part of the discovery process and you discover through learning. It is better to say, "I don't know. Let's find the answer," instead of refusing to admit your ignorance and manufacturing a false answer. "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 enlarge our lives, to find means to our disposal that will let us cope with a difficult situation." Remain Neutral "Eliminate all opportunities for rivalry." We can waste a lot of our time and energy in competition with others. Some competition can be good to push or motivate yourself, but when competition becomes rivalry then you start aiming to make the other person fail so that you can win. Rivalry is "me against you," and does not lift up you or anyone else. "If you want the truth to stand clear before you, never be for or against. The struggle between "for" and "against" is the mind's worst disease." When you look at something neutrally then you can look at its whole, instead of its parts. Then, by looking at something wholly you can decide if it works for you or if it does not. "Completeness is the absence of the conscious mind to strive to divide that which is indivisible." "Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you." Take in the information, allow it to be as it is, take what works for you and leave what does not work for you for someone else. Take Action + Self-Awareness You learn through experience. "Be self-aware rather than a repetitious robot." Combine your action with self-awareness. You do not want to go through the day unaware with robotic action because then you are not living in the present or acting with awareness of your actions. "A healthy person has both a good orientation and an ability to act." A healthy person uses all of the keys together: Self-Knowledge, Optimism, Self-Awareness, Lear

"A man is born to achieve great things if he can conquer himself." When Bruce Lee says "conquer" it is not about subjugating yourself, but instead it is about knowing yourself in order to liberate yourself. "Each man binds himself – the fetters are ignorance, laziness, preoccupation with self and fear. You must liberate yourself." Fetters are a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner. In this quote the fetters are our own restrictions of ignorance, laziness, preoccupation with self, and fear. These things hold us prisoner, restraining us from being free to be our most authentic selves. Bruce Lee was a normal person dealing with his personal chains and traps. Here, he was describing his own fetters, describing what was holding him back and what he needed to work on in order to free himself. Ignorance Bruce wrote often about how we have to discover the cause of our ignorance. To accept and know that you do not know is a huge initial step. Then you have to ask "What is it that I am ignorant about?" Self-work is hard work. It can be draining and take a long time, but it is worth putting in the work. When we have those feelings of love and joy, it feels good in our bodies and our souls, and we always want to get more of that. We return to our fetters because they are familiar and easy and we fear leaving them behind. We fear looking at our chains too closely. "To understand your fear is the beginning of really seeing." "Most of us would rather suffer being self-conscious than to realize our blindness and get our eyes again." We are fearful of looking closely at ourselves because that means that there is a part of you that has to change. You have to let go of some story you might have been holding on to your whole life. Self-work is such hard work because they way that you grow and change is by going through, working through the hard feelings. You cannot just put aside the hard feelings; they will not go away, they must be dealt with. If you are numbed to a big part of your feelings, it is hard to know yourself. Ego "Use the ego as a tool." We all have an ego. We all have a place in our lives where we do not want to be challenged or told we are wrong. To use our ego as a tool, we look at the places in our life where we are rigid and do not want to hear that we could be wrong. Where are you resisting with your set choice patterns? When Bruce Lee talks about being a flowing entity, capable to flow with whatever comes at you, this means you cannot be in resistance with your ego or your story. Look at the ego rigidity within you, and ask, "How am I resisting?" Investigate why there is rigidity and as yourself if you really want that. The first step is being willing to see the ego rigidity. Have a willingness to listen. In our present culture, there is a push to debate in order to force your point to be heard, but when you do this you are not listening to the other person. Be present. Be willing to listen. It is important to engage in these conversations even if you do not think the other person will listen to you. Even if someone does not listen to you, you still were able to express yourself. You got to practice being in relationship in conversation with someone and practicing these things helps you grow. "One should get rid of the obtruding self or ego-consciousness and apply himself to the work to be done." Fear Fear is a heavy chain. We are often fearful of being hurt so we do not engage. If we are fearful and defensive all of the time, we cut off connection and growth. Do not put so much energy into guarding against being hurt, especially if the hurt might not even come. It requires so much of your time and personal power to stay defensive against hurt. It is uncomfortable to be anxious and tense, tiptoeing through life out of fear. "Sensitivity is not possible when you are afraid." Truly seeing and really listening is not possible when you are coming from a place of fear because you are on guard. Sensitivity is about having mastery of your senses. "There can be no initiative if one has fear. Fear compels us to cling to traditions and gurus, etc." If you are fearful, you seek other people or structures to make yourself whole. If you cling to others for validation then Bruce says, "We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay." You do not want to get stuck in the esteem of others because then you will not know yourself. Self-Consciousness "The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all action." If you are always self-conscious about how you do something, even if the desire is to do it well, but you want to do it well to receive esteem from others, then you will never achieve flow in that action. That self-consciousness prevents you from truly doing the task the best that you can and expressing yourself. Striving for perfection will prevent you from starting something or prevent you from finishing something. "Freedom discovers man the moment he loses concern over what impression he

This is a special episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast honoring Brandon Bruce Lee. We just celebrated Brandon's birthday February 1st and coming up on March 31st is the 25th anniversary of his passing, so Shannon wanted to share some stories of growing up with Brandon as her big brother and share some excerpts from Brandon's journals. Shannon and Brandon had a very special relationship and Brandon viewed himself as her protector. Brandon was also the typical older brother in that he loved to mess with Shannon playing pranks and picking fights, but there were instances where he would come to Shannon's rescue. If he thought Shannon was in trouble, or had really hurt herself, or if someone was picking on her, he would come to save her. Brandon was a larger than life soul. He was a voracious reader and would have a dictionary with him so that when he encountered a word he didn't know he would look it up. Brandon knew the definition of everything and he got a perfect score on the English portion of the SATs. His favorite book was "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Brandon was super sharp, smart, and theatrical. He loved to tell stories and capture the attention of the room and was able to sell any story he told. Brandon always knew that he wanted to be an actor. Even though it could have been daunting to go into acting like his larger than life father Bruce Lee, Brandon saw himself as different from his father because Bruce Lee's passion was martial arts and Brandon's passion was acting. Brandon was an artist through and through. He only went to one semester of college at Emerson before dropping out to pursue acting. Since he was Bruce Lee's son, Brandon was expected to do martial arts and be in action films. So while being Bruce Lee's son opened some doors for him, he was pigeonholed as an action star. However, neither Brandon nor Shannon studied martial arts after their father died. Brandon eventually started to study martial arts around the age of 19, and because he was naturally coordinated he was able to pick it up quickly. He studied at the Inosanto Academy with Dan Inosanto and picked up proficiency in muay thai and JKD, but while he enjoyed martial arts it was not his life's passion. Brandon studied martial arts because he kept being asked to do action films, but ultimately wanted to be a real actor and not be stuck in action roles. Brandon was romantic, bohemian, and literary. He kept journals and wrote letters written in a way that reminds Shannon of an old timey "days of yore" style of writing. Fun epitomized Brandon. He loved to play jokes, and had a big boisterous laugh and a huge smile. He was a daredevil and used to skateboard and ski, he was constantly breaking bones, getting stitches, and knocked himself unconscious a few times. He was always building rickety skate ramps in the backyard. Brandon loved nature. From when they were young, their mom would take them on camping trips and he continued to love nature and camping as a teen and adult. When he was an adult he would take his motorcycle and go on solo camping trips. On one such camping trip, when he was around 19 or 20, Brandon rode up with some friends and then he went off on his own into the wilderness. He ended up in a meadow when a rainstorm hit. He pitched his tent, but it was old and had holes so it was waterlogged and leaking, barely keeping him protected. Here he wrote some journal entries. "Day 5: I am depressed again. This trip, which was supposed to save me, is failing. I am having extremely fatalistic feelings. I'm in the woods now – alone. Right now, I wish I had some other people around. This small blue tent has become a prison of sorts. Outside, it's raining, and if it rains much harder, I am going to die. Literally. I am far from help and it is cold and wet. Never have I been alone for this long. The tent is sagging around me, and a flood of water is rushing into the meadow…I want to go home. If the weather doesn't improve tomorrow, I may snap." "Day 6: Aha! I have it figured out. The day began with rain. There was a brief period of sunshine, which induced me to begin packing up. I was in high spirits. But then the crafty rain caught me just as I was taking the tent down and utterly soaked both it and me. I reset the tent and huddled within. This brief period while I sat in a water-logged tent – which bore a new rip made by my careless step – was, in a sense, my catharsis. I was truly fearful, with that gut fear one may experience after losing large sums of someone else's money – but I do not believe I was fearful for my life. No, I was fearful for my ego, for my comfort. The rain eventually stopped and the sun actually shone intermittently. With a zeal born of fear, I rushed forth, took down the dilapidated tent, packed my bags and set off at what can only be described as a dead run. The meadow had seemed to have acquired evil – bad karma. Through some sort of grace (the good karma of affirmative action) it did not rai

Broken Rhythm is Bruce Lee's technique for creating an opening in combat. "Ordinarily, two people (of more or less equal ability) can follow each other's movements. They work in rhythm with each other. If the rhythm has been well established, the tendency is to continue in the sequence of the movement. In other words, we are "motorset" to continue a sequence. The person who can break this rhythm can now score an attack with only moderate exertion." The notion is that there are rhythms in fighting, and in life. In combat, Bruce's form of disruption is to create an opening to strike. In life, we have our own habits and patterns, and if we can disrupt that rhythm then progression can be made and new things can be allowed into our life. In the combat analogy, Bruce says you can break the rhythm though a small hesitation or a large unexpected shift or change. This way of disruption can be applied to life as a way to shift ourselves off of our plateaus and go to the next level. We all get stuck in patterns or loops in life. If we are in our practice of wanting to level-up and grow, can we look at our lives to see where we are stuck in a pattern? How can we disrupt that pattern? How can we break that rhythm to move forward? "Broken rhythm is meant to break the trance." "Running water never grows stale." When talking about injuring his back, Bruce says it is because his routine became stale. Bruce talked often of pattern and habit, and how he did not believe in them. He believed in living life and being fully present and engaged. "Mirror repetition of rhythmic calculated movements robs you of your aliveness." In recent years, there is a self-help trend that promotes the creation of habits. The emphasis on creating habits is so you do not have to think about everything in order to increase your overall productivity or creativity. This can create robotic, unthinking motions and can take away your aliveness. "Don't think, feel." The "feel" is a part of your aliveness. An easy way to practice disruption in your life is to break the rhythm of how you get dressed in the morning. How do you feel in the morning? Practice switching up your morning routine. "Free yourself by observing closely what your normally practice. Do not condemn or approve, merely observe." Sharon is a professional disrupter. She's hired by companies to come in and change up the routine. Back when she first started, disruption was unusual for the workplace and she often met resistance within the establishment when trying to implement changes. Now, disruption is often demanded in the workplace with companies using disruption to promote innovation and new ideas. The point is not to disrupt for the sake of being disruptive, but to highlight areas that are experiencing stagnation and are no longer serving you. There can be a willingness to disrupt in the mind, but not in the heart or the body because we are scared to disrupt our stability. What we want is stability and predictability, even though nothing is stable since everything is in flow and changes constantly, so a shift away from that idea of stability is scary. "Pliability is life, rigidity is death." The idea of stability and predictability give us a sense of security, but we are not experiencing our aliveness. To cultivate a sense of stability within instability is the true stability. Being grounded within oneself in the midst of a storm and to feel secure is the sense of stability that serves you well. "The real stillness is the stillness in movement." Breaking the rhythm in small ways can be a good way to infuse aliveness back into anything that is feeling stale or where you're feeling stuck. Notice where you are in routine and pattern and try to break that rhythm in a small way. Find your fun in breaking the rhythm; it does not have to be a painful disruption to your routine. If you can infuse your shifts with a sense of play then it can be a fun break in your rhythm and you do not have to be fearful. As a working mother, Sharon found that her mornings were often stressful trying to get the kids, her husband, and herself all ready for the day and out the door. As a small way to make those mornings more enjoyable she started listening to a 70's funk playlist to infuse some fun into her morning. It was a small change to her morning routine, but has greatly changed how she feels about her mornings from feeling robotic to feeling fun and alive. The way to break the rhythm is to become aware of the rhythms and patterns that you are in. We are engaged in many small routines throughout our lives, from how we put or socks on in the morning to how we wash our hair in the shower. Try to change one thing about one of your small routines, just to see what happens. Bruce Lee talked about timing, cadence, and rhythm as something that had to be felt and mastered as a psychological problem, even more than it being a physical thing. Noticing where we are and having awareness of the ruts we are in, is a noticin

"The Tools" are what you have in your arsenal at your disposal to tackle life head-on. Bruce Lee repeatedly wrote about different Tools he used in life. We have talked about these tools separately on the podcast, but what is it to have these tools in your arsenal and to use them? "Your tools have a dual-purpose, to destroy whatever is in front of you that stands in the way of peace, justice, and humanity, and to destroy your own impulse of self-preservation, to destroy anything bothering your mind, to overcome your own greed, anger, and folly." We have the obstacles in our life that are outside of ourselves and then we have the obstacles within our own mind. Bruce has a warrior-like mentality to destroy these barriers in life to achieve peace. These are Bruce Lee's Tools: Willpower Simplicity Intuition Presence Love Joy Flexibility and Adaptability Awareness Stillness Willpower was a tool that was extremely important to Bruce Lee as he considered himself a self-willed man. He had the power to direct his energy toward the things that he wanted. Bruce Lee wanted to destroy these obstacles not to force through his own path, but to achieve greater harmony and connectedness with the world around him. He is asking us to replace our greed and anger with peace and humanity. "When you are training, your mind and body are active and dynamic in every way. But in actual combat your mind must be calm, you must feel as if nothing critical is happening. Your movements should be light and secure, not fixed and glaring. Your behavior should not be in any way different from your everyday behavior." You cultivate these tools so that when the situation arises and you need them, you can use these tools in a masterful way with calmness, with presence, and put them into service to handle the situation without aggression. "If you are pure-hearted, and choicelessly aware, then your tools will hold these qualities, and will play their role to the utmost degree. Your tools stand as symbols of the invisible spirit, and they keep the mind and body in full engagement." Simplicity is an important tool because it can be easy to overcomplicate and overthink a situation or a solution. You have to "Hack away the unessentials." You want to know exactly what you need and to go directly to a solution. Our instinct to overthink or overcomplicate situations is fear-based. We fear that something will go wrong and it can create a negative thought spiral taking us out of the reality of the situation. Listen to people expressing themselves. If they are expressing themselves simply, it is easier to understand and connect through communication. "Our tools represent the force of intuitive or instinctive directness and do not divide or block our freedom. Our tools move us onward without looking back or to the side." Use your intuition to test how good your tools are and if they are moving you forward. For Shannon, she has been working on her tool of Joy recently. She has been trying to turn her ego, when it comes up, into Joy. Shannon's process is to first notice ego showing up, then she aims to remain present, and look around herself to ask, "What is there I can be Joyful about?" Sometimes when we are in a negative state of being, such as anger, we can forget about using our other tools. Try to give your tools a definite shape, imagine a toolbox filled with your tools that you can visualize to help bring your out of a negative state and utilize your tools instead. Shannon has also been experimenting with her tools of Simplicity and Intuition. Sometimes we will have an intuition about something and we sit and overthink it. Shannon has been practicing noticing her intuition and applying it as simply as she can. This action requires Willpower to move you to act on your intuition. "This is not a matter of petty techniques, but of highly developed personal spirituality. It is not a question of developing what has already been developed, but of recovering what has been left behind. It is not a matter of technology, but of spiritual insight and training." We tend to think of tools as something outside of ourselves, but these tools we were born with and they are always inside of us. All spiritual growth is a remembering of the love, joy, and intuition inside of us, the remembering of our true essence. "Make the tools see. All movements come out of the mind, keep it straight without ego-centered motivation. Keep the mind sincere and genuine and straightforward; allow nothing between itself and its movements." You have these tools that are innate to you and have their own energy, keep yourself genuine and straightforward and do not block these tools. "The tools are at an undifferentiated center of a circle that has no circumference. Moving and yet not moving, intention and yet relaxed, seeing everything happening and yet not at all anxious about its outcome, with nothing purposefully designed, nothing consciously calculated, no anticipation, no expectation. In sh

Most people know Bruce Lee as an actor and martial artist, but he defined himself as an Artist of Life. This term comes from a series of drafts of his essay "In My Own Process" which we discussed in Episode 29. In Bruce's essays on "In My Own Process" he stated that being an Artist of Life was his overall goal and how he identified himself. It is because he was an artist of life that we still know about Bruce Lee today. He was intentional about cultivating his life and who Bruce Lee was. "I am a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, and I am actualizing myself daily to be an Artist of Life." This definition was both concise and broad enough to allow Bruce to grow and expand. Bruce wrote often about how he is an ever expanding person and that there is no end or limit to this process and that he is discovering and growing exponentially all the time. Bruce put his identity in the context of humanity, not a profession or trade. This is applicable to everyone. If you are the artist and your canvas is the body that you are in, what do you want to do with it? In order to pursue being an artist of life, you have to have done some self-work already. In order to cultivate who you are, you have to start with the premise that you know who you are. There is a quote we use around Bruce Lee that is not actually one of his quotes, but it is: "The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering." This is not about trying to create a legacy by which people will remember you, but instead living a life of value to yourself. Anyone can identify themselves as an Artist of Life, you do not have to be creative or a painter or a musician. Bruce starts off his "In My Own Process" writings by saying: "It is most difficult to write about oneself because each of us is such a complexity. In an attempt to really write something about oneself demands an honesty toward oneself, to be able to take responsibility to be what we actually are." Bruce said that, "Being honest is one of the least things a human being can do." Honesty can be one of the hardest things that human beings can do. We can hide our true self from different people in our lives because we fear rejection of our self as an Artist of Life. "To be what I term, a quality human being, one has to be transparently real and have the courage to be what he is." Being an Artist of Life is not a temporary project it is a lifelong endeavor. Through all the work that Bruce did in his life he came to realize as he has grown and worked through things in his life that the only kind of help there is, is self-help. Even if through the self-help you have to ask someone else for help, you still have to ask for that help. You have to help yourself move to the next step. "Self-help comes in many forms: daily discoveries through choiceless awareness, honestly as well as wholeheartedly doing one's best, indomitable dedication, and realizing that there is no end or limit to this." If you are in exploration like Bruce Lee, the constant learning and curiosity becomes like breathing. "Discovery is one of the means to uncovering our potentiality." Discovering something you did not know before is a way to uncover your potential and to help you know yourself. Bruce Lee knew himself early and was able to act on it at a young age. Some of us take longer to know ourselves. If you really want to know yourself, start your self-inquiry. What do you love? What makes you angry? What makes your heart sing? What don't you like? "I feel best when I am showing my skill. Why? Because baby I have worked my ass off to be able to do just that. And that means dedication, constant hard work, constant learning and discovering, and lots of sacrifices." It is not about showing off, it is about shining your light. In his essays Bruce wrote: "I would just love it if someday somebody said, 'Oh look at that guy, now there is something real.'" How would you fill out Bruce's Artist of Life statement? "I am a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, and I am actualizing myself daily to be an Artist of Life." "What it boils down to is my sincere and honest revelation of a man called Bruce Lee. Some significant traits of him are his honesty to himself, quality over quantity, and he is hardworking. But, 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 his cause of ignorance. Bruce Lee is a changing person because he is always learning, discovering, and expanding. And at best, Bruce Lee represents a possible direction and nothing more. You must let your inner light guide you out of the darkness." "Our duty is to become real and simply be." If this speaks to you, embrace the Artist of Life philosophy. Shine your light and we would love to hear about your experience. Write to us at [email protected] or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast.

Bruce Lee is a true warrior. A warrior is often thought of in the physical sense, as a fighter and physically strong. But it is possible to be a warrior in the mind, body, and spirit. Shannon comes from a lineage of warriors and has been exploring what being a a true warrior means for her. What does it take for us to become true warriors? "The warrior is the average man with laser-like focus." There is no language about fighting or physical prowess in this quote, but what does Bruce Lee mean by "laser-like focus"? Laser-like is to put intense energy towards something. To be a warrior is a big commitment in one's life and Bruce put an intense, energetic beam of focus towards that goal. For Bruce, being a warrior was actually about one's growth and healing, and the combination of using your mind, body, and spirit in harmony toward the cultivation of one's self. Bruce was a warrior in the broader sense of life. Every day Bruce got up with the intention of working on himself, bettering himself, actualizing himself, and cultivating his own essence and energy. He did this in a way that benefited himself and everyone around him. Bruce Lee was so committed to this laser-like focus that he was able to achieve so much in a short time, and seemed at times super-human. His embodiment of his warrior focus could be intimidating. Becoming a true warrior is about taking action towards this path and living your life by your own warrior code. "Warriors have the discipline to change their behavior for the sake of honorable ends." The warrior path is not an easy path, it takes commitment, work, and effort. You will have struggles and failures along the way, and it will take time. You are shifting towards your more true self when you decide to pursue the warrior path. "Not tense, but ready." For those of you feeling called to the warrior awakening, to start you have to have an honest assessment of where you need help, what you're good at, your strengths, and your weaknesses. You have to have courage to pursue your warrior awakening; it is not an easy undertaking. Read full show notes at Brucelee.com/podcast If you would like to share your own stories about your path to becoming a true warrior email us at [email protected] or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast.

In our final Core Values at Work Episode Shannon and Sharon discuss Relationship, Communication, and Trust. These Core Values are derived from Bruce Lee's philosophies and Shannon has adjusted them for her workplace. Shannon has put together these Core Values based on how her workplace functions best, incorporating the philosophy and essence of her father, including what was important to him and what is important to Shannon. For many of us, work is where we spend most of our time. It is important to have values in the workplace, even if you work for yourself or a small company. Shannon carries her values and principles through all aspects her life. She likes to be able to show up at work as she would be at home, with an integrated principle of being able to be herself and continue to work on what is important to her as a human being no matter where she is. It is a good thing to know what your values are. Are your values different in your personal life than at work? How can you make those values more integrated? Relationship: Be in relationship. You are not working or living in a bubble. You are part of a team, part of an environment. Relate actively to your work, to your coworkers, to yourself. Treat others with respect. Take care of your side of the relationship. Have care for the humans around you and the human who makes this all possible – Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee always said life is about relating; relating to, learning from, and growing within your environment and people you're in relationship with. If you are paying attention and actively willing to engage with people and everything outside of yourself, you will learn about yourself, what is important to you, and how you want to move through the world. Something we found at the Bruce Lee Family Company is that even though we are a small company, each member of the team was working in isolation. People would work on their specific job without relating with the rest of the team. We created a better ecosystem by working on how each team member could help each other and contribute to other aspects of the company. Sometimes workplaces can be hierarchical and isolating, so it's important to remember that your coworkers are people too. You are with your coworkers every single day, and no matter their job, you are in relationship with them. We all started at the bottom, and we remember the people who were jerks to us. We also remember the people who were kind and respectful. Everyone deserves to be treated with a basic level of respect no matter their position in the company. Communication: Communicate clearly and openly. No one knows what you need. No one knows how you feel. No one knows what you know or don't know. If you need help, ask. Don't wait to be communicated to. Be proactive and straightforward with communication. This Core Value is specific to Shannon and the Bruce Lee Family Company. She found that people were waiting to be communicated to because they did not want to bother her since she is very busy. Instead they would wait for Shannon to come to them to explain things. This resulted in projects getting stalled when someone did not know what to do and they would not ask how to do it. There were a few times where it got to the point where Shannon would wonder why someone was not doing their job or not doing what she had asked them to do. It was because they did not know what to do and were afraid to ask for guidance. Shannon does not expect everyone to know how to do everything, but she does expect people to ask for help and to do research in order to move forward with a project. There are some workplaces where this value of communication is discouraged. Where if you ask for help or admit you do not know how to do something it is a mark against you and can be detrimental to your position. This can make you fearful to ever ask for help. However, not every place is like that so it is important to leave that fear behind when you move to a new job. Know that people cannot read your mind and you have to ask for what you need. Practice asking for what you need before it gets to a point of anger or frustration for you. Usually there is at least one person you can reach out to ask for help no matter where you work. Observe who you are in relationship with, and know that their reactions might have nothing to do with you. If someone is speaking heatedly to you, be curious and ask, "Are you upset with me or just upset?" It's possible the person is just tired or upset about something unrelated to you and it is affecting their communication with you. We can sense when things are not quite right. If you walk into a room you can sense the energy of the people and whether it is a good or bad energy. This is helpful in a work environment since you can read the room and decide how to communicate accordingly. Trust: Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Trust your skills. Trust your ability to learn. Trust your coworkers. Trust your leadership. Trust Shannon. Trust Br

In this episode, we continue our conversation on Core Values at Work, and this week we talk about the Core Values Change and Curiosity. Bruce Lee thought change was very important: "To change with change is the changeless state." Bruce's idea of "Be water," is about adapting to change because life is always different. Change is a constant on big or small levels. Shannon included the core value of Change for the Bruce Lee Family Company because over the years the company has gone through a lot of changes. Change has been challenging at times, but for a small company like ours change is necessary. Change: Embrace change. Be open to change. Learn to love change. Change is inevitable. Don't get paralyzed in the face of change. Be open to pivots, goal shifts, reframes, change of strategy. This is a living organism in constant process. It can be difficult to think of your company as a changing, living organism because change can spark the fears of "Am I going to lose my job?" "Will I be replaced?" "Will I lose my stability?" Company changes can be caused by more than just the company's internal structure. Society, culture, politics, and even the environment can all cause a company to go through change. For the Bruce Lee Family Company, we had to deal with change almost immediately after opening our doors. Shannon had finally acquired the Bruce Lee licensing rights back from the studios and officially opened up shop with a few employees when the 2008 recession hit. Shannon gave her employees the options to leave and look for another job or to stay and take a pay cut and ride through the recession together. She was very fortunate that all of her employees decided to stay with the Bruce Lee Family Company. Like her father Bruce Lee, Shannon loves change and thrives on new experiences. Since Bruce Lee was constantly innovating, flowing, and changing, Shannon thought it would be obvious that the Bruce Lee Family Company would function the same way. There was a disconnect between Shannon's expectation of change and what her employees expected, so she had a company meeting to clarify that change and innovation are a integral part of the Bruce Lee Family Company. The Bruce Lee Family Company is a company based on the values, work, and innovation of Bruce Lee, and Shannon wants the whole company to embody those values. Bruce Lee was a clear example of his own values at work and that is extensively documented in his writings and in all he accomplished. Much of our fear about change is worrying about the past and the future, which brings us out of the present moment. If we stay in the present, then change can be invigorating. Change in business can be scary because it is connected to your financial stability. For Shannon, change can be hard as the leader of the company since it can require her having to let a team member go. By living her core values at work and outside of work, Shannon finds that if she communicates well, communicates kindly, and communicates the changes happening, these difficult situations are easier to navigate. Shannon has found that by working on her core values in and out of work she is growing as a human being. If you take away the fear of change, change is actually about growth and renewal. Try to have a different perspective on change. What do you get to create out of this change? Curiosity: Engage your curiosity. Be interested in your environment, in your work, in the people around you, in Bruce Lee. Wonder. Investigate. Learn. As Bruce Lee would say: "Be the Eternal Student," and "Research your own experience." At the Bruce Lee Family Company, it helps people do their job better if they are curious about and interested in Bruce Lee. For other companies, you can do your job better if you are interested and actively curious about your work. Curiosity is the energy of play. Often, when people go to work they do not think of it as a place where fun can happen, so they leave their playful curiosity at home. When they are at work they are there to work. This is common delineation that happens. But what if you came to work to play? What if you engaged your curiosity at work? Shannon engages her curiosity at work whenever something business related comes up and she has to figure out how to do it. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Shannon has had to learn as she goes about how to run a business. She investigates, reads, asks questions, and finds answers to problems that come up in the business. This is fueled by her curiosity as to how a good business is run. Curiosity helps with the other Core Values at work we discussed, Uplift and Personal Responsibility. Curiosity feeds into positive energy creating uplift at work. Curiosity helps you be personally responsible for your job as you are curious about how to do your job better or to figure out the task you have to do. If you are engaged in curiosity about how to do your job, you will do your job better. You will learn how to be more self-sufficient and perso

Many companies have core values, which are a set of values that they share throughout the company on how everyone should proceed in their jobs. At the Bruce Lee Family Company, Shannon has created core values for the company. With the New Lunar Year approaching Shannon has decided to revisit those core values. Shannon started with core values from her father's philosophy and has refined her own core values for the Bruce Lee Family Company. In developing her core values for the Bruce Lee Family Company, Shannon asked herself, "What does it really take to work at the Bruce Lee Family Company?" Bruce Lee was against compartmentalizing your life. Often we have our own personal values at home and then we have to switch to our workplace's values. It is really important to Shannon to create harmony between her personal values and her work values, and she is lucky enough to get to shape the culture at her work. The Bruce Lee Family Company is a really small workplace, and it has been an interesting journey for Shannon to decide what the workplace culture will be. She has found that the people who stay in the company really work well within the core values and those who leave did not fit the values. This is why having core values at work is so important, it helps you build a solid team of people who work well together. The conversation of core values at work is an important one to have because many people have small businesses or work for themselves, and might not have considered creating an office culture for themselves. The work place has shifted so much that there are many more people who are working in small work environments and establishing shared values will help you build a better workplace and team. Shannon's core values of Best Effort, Personal Responsibility, and Uplift are how she wants to show-up in the workplace and how she wants others to show-up. Best Effort: Understanding that your best is different depending on the day and where you are in your life, try to approach everything with your best quality effort. Do just a little more than what's required. There's fulfillment and gratification in a job well done. Personal Responsibility: Know what you need to do (or find out) and do it. You will not be micro-managed or handheld. You will be supported and encouraged to be a strong, competent, skilled and creative individual, but you are responsible for your own success, progress and advancement. You are responsible for figuring out how best to do your job through Communication, Relationship, Curiosity, Best Effort and being open to Change. Take initiative toward your own growth. Uplift: Be a source of uplift. Positive attitude and energy make yourself and everyone else around you resonate at a higher frequency. It's okay to struggle. It's not okay to take it out on those around you or to desire for others to get in the mud with you if they don't want to. Cultivate empathy and compassion. Remember that you are a light. Illuminate yourself and we will all be illuminated. Even if you don't work in an environment quite like the Bruce Lee Family Company, you can still apply these values to yourself and your work. If you become the person who is always a source of uplift, showing up, doing high quality work, you start to attract people who practice the same work values. Then you will have a small group within the larger company that can be your best effort, high quality, work group. Your group can feed your positive energy, improve your work, and create wonderful collaborations. This will make working at a larger company more satisfying, fulfilling, and fun. Ask yourself: What are my values in Life? What are my values at Work? Are those values the same? Can you apply those same values in both Life and Work? What are your work values? We would love to hear from you about what values at work that you really appreciate, enjoy, and that work for you. Email us at [email protected] or tag us @brucelee on social media with #bruceleepodcast and tell us about your work values! We are experimenting with the formatting for the podcast so we do not have an #AAHA or #BruceLeeMoment this week, but we would still love to hear from you! We get many emails requesting advice with "What would Bruce Lee do?" and would like to start a "What would Bruce Lee do?" section of the podcast where Shannon and Sharon respond to your emails for advice. If you need advice and are wondering, "What would Bruce Lee do?" write to us at [email protected] Read full show notes at Brucelee.com/podcast

For Bruce Lee the notion of compassion extends beyond the common definition that compassion is "allowing ourselves to be moved by suffering and wanting to alleviate or prevent suffering." Bruce Lee was a huge admirer of Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion and mercy. Kuan Yin shows up in many different cultures in East Asia. In Bruce's home he had a huge, full-size statue of Kuan Yin and as a kid Shannon used to sit in her lap. Bruce had a great relationship with Kuan Yin and he believed in compassion because he believed humankind as One Family. He believed in living in relationship and understanding of our surroundings and everyone you come into contact with, living the oneness of things. Compassion is acceptance of others for who they are and where they are. It's freedom from judgment and acceptance of your whole experience. Bruce Lee was an integrated masculine and feminine energy. As an esteemed athlete in a highly masculine practice of martial arts, Bruce balanced that with his inclusion of Kuan Yin in his home and life. Kuan Yin has her own balance of masculine and feminine as in her origin story she started as a man and then transformed into a woman. She became known as the goddess of compassion and mercy. Many years later, Shannon asked one of her father's friends what was something about her father that really stood out. Bruce's friend replied that it was how much Bruce cared about people. "I'm not one of those people who can just brush people off. I feel that if I can just take a second to make someone happy, why not do it?" The story of Bruce's life is filled with many instances where he tried to help as many people as he could. From helping his friend and partner in the Oakland school James Lee write a book because James was dying of cancer and needed money. To taking Ted, Shannon's sifu, out to buy new clothes and get a haircut so Ted could find a girlfriend. Later, when he was more famous, Bruce went on the telethons to help raise money. Bruce Lee was genuinely interested in humans and the human condition because he was interested in his own human condition. This is a part of the Bruce Lee compassion message that the more that you understand about yourself and the world, the greater and deeper your connection will be with everything around you. Having compassion is not just having compassion for others, but also for yourself. Self-compassion is key in all the work that Bruce Lee was doing. If we cannot have compassion for ourselves, then we will not have compassion for other people. If we think harshly about ourselves, we will project that onto other people. The judgments we pass on other people are usually the judgments we have about ourselves. Often people do not notice when they are projecting, try to practice awareness and notice when you are projecting. "Please do not take the finger to be the moon, or fix your intense gaze on the finger and thus miss all the beautiful sight of heaven. After all, the usefulness in the finger is in pointing away from itself to the light that illuminates." This is a great metaphor for compassion; that in the seeking and looking at something outside ourselves, we can be illuminated about ourselves and everything around us. Then we can experience that oneness and which helps us feel connected, which helps us feel compassion. It can be easy to be compassionate if you are only practicing compassion for people who are suffering. The real test of compassion is practicing compassion for someone who you are challenged by. Everyone in the world is dealing with their own issues. We do not know the depths of anyone else's story. As humans, we have all been through trials in life. If we disagree with someone, can we respond in the framework of humanity? Remember that we all want to be happy, to be loved, to feel joy, we are the same on this human level. Instead of engaging in meaningless small talk, try asking a deeper question. "Are you in love?" "What are you really into at the moment?" These types of questions are intimate, but engage people on a deeper level in a real moment of humanity. Instead of looking at people with negative judgment on the differences between you and them, look at how they are similar to you. Acknowledge that this way of thinking is challenging. Bruce Lee on self-mastery: "The ability developed through self-work, to be calm, fully aware, and completely in tune with oneself and one's surroundings." You have to be right with yourself in order to be right with others. If you are not right with yourself, you will project your issues on to others. "A man is at his worst when he does not understand himself. He will work to accumulate external securities rather than do the inner work that will bring true security and rootedness. So cultivate and school yourself." #TakeAction Practice approaching the world through the lens of kindness. Work on yourself, look for connection and acceptance, free yourself from judgment. Take that compassion out into a ch

"It's not what you give, it's how you give it." Bruce Lee is talking about how you approach life, how you show-up in the world. It's not what you're doing, but how you're approaching it. This concept is about effort, quality, and injecting your heart into what you do. Bruce was a big believer in putting in the training, the hours of practice, and applying effort towards his goals. He also believed in natural action, being in the flow, and not being in opposition to life. Bruce believed in sincerity, with your work coming from your heart. When Bruce Lee came to the US when he was 18, he could speak some English, but was not fluent. He really wanted to communicate and have facility with the English language in a way that he did not have. Bruce put in the effort and applied himself learning the grammar and syntax of English. He also wanted to be able to communicate colloquially, and practiced this through telling jokes. Being able to understand humor in another language helps you to communicate in a more natural way. So, Bruce Lee was very into telling jokes, especially puns. Bruce approached learning the English language from all angles, including perfecting his handwriting and signature. Quality was a very important value to Bruce as a human being and in all that he did. It was important to Bruce to have the quality of nice penmanship and sentence structure, but also the quality of communication and expression in English. To be able to express himself clearly and beautifully was important to Bruce because his goal in life was self-actualization and expressing who he was as a human being to the world. "I don't want to do things halfway." It was a value of Bruce Lee to express himself fully in whatever he decided to engage in. "Some people may not believe it, but I have spent hours perfecting and working on whatever I did." Bruce Lee's hard work shows, but for some reason, we want to look at Bruce Lee and declare him a natural talent. Which is not to say that Bruce had no natural talent, but he put in the effort, the time, the practice, and the love to craft his talents and achieve his level of mastery. He is an example of what can be accomplished if we put work into and develop our natural talents. You have to work hard, but not work against yourself. Just because Bruce Lee followed a certain path, does not mean you have to follow the same path. You have to find what works for you and your goals. How you give is also the way that you give. It has to be your way, not someone else's way. When you listen to Bruce Lee talk, it is very distinct and memorable. Anything that he is saying, he is expressing at a high level because he is so tuned into who he is. When Bruce is speaking he is very present and connected to whomever he is talking to because he is trying to connect and relate to that person. "It is sincerity that leads you to the Way." What is sincerity? It is coming from your heart, your feeling, your emotion, and your genuineness. This notion of sincerity is about "how you give it." "You should express yourself as an effect from within." Express yourself from the inside out. There was a balance of masculine and feminine within Bruce, which can be jarring for some people since visually Bruce was such a representation of the masculine. Bruce Lee was a balanced masculine because he was vulnerable about his sincerity and genuineness. Bruce did not start out this way. Growing up he experimented with expressing himself brashly and confidently (others might call it arrogantly,) and in a way that was challenging or upsetting to people. He had to learn to apply the generosity of gentleness to the way he communicated because in that way people will hear what you're saying. Early on, Bruce was criticized for being brash and critical, and he realized that speaking that way was not accomplishing what he wanted to. If your words rile and inflame people then they are going to immediately be in conflict with you, they will not listen and become defensive. The reason that we still talk about Bruce Lee's words is because he moved into a sincere place with his communication. "Living destiny is to follow the silent, unshakeable law in your own heart which to the self-expressed man is godhead." If you're going to live your destiny you need to follow what you know to be true and real in your own heart and self-express that. To express who you are and what is in heart is to live your destiny harmoniously. You as a human being are an experience in this world. When you are present with people you are inviting them to the experience of you. What do you want the experience of you to be in this world? "To live is a constant process of relating." If you are truly rooted in yourself, if you truly know who you are, if your internal world and your outer expression are really flowing as one, then what you manifest out in the world will be an expression of your soul. When you meet someone who is expressing their soul, you feel it. This is

Bruce Lee referred to Natural Action in different ways. He would write about "spontaneous action" or "naturalism" or used a Taoist term "wu wei" which means non-action or non-doing. From Wikipedia: Wu Wei "In the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu explains that beings (or phenomena) that are wholly in harmony with the Tao behave in a completely natural, uncontrived way. The goal of spiritual practice for the human being is, according to Lao Tzu, the attainment of this purely natural way of behaving, as when the planets revolve around the sun." This grand, celestial action of the planets, the sun, stars, moons; it is a concert of beauty and movement happening naturally with no force or effort. The idea of natural action is action in one's life without forcing. Bruce talked frequently about the Tao, and a nice synonym for the Tao is nature or the natural world. Bruce Lee talked often about not being in opposition to nature. Our culture is mind-heavy. We are always trying to hack, force, speed up this natural action. Sometimes we can lose sight of our naturalness as human beings. Bruce Lee talked about willpower and being a self-willed man, which is about applying some force and effort into your journey. But this was in the context of naturalness, it is not forcing your way through life. Natural action allows you to gather information to see what works and what does not, revealing a natural path to take towards your purpose. Bruce's whole concept of being like water is about natural action, being in flow, flowing around obstacles. Natural Action, or Wu Wei, is described as non-action, but this does not mean no action. "Non-action does not mean no action, but no such action as begets opposition. Right action is neither to oppose nor to give way, but to be pliable, as a reed in the wind." It is true that life's circumstances can toss us around, we can get really mentally busy, and we can blindly engage without sensing the environment around us or without knowing who we really are. Let's tune in more to our environment, and ourselves, and let those cues help guide us. Pay attention to what your body tells you. Our bodies are the number one indicator that we are not following natural action. The body will become tense and tight in response to unnatural pressure. Our bodies will initially give us feedback in subtle ways, but often we don't listen until our body escalates to a more extreme reaction. Bruce Lee would talks a lot in his writings about the difference between the rational, thinking mind and the deep mind. The deep mind is the feeling mind that is in tune with the heart, the body, and the soul. It is the opposite of the calculating mind. Trust and listen to your intuition. Do not let your mind rationalize away a bad feeling. Try not to compartmentalize your life; this takes away from the naturalness of your life. Since we are human, we will want to have goals and make plans, to take action. The goal is to calibrate the naturalness with our efforts and actions. Bruce Lee ignites the feeling of a naturally occurring phenomenon, beautiful and in flow. But he was not always that way because he was a person. There were times where he would not listen to his natural way. Bruce was a growing and evolving human being, and wrote extensively about learning from mistakes, which means even Bruce Lee made mistakes. When Bruce was a kid living in Hong Kong he was getting into fights. He had this innate energy in him and he wanted to explore and push those boundaries. Bruce wanted to tap that energy and use it aggressively, but he had no direction, no container. He was getting into fights, people were getting hurt, and his teacher was sending him home from class. Bruce had to learn how to cultivate his energy and harness it. "You are not in an independent position, but rather you are acting as an assistant. It is not your task to try to lead, that would only make you lose the Way, but to let yourself be led. The superior person lets himself be guided; do not go ahead blindly but learn from the situation what is demanded of you and then follow." A good test is when we have a decision or a question, what is the feeling in our chest, in our heart? Is it a feeling of skipping towards that decision or answer with ease? Or do you feel that you are forcing yourself to march forward? From time to time, we do have to force ourselves to do things, such as getting out of bed in the morning, but if you are grounded in your life then you can still achieve flow throughout your day. When Bruce was in Hollywood, he had the goal of wanting to show the world the beauty of his culture and his art in a big way in Hollywood where it was not being done. This was a huge goal. He started it initially by being in the system, getting roles, writing treatments, trying to convince people to make his ideas, and doing everything he could to try to break Asians out of the stereotypical, racist portrayals. The natural state of Hollywood at the time was not going t

Shannon met former Kristen Ulmer at the Spartan Race in Lake Tahoe. Kristen is the author of The Art of Fear: Why Conquering Fear Won't Work and What to Do Instead. In this episode she shares her journey with fear and discusses how we deal with fear. Kristen Ulmer started out as a professional athlete, she was the best female big mountain extreme skier in the world, a status she kept for 12 years. She risked her life on a pair of skis, jumping off cliffs and skiing "you fall you die" descents. Kristen was voted "Most Fearless Woman in America" by the outdoor industry beating women in all sports and disciplines, not just skiing. While Kristen felt fearless, she realized after looking under her everyday reality that fear was with her in every single moment of every day and in every decision she made. She came to this realization after retiring her ski career in 2003 and studying with a Zen master for 15 years. Kristen started off as a mindset sports coach and currently is a fear specialist. Now Kristen's whole world is talking about and thinking about fear. When Kristen retired, it wasn't because her career was over; it was because she got to the point where she hated skiing. Every time winter would roll around she would cringe. Kristen started getting injured more and she had PTSD from seeing a lot of her friends die in the mountains and having many near death experiences herself. She was exhausted all the time and felt that there was something really wrong. So Kristen quit her ski career and set out to find out what was wrong. This is when she met the Zen master with whom she studied with for 15 years. Within the first ten minutes of working with her Zen master, Kristen discovered that she had been repressing her fear for years in order to ski the way that she wanted. Repressing your fear only works for about ten years then things begin to go south. Kristen started working with other athletes, and found they were underperforming due to their repressed fear. She also worked with people dealing with depression, panic attacks, anxiety disorders, and insomnia, discovering that repressing fear caused these problems too. Kristen realized that she needed to declare herself a fear specialist and write a book. In a fear exercise, Kristen asked Shannon to talk to her like Kristen is Shannon's fear. Kristen points out that fear is a huge part of our lives and with us everyday, in everything that we do, and how we treat our fear is ultimately how we treat our self. It's important to have the best relationship with fear and it's important how we talk to our fear. How do you talk to your fear? Do you tell it to go away? Do you tell it you hate it? Do you ignore it? If you hate your fear, how does that make fear feel? Darkness is not the opposite of light, it is just the absence of light. "Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never see the light." –Bruce Lee If we see fear as a dark voice, then that is how it will appear. If we try to crush fear, push it away, conquer it, lock it away in the basement and throw away the key, then fear will come out in a very dark way. How would you feel if you were locked in the basement? Fear will not be denied. If you repress it, fear will come out as anger, sadness, or depression. It is a bad idea to repress fear, but it is something many of us do, and our fear comes out in a dark way. Fighting your fear creates a war in your subconscious. It is an exhausting war that you cannot win because fear is a part of life. Take Action: First, change your language surrounding fear. Instead of saying "Fear and anxiety is a problem in my life," you should say, "Because I'm unwilling to deal with my fear and anxiety in an honest way that has become a problem in my life." Second, have a fear practice: Identify where the discomfort is in your body. Recognize that it's normal and natural to feel fear. Notice if you have any resistance to your fear. Can you lower your resistance? For 30 seconds feel your fear. Feel that discomfort without trying to get rid of it. "Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to act in the presence of fear." – Bruce Lee #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) Kristen nominated her friend Bill Tai who is her kiteboarding buddy. Bill Tai is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, philanthropist, and a fantastic kiteboarder. Tai is the Founding Chairman of Treasure Data, board director of BitFury and Voxer, seed investor in Canva, Color Genomics, Tweetdeck/Twitter, Wish.com, and Zoom Video, and Adjunct Professor of Innovation & Economic Development at Curtin University. He just started ACTAI, which is a group that brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, athletes, artists, tech heads, and thought leaders supporting causes around the world. Bill Tai, officially from the Bruce Lee Podcast, you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment Kristen shares her #BruceLeeMoment: "Of course everyone knows who Bruce Lee is, I'm no exception. I am really drawn to his quotes, the second I

"All in all, the goal of my planning and doing is to find the true meaning in life – peace of mind." Achieving peace of mind was Bruce Lee's ultimate goal. Peace of mind is something that we all desire, whether we know it or not. We want to feel peaceful so that we can enjoy life fully. Having peace of mind does not mean that you are removed from your everyday life, but instead you are living in a calm state while fully engaged in life. Shannon shares that she has, at times, achieved peace of mind, but that it is very difficult to live your life constantly in that state. This is because there is always something that is going to come and shake things up in life. For Shannon, peace of mind can come in the form of acceptance, just accepting where she is in life right now, that she is in process, and that it is enough. Especially when things are difficult and challenging, being able to step back, observe, and reflect, helps Shannon accept where she is in the moment. This reflection and acceptance helps bring peace of mind in a challenging situation. The reflection and acceptance during challenging times becomes easier with practice. Life will not always be good, there will be struggles, but if we can approach these times with pliability and acceptance, we can move through our struggles more peacefully. Knowing that change is constant can be comforting because then we know that whatever difficulty we are facing, it will pass. For Sharon, she finds peace of mind through shifts in consciousness. From moments of beauty and laughter to practicing "zooming out" her perspective in order to take a step back from a situation. Sometimes Sharon finds herself too close to a situation and has to practice a mental exercise of visualizing zooming out, such as on Google maps. This zooming out practice helps her step back and get perspective on situations and decreases her anxiety surrounding the situation. The "zoom out" helps Sharon create distance and space from a situation and helps her process what is happening. Sometimes when our minds get caught in an anxiety loop with our thoughts racing around in a circle. Performing an action can help break that loop and can give peace of mind. Sharon uses laughter as a way to break her anxiety loop and when she feels stuck in sadness or anger, she seeks out either a funny movie or a comedy show to make her laugh and bring her peace of mind. Nature is another consciousness shifter for Sharon, so she will seek out natural places to help calm her mind. If you do not have the time to seek out a funny show or to go out into nature, your action to break your anxiety loop can be as simple as getting up and going outside. Taking a walk or just feeling the wind can help quiet your mind. Bruce Lee accomplished a great deal in his life, and it can be hard comparing our lives to his, but he accomplished so much because he pursued his passions with his ultimate goal of achieving peace of mind. The bigger picture of Bruce's life was to move toward a more heart-centered place, which he did by pursuing what he loved and wanted to express. That love is what drove the Bruce Lee machine. Bruce was kickass at kung-fu and wanted to express his passion for martial arts to the world. What are you kickass at? What is your kung-fu? It can be difficult to answer this question for yourself, so you should ask five people who are close to you, "What are some of my greatest contributions?" People will tell you what you're good at and can help you find your kung-fu. This is about finding what you love. What will help bring you peace of mind is integrating your internal with your external. "Man's mind and his behavior are one. His inner thought and outer expression cannot contradict each other." We know that in life our mind and our behavior contradict each other all of the time. What Bruce is saying that it is the aim to investigate the inner realm, to know yourself, and then to begin to match how you move through the world with how you are inside. "Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, love will flow back to oneself and soften and purify the heart." Many people fear putting themselves out in the world because they worry that people will not love them, or that they are not good enough. If putting your love out in the world is not well received, you can draw that love back into yourself. Peace of mind is the state where you are trusting yourself, knowing yourself, and expressing your honest self. "If you're busy with your mental computer, your energy goes into your thinking, and you can't hear or see anymore." #TakeAction Practice staying present. Be in the experience of where you are in this moment and engage with where you are right now. Synchronize your inner world with your outer expression. Be the same "you" wherever you go. Stop the mental chatter and remember that you are not your mind, accept where you are right now. #AAHA Karyn Kusama is an American independent film director know for the 2000 film Girl

For our end of year episode we asked our listeners to submit questions they wanted us to answer or advice they wished they could receive from Bruce Lee. We had many, many questions submitted and we noticed that many dealt with finding motivation when you're stuck. People were feeling stuck and unmotivated in a range of topics from their work and jobs, to dealing with injuries and feeling isolated. From listener Anthony: "I've had an empty feeling in me for as long as I can remember. It's not what I would call depression, more like an unmotivated feeling. Like a "nothing really matters" feeling. It's been with me since early years (I'm 20 now) and I've had problems feeling any belonging. Bruce has written about this type of thing. How loneliness is an opportunity to find yourself. I was wondering, were there any rituals Bruce would find himself doing when things were rough?. For example, when he was struggling to land genuine movie roles that weren't discriminatory to him in his early years. Best wishes from Ireland." Shannon shares that she knows this sort of low-grade depression well, and remembers feeling this way during her childhood. She remembers her mom telling her that when things wouldn't work out for Bruce, at first he would be really angry and frustrated. Then, he would get really quiet and give himself some space and time to contemplate and "go in." For many of us, the problem with feeling stuck is that we do not want to feel stuck and we want to fix it right away. We feel judgment if we cannot fix it immediately and be rid of it. This is a natural reaction, but it prevents us from really experiencing what the "stuckness" is and looking at it. Instead we push it away and we beat ourselves up when it comes back. If you allow yourself to be with that feeling, it has information for you. When you allow yourself to feel the feelings fully, it can help it pass through. The first step: be gentle and kind with yourself. Let go of the judgment you have about what you're feeling and don't beat yourself up or push the feeling away. Just say, "Ok, this is where I am right now." The second step: feel your feelings. When Bruce would become quiet he would sit with the problem, allow himself to feel it, and investigate it. Some of Bruce's greatest philosophical realizations and writings came from these times of hardship. The third step: take action. After sitting with your feelings and investigating, you have to take a step towards action. Do not skip the first two steps and go right to the action item because then you are trying to fix the problem before knowing what the problem is. For some it works to come up with an aggressive action plan, but for others we do not know what action to take at all. The actions you can take can be small, and they should not be viewed as a fight you have to make to overcome your problem. These action steps should be towards your wellness and wholeness, and that bring you joy. What works for someone else might not work for you, so you have to customize and personalize your action steps for yourself. Affirmations and journaling can be actions that you can take. Affirmations are statements you read aloud everyday, which are meaningful to you that you want to make a part of your life. Then it becomes a part of your everyday thoughts and you're planting a seed in you mind that will grow. If you're having a difficult time thinking of anything that brings you joy, remember the things that brought you joy as a kid. Or remember the last time that you felt joyful. When you're depressed it can feel impossible to think of anything that makes you happy, which is why you might have to go way back to think of a thing that brings you joy. Doing these small actions will not immediately solve your problems or how you feel, but they create space for you to start to energize and heal. Creating this space helps you tackle the next bigger action steps to address your larger problem. Bruce Lee had tools to help him such as to be quiet, to meditate, to write, to move his body, to laugh and tell jokes. Find out what your tools might be. Bruce's lesson is that YOU are the medicine and you have to participate in your own healing. You have to be willing to engage in your own wellness and healing. "The medicine for my suffering I had within me from the very beginning but I did not take it. My ailment came from within myself, but I did not observe it until this moment. Now I see I will never find the light unless, like a candle, I am my own fuel." For more listen to Episode "#12 The Medicine For My Suffering" "Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system." Listen to Episode "#18 The Individual Over Any Established System" When we are talking about our own healing and unsticking of ourselves, you are the most important thing. Take the focus off of "I have to be well so that I can participate in this other thing." You have to treat yourself a

"It's not about what happens; it's about your reaction to what happens that matters." This is a big Bruce Lee concept and a big concept for moving through life. Sometimes we use what happens in a situation as justification for our extreme reaction. How you react to anything says more about you and where you are in that moment than any of the events that led to your response. It could be that you had been having a bad day all day and then this one incident sparked a huge reaction from you. Or it could be that this event poked some small part of you where this fear, anger, or insecurity exists and that provoked a huge reaction from you that is not truly related to the situation. The truth is that it is never about the incident it is about the response. "I have learned that being challenged means one thing and that is what is your reaction to it? How does it affect you? If you are secure with yourself, you treat it lightly – just like today the rain is going on strong, but tomorrow, baby, the sun is going to come out again." The more rooted you are within yourself, the more you're able to let things go. It is about noticing how you are reacting to a situation. You always have a choice with how you react to something, even though it can be difficult with an onslaught of emotions hitting you. A good practice is to not react right away. Take a beat to react to something. There is a lot of information to be found in your initial reaction to a situation. Take a step back and look at how you're reacting. Why are you reacting so irrationally? "To live is a constant process of relating, so come on out of that shell of isolation and conclusion and relate directly to what is being said. Bear in mind, seek neither approval or influence. Do not make up your mind as to "this is this" or "that is that." I will be more satisfied if you begin to learn to investigate everything yourself from now on." This is a posture of openness and taking things in as they occur. Don't take things personally, and don't make assumptions. "Eliminate all opportunities for rivalry." Bruce was not about competition and was not about putting someone down to "win." If you're always looking to be the "winner" and for someone to be the "loser", then you will always be living in conflict. "It is the ego that stands rigidly against things coming from the outside and it is this ego rigidity that makes it impossible for us to accept everything that confronts us." There is also the "ego boundary" which is everything that is outside of you. We keep this wall up to justify our existence, and protect us, but usually at the expense of yourself and others. This wall will prevent you from meaningful relationships and interactions with other humans. "A man is born to achieve great things if he has the strength to conquer himself." If you can be knocked over easily, then you need to work on self-love and self-worth. You need to look and see why you are being triggered. What is the pain that is being touched to set you off? You cannot push your fears and pain aside, they will continue to grow and fester. You have to look at them and learn about them. Face those fears and pain with the posture of "What do you have to teach me? What can I learn from you?" Then, it is not so scary to face your fears and your pain. "The growth aim is to lose more and more of your "mind" and come more to your sense. To be more and more in touch with yourself and the world, instead of only in touch with fantasies and prejudices." The mind is a justifying machine; it will justify anything you want it to. The mind wants to be in control. The mind can be a negative thought generator, and the misinterpretation is that the mind is always right. Our minds can create these fantasies that aren't based in the real world. If you stay in fantasy then you will not have fulfilling relationships in work, friendship, family or romance. Fantasy keeps us in isolation. "I acquire no understanding of myself except as I take account of my surroundings. I do not think unless I think of things – and there I find myself." When we are in relationship with people and our surroundings then we can constantly ping ourselves off of these relationships and get feedback about ourselves. You have to truly engage with your actual relationships, not just the fantasy of what you think that relationship is. The close relationships in your life, such as your best friend, family, or partner, are meant to push your buttons, they are meant to show you the things you need to work on. "People have to grow by skillful frustrations, otherwise they have no incentive to develop their own means and ways of coping with the world." "Zen reveals that there is nowhere for man to go out of this world; no tavern in which he can overcome anxiety; no jail in which he can expiate his guilt. So, instead of telling us what the problem is, Zen insists that the whole trouble is just our failure to realize that there is no problem. And, of course

This episode we talked with our final Podcast Challenge winner, Dina, who called us all the way from Germany! Dina is a recent fan of Bruce Lee. She grew up in East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, and she never heard anything about Bruce Lee. She thinks Bruce Lee wasn't mentioned in the GDR because he had "made it" in the Western world and people from Western countries were not talked about in the GDR. Dina just discovered Bruce Lee last year when she and her boyfriend watched "Way of the Dragon," last December. Her boyfriend grew up in Western Germany has been a huge fan of Bruce Lee since he was young. Finally, he convinced Dina to watch a Bruce Lee movie. She thought the movie was really fantastic and it touched her. The humor in the film surprised and delighted her since she sat down expecting a serious action film. Bruce Lee was like Superman, but without any special effects. It was so impressive and she could see that everything was real, the muscles, the fast moves, something you can only achieve today with computers. She thought, "He must have a special super power." After the movie, they watched the footage on the DVD and Dina found out what Bruce Lee's super power is, his philosophy. That's when Dina decided she had to research Bruce Lee further. After the movie, Dina's boyfriend gave her a book, "The Life and Tragic Death of Bruce Lee," which is a biography Bruce's wife Linda wrote in the 70's. Dina would read some of the stories aloud when she and her boyfriend would sit down to breakfast or lunch. She then searched online for more about Bruce Lee and that is how she discovered the podcast Dina decided to participate in the Podcast Challenge because she's always been interested in working on herself. She finds it is important to not stand still and to get better for oneself. Bruce Lee's perspective on being the everlasting student especially impressed Dina and that way of life was something she wanted to pursue herself. She wanted to know what would happen to her if she applied this philosophy. After completing the Podcast Challenge, Dina's takeaway is that it was hard, but also fun. Before the Challenge, when an episode particularly resonated with her, Dina would try and do the Action Item for that episode. With the Podcast Challenge, she says all that came together and helped her to take her inner development more seriously and to put it in focus. At the beginning of the Challenge, Dina says she was not the best student. She wasn't journaling or saying her affirmations out loud, she thought she could just recall her affirmations to mind and that would be enough. Dina found that this doesn't work and by the 3rd or 4th day she decided that she had to take the time in the mornings to do it properly. Dina's affirmations: (1) Will power: I will bring the power of my will into action at least once daily e.g. getting one unloved task done (at work or at home) (2) Be water: I won't be in the opposite and rigid but I will be neutral to any at first sight strange or nonsense things that happen or are going to happen and will try to adapt myself, look at them from a positive side and so change them by adapting to my favor or put my mark on them (3) I will recognize /be conscious of my negative feelings and hold back an outward reaction as soon as I recognize them. I'll take a pause in these situations, calm down, analyze why I am negative about it (analyze my fears) and give a response later or maybe no response. In best cases I try to see something good in it or try to reframe it to something positive. Once she started to read her affirmations out loud, Dina found she was thinking deeper about them and that the words gave her energy. They became a daily reminder, especially for her second and third affirmations which she thinks she has to work extra hard on. Dina's third affirmation was helpful in her workplace. She works for a large corporation and sometimes she gets notified about things or has to do tasks that don't make sense. She found that being more open in those situations created a better dialogue between her and her coworkers and that people became more helpful when she didn't have a negative attitude about the situation. It energized Dina and the people around her. For the second part of the Challenge, Dina said, "I would feel better in my body if I would sleep at least 7hrs per night." She only accomplished that goal for half of the Challenge, but the rest of the time she slept her usual 5-6 hours a night. Even though going to sleep earlier was getting Dina more sleep, it wasn't making her happier. She has a full-time job and by going to sleep earlier she was cutting into her time to do her hobbies and whatever her household needs. While her body was feeling better in the mornings, her mind wasn't happy giving up doing the activities in the evening that bring her joy. The balance between feeling fulfilled in life and caring for her body is a problem that Dina can continue to experim

"Many people are still bound by tradition; when the elder generation says 'no' to something, then these other people will strongly disapprove of it as well. If the elders say that something is wrong, then they will believe that it is wrong. They seldom use their mind to find out the truth and seldom express sincerely their real feeling. The simple truth is that these opinions on such things as racism and traditions, which are nothing more than a 'formula' laid down by these elder people's experience. As we progress and time changes, it is necessary to reform this formula." Bruce is talking specifically about racism, but this quote can be applied in a broader sense to old traditions and stagnations we face in life. Bruce encountered racism and stale traditions in both the martial arts world and in Hollywood, and decided that he had to create his own formula for moving through those worlds. When is it time to reform the formula? How do we know when a formula is not working? You can tell when something is not working for you if you are banging against a barrier and not progressing forward or if the tradition you are upholding is hurting other people. Another indication of a formula not working is if you find you are dimming your light, your essence, for the sake of others. These are all indicators that you need to change the formula because what currently exists is not working. "When one is not expressing himself, he is not free. Thus he begins to struggle and the struggle breeds methodical routine. Pretty soon on is doing his methodical routine as response rather than responding to what is." This is when you return to doing what has always been done, instead of asking: is this the right thing to do in this moment? Have you grown past that routine? It can be hard to notice that you need to grow, especially when you are frustrated in the struggle. "Organic seeing is diminished or forgotten when we begin to choose sides." Witness what is flowing. Organic seeing comes from within you and is not influenced by other people's thoughts and ideas. Organic seeing is more difficult when you are mired in negative self-talk. "In a struggle you need, not neutrality, not indifference, but Transcendence." Transcendence is the reforming of the formula. Step back, get a different view of the landscape, and figure out where you need to go from there. "Because one does not want to be disturbed or made uncertain, he establishes a pattern of conduct, of thought, of relationship. Then he becomes enslaved to the pattern and takes the pattern to be the real thing." Not all patterns we follow are bad. Routines can be created as the solution for a particular problem, but that does not mean the pattern will be a solution for all situations or continue to work forever. When do you notice hints that the pattern is not working for you? It is important to be in constant awareness of those signs so you know when you need to modify or tweak what you're doing. "When your actions and your thinking become mechanical, you cease to expand or grow. You do not rely on yourself for expression. Do not nurture dependence, rather nurture independent inquiry." Get curious about what is not working. Inquire as to why it isn't working. Some things are going to be easy, small things in your life and others are going to be much bigger like racism and going up against the old school traditions. Those big things do not change quickly and require a lot of souls bonding together to fight against them. "When real feeling occurs, like anger, fear, etc, can one express himself with a classical pattern? Or is he merely listening to his own screams and yells while mechanically performing his routine?" This quote offers a great visual of how to know when you have to reform the formula. (Think of Edvard Munch's "The Scream.") "However, do not deny the classical approach as a reaction, for you will have created another pattern in which you will be trapped." This idea of reforming the formula is not that either "all old ideas are bad" or "all new ideas are good." It is about an evolution, it's about building on what works and tweaking what does not for your self. This is an ongoing process that is never finished. Trusting your self and living in harmony means that you do not have to be constantly at war with everyone who disagrees with you, you can let them be and follow your own path. "Fortune is the reward of the man who can think of something that hasn't been thought is before." Reforming the formula, thinking of something that you have not before, can bring you good fortune and goodwill in your life, and help you transcend your struggles. "A choice method is the cultivation of resistance. A well-disciplined mind is not a free mind. Any technique, however worthy and desirable, becomes a disease then the mind is obsessed with it." #TakeAction Notice where you are stagnant or dimming your light. Ask yourself: what would it look like to go beyond the thing I am strugglin

"To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities." Patience was something that Bruce Lee tried to cultivate. His wife Linda said that he would get very frustrated by other people not being able to match his timeline or if they would say they would do something and then not do it. Bruce was in dynamic motion all of the time. He had follow through so when others did not he would get frustrated. This quote starts with a frustrated, fed up tone, but ends with a proactive, positive tone. It is about not being a victim of circumstances and creating your own solution. Bruce offered a unique talent to Hollywood, he was a superb martial artist, actor, and writer, but he was dealing with a racist 1960s Hollywood. He was not getting the opportunities his talent deserved because of the color of his skin. Bruce could have kept slowly chipping away at the establishment to get to where he wanted to be, but instead he decided to figure out how to fast track his way to the lead roles he wanted. This led Bruce to move to Hong Kong where he could be a leading role. He became a huge movie star in Hong Kong, breaking every box office, and this finally got the attention of Hollywood. Bruce Lee's philosophy is truly action oriented. It comes back to the idea that these things are meant to be lived, not just thought about, not just intellectualized and pondered, but really applied. Since Bruce was a martial artist, it makes sense that he would want to pursue his ideas through movement and action. Bruce lived fully in the world as a martial artist, father, husband, actor, teacher, artist, writer, and philosopher. He never limited himself to pursuing just one thing at a time. Sometimes we think that we cannot have a relationship since we are focusing on our career or that we cannot be a parent and pursue a career. Go for the whole life experience. "A man can achieve great things if he can conquer himself." When you reach a plateau, the only way to go beyond that is to put in the effort and conquer whatever is keeping you on that ledge. "In this world there are a lot of people who talk intellectually about how they would do this or that. They talk about it but nothing is ever actualized or accomplished." Talking about an idea or a project can simulate the feeling that you're taking action towards your goal, but in reality if you only talk and never take action then you won't move forward. "The result of man is action and not thought." Creating opportunities is a creative act, and by using your imagination it can be limitless. If you can conceive it then there is a pathway toward it. "The spiritual power of man's will remove all obstacles." You have to have confidence in yourself, and cannot listen to those who have power over you telling you that you cannot do something. "I've always been buffeted by circumstances 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." Bruce talked a lot about being a self-willed man and that is how he viewed himself. "A self-willed man obeys a different law – the one law I too hold sacred – the human law in himself, his own individual will." Asking someone what they want often causes them to stall without a response. "Know what you want, don't worry about the reward but set the motion the machinery to achieve it. My contribution will be the measure of my reward and success." Sometimes we confuse ourselves and think that what we want is the reward. Know what you want in the big picture and that there are many pathways to get there. How you get there is the fun of it and when we encounter obstacles we have to be willing to adjust our path to continue forward. "It is not your task solely to lead, for this might make you lose The Way, but to let yourself be led. If you know how to meet you fate with attitude of acceptance, you are sure to find the right guidance. The superior man lets himself be guided; he does not go ahead blindly, but learns form the situation what is demanded of him and then follows that." It is a give and take of "What do I need to learn?" and then stepping up to action. You do have to be a warrior in the pursuit of your purpose because there will be times where you struggle or meet with resistance and you have to figure out how to get beyond that. "The enemy of development is pain phobia. The unwillingness to suffer interrupts your continuum of awareness and stagnates your action." "When you drop a pebble to a pool of water, the pebble starts a series of ripples that expand until they compass the whole pool. This is exactly what will happen when I give my ideas a definite plan of action." Take Action: "Anytime you use the words NOW and HOW and have awareness about this, you grow – it is the path to reintegration, taking back what is rightfully yours." What do you want or need right now? And how can you get? Within that be creative, be honest with your

This episode we sit down with another Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge Winner, Mahmoud Hamed! He shares with us his experience with the challenge and how approaching life from a place of love has deepened his daily interactions. Mahmoud first discovered the podcast out of a desire to learn more about Bruce Lee and reengage with the interest he had in Bruce Lee when he was growing up. Mahmoud knew of Bruce Lee the martial artist and actor, and over the years he acquired that interest in Bruce again, but wanted to know "What more can I learn about Bruce Lee, what more did he have to tell us?" After doing a quick search Mahmoud was excited to find the podcast and excited to see that Bruce's legacy was being upheld and showcased in a meaningful way. When the Podcast Challenge was announced, Mahmoud was impressed with the format, the affirmations, and the introspection the challenge promoted. Mahmoud's five affirmations: Love Presence Knowledge Purpose Wellbeing Mahmoud's Wellbeing Affirmation: Complete wellbeing in mind, body and soul makes one whole. These faculties must be well-nourished for one to feel well and good. While I may encounter obstacles that result in the contrary, I shall remain cognizant of this truth and make it the default pattern of my way of life. The fact that Bruce Lee took time to write out his affirmations and read them every day, impressed upon Mahmoud that the practice of affirmations is important. With his own affirmations, Mahmoud took inspiration from Bruce, but had to dig deep, and access aspects of his life, history, and future that he didn't normally spend much time thinking about. Mahmoud shares, "A lot of times we have these assumptions of what we want and where we want to go, what we want to achieve, but then we wonder if there's anything beyond that, if there's anything more to it, if there's more substance behind it." Having to write out the affirmations really put Mahmoud on the spot, instead of only having vague notions he wanted something specific, achievable, and direct. Mahmoud's Love Affirmation: Love is the loftiest of all emotions. It is also the most mysterious, as it is most elusive to define yet most apparent when experienced. Love is capable of innumerable manifestations that are inclusive of all existence. I shall therefore attempt to afford others the love they deserve, and love for them that which I love for myself. For Mahmoud, this affirmation was about wanting to love everyone as a human being even though their actions might vary and they might do very unloving things. This goes for everyone from family and friends, to coworkers and strangers. He found that love is a great catalyst for breaking down barriers and for social connection. During the Podcast Challenge, Mahmoud found that his relationships took on a higher meaning and felt more genuine. For the second part of the challenge Mahmoud said, "I would feel better in my body if…I move more and eat more mindfully." Mahmoud wanted to become more mindful of how often he moved his body and remember to move it more often. Even just being aware of the position of his body, and how it feels, taking time to stretch and change his posture. He found that over the two weeks, just taking the time to stretch, move his limbs, and when sitting to have good posture, Mahmoud started to feel better in his body. The third part of the challenge is the Harmony challenge of "Letting others be." Mahmoud found this part to be particularly challenging. Letting others be turned out to be not as easy as he thought it would be and it took him some time to get a hold of it and hold himself accountable. Mahmoud found that he often makes snap judgments about people, like most of us do, before they even do anything. Doing all of these exercises gave Mahmoud a heightened awareness overall. He found that in general he's giving everything more attention, time, and more consideration, learning more about things. You cannot change other people, but you can change yourself and how you interact with others. Thank you so much for participating in the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge, Mahmoud! Keep up the good work! If you're interested in doing the challenge, check it out at BruceLee.com/podcastchallenge. #AAHA This week we have a listener nomination from Marlon who nominates his friend Westley Chow: "I would like to nominate my friend and buddy Westley Chow. An awesome trainer in NYC, he motivates me to be not only a better trainer, but a more stronger and awesome version of myself. He is pound for pound the strongest person I know. Not only because he's a little power house, but because he sets goals and materializes them. He is truly the type of person that has ALWAYS been himself from the moment I met him. He was always wise enough to learn from others the good and bad, either from being a trainer or just in life and applied it to himself. So that's why I want to nominate my friend one of the most inspiring person I know for, AAHA." Westley works

For this episode we talked with another Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge winner, Mary C. If you've been following the Bruce Lee Challenge, then you know that we couldn't just pick one winner due to all the wonderful submissions we received. Mary was kind enough to join us and share her experience participating in the challenge. The Podcast Challenge came to Mary at a very crucial time in her life. She is in a career transition and since 2009 she had been doing her business as a public speaking coach and trainer part time, but at the beginning of this year she decided to do it full time. One aspect that she focuses on with her clients is the "inner critic" and she used the challenge as an excuse to document her own inner critic. The part of the challenge that Mary found the most difficult was the "Letting others be" because you couldn't say anything negative about other or yourself. Mary wanted to delve into why human beings default to negative thoughts: "As human beings we have a tendency to want to survive. Wanting to survive means not going outside our comfort zone, and when we do go outside our comfort zone because we also want to grow as equal and opposite forces that are happening there. We take those first steps and immediately the survival mode kicks in and says, 'No, no, no, it's a perceived threat don't do that.' Therefore the negative voices come up to discourage us from growing." The Bruce Lee philosophy that Mary has found most useful is "self-inquiry." The act of looking back and examining why she was feeling bad or what caused an emotion has been helpful for Mary identifying a common thought she has: "I'm not good enough." Many people have this same thought, and the negative thoughts gather evidence to support that "I'm not good enough," thought pattern. We have to take action despite this negativity. Mary started off with ten affirmations, but has since increased to thirty affirmations she reads daily. Here are her original ten: "Heart all in & Both feet in" "I am on the right path" "Life is an enriching adventure" "Everything is happening exactly the way it's meant to" "I am a savvy business woman" "I believe in Abundance" "I am excited to co-create my freedom with the universe" "It's not about me. It's about the transformation & empowerment I can bring to others" "I love my life" "I am an expert at letting go" Mary thinks that because Bruce Lee created affirmations for himself, it is easier for people who normally shy away from emotional content to create and use their own affirmations. Later, Mary created her personal mission in life to add to her affirmations and her personal mission is to develop enlightened leaders. To Mary, a leader is someone who makes others lives better. For the second challenge of nutrition and fitness, Mary completed the statement "I would feel better in my body if…" I got at least 7hrs of sleep per night. I did 30 minutes of intense cardio exercise & 30 minutes of weight training at least 3 times a week. Train in martial arts at least 3 session per week. I eat only the amount that I need And drank water instead of juices Only drink 1 cup of coffee per week day (and none on the weekend). By doing the podcast challenge, it made Mary more conscious about what is going on inside her head. She had the epiphany that if she relaxes, is present, and looks inwards she finds that love is always there; she just needs to tap into it within herself to feel it. Bruce Lee was truly connected with his heart, and really the Bruce Lee lesson is all about love. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) Mary nominates Amy Tan, author of the Joy Luck Club and many other best-selling novels. Amy Tan is American Chinese, born in Oakland, CA, one of three kids to Chinese immigrants. Mary wanted to nominate Amy Tan because when she saw the movie version of The Joy Luck Club, it really shifted some things within her. Growing up with Chinese immigrant parents, Mary always felt the feeling of "Do I belong in this culture or this culture?" and never felt like she belonged in either culture growing up. Amy Tan speaking about this experience in her work helped Mary realize that this is a common experience that other Asian kids like her have growing up in a western culture. This helped Mary integrate her two selves and realize that she belonged to both cultures. Amy Tan, officially from the Bruce Lee podcast, you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment Mary shared with us a specific #BruceLeeMoment: "It was a quote that I saw online, later on I discovered it was from a book by John Little. It was when John Little, the author, expressed a moment that he had with Bruce Lee, which really inspired me, when they were running. They had run three miles and Bruce said 'Oh tomorrow let's do another two.' They started doing the other two miles extra, and John said to Bruce, 'I'm going to die, I feel like I'm going to die. I really can't do this.' And Bruce Lee says back to him, 'Then die.' And John Little got so mad that he just

We had a chance to talk with another Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge winner, Bryce Young, who came all the way from Montana to record with us. Bryce shared with us his experience doing the challenge, how he found the podcast during a difficult time, and how participating in the podcast challenge changed his life. Below is an excerpt of our show notes, to read our full notes for this episode go to BruceLee.com/Podcast Bryce first found the Bruce Lee Podcast during a very tough time in his life. At the time, Bryce was living with his parents in Texas because his dad was dying and Bryce moved there to help with hospital visits and supporting his parents. The applied philosophies from the podcast really helped Bryce through this trying time in his life. From Bryce's podcast challenge entry he shares: "My cousin gave me the advice that I should only do so as long as I can still be my glowing positive self, because if I couldn't take care of that, I wouldn't be able to take care of my parents very well. And that's when I found the Bruce Lee podcast, and each episode echoed this philosophy. From home care, to hospitals, to the decision to stop treatments, to hospice, and my dad's eventual death on March 9th, it was a labor of love. I listened to every episode of the podcast as spiritual inspiration throughout that time and now, almost four months after my father's death, I still listen every Thursday when the new episode comes out on iTunes." Fast forward to the announcement of the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge, Bryce was excited to participate, but then he got terribly sick with an E. coli infection and nearly died. Bryce found that it turned out to be a great time for him to incorporate these philosophies to his life because it's during those dark, challenging moments where you need them the most. "All knowledge is self-knowledge." – Bruce Lee This quote really resonates with Bryce who considers finding your center to be an important part of life. If you don't know what is there inside you, you cannot give of yourself to others. You can't give what you don't have. Knowing yourself helps you feel grounded and anchored, and then no matter what happens you can always get to your center. It's very impressive that Bryce decided to participate in the challenge as he was so sick with E. coli. He wrote: "Though my body was not doing so hot, the self was doing just fine." While he was sick, Bryce felt that he actually had a lot of blessings in his life through his friends. They would come over with fans, change his sheets, made him food, and would keep him company. Bryce had six affirmations during the challenge and now had three new ones. The one affirmation that carried through was his "Common Thread" affirmation. The Common Thread Affirmation The way one conducts oneself in one aspect of life will transfer to all others. I will therefore infuse the following in all that I do: look for reasons to laugh, reach out to others, move with purpose, do the little things well, do one thing at a time, do first things first, accept help, be ready for change, be charitable and grateful. These are all things that Bryce is working towards, and while it's a lot, he knows that it is something to aim at. He hopes that by reading this affirmation everyday it will become ingrained in his psyche, and eventually these things will become automatic. This year has brought a lot of big life changes for Bryce, from his father passing earlier this year, to trying to buy a house, and to starting his own distillery. He's excited to open his business in January. Thank you Bryce for sharing your story with us, sharing your personal stories on this podcast helps others connect with themselves and the philosophies. Everyone is in their own process, and sharing all of that helps us know that others are also in process. For those of you inspired by Bryce's experience with the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge, you can do it too! Just go to brucelee.com/podcastchallenge to find out more. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, peace activist, and feminist also known for her work in performance art and filmmaking. She performs in English and Japanese. Yoko Ono has had a long career as an artist. She is also known for being the second wife and widow of John Lennon. Yoko is awarded for her contemporary artwork and music around the world and in 1989 the Whitney Museum held a retrospective of her work, titled "Yoko Ono: Objects, Films." She is also noted for her philanthropic contributions to world peace and disaster relief. Yoko and John Lennon held a "Bed-In for Peace" where in their pajamas, they invited in the press to talk about and promote world peace. Later they released their first single, "Give Peace a Chance," which was a top-20 hit. Yoko has brought feminism to the forefront of much of her art. In 1964, she did the performance art piece "Cut Piece" where she kneeled on a stage dressed in her best suit wit

"Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." Sometimes this quote is misunderstood—out of context it seems like Bruce is encouraging you to toughen up because winter is coming. But these words are not about praying for the strength to fight against a hard life. Within the context of Bruce Lee's philosophy of harmony, the "strength" Bruce is referring to is one of calm and flow. An easy life is not something you get because you pray for it or fight for it, the ease comes when you practice self-actualization and achieve peace of mind. If you only look at Bruce Lee as the ripped warrior, it is easy to misinterpret this quote to be about getting tough and developing physical strength to defend against a difficult life. When you understand who Bruce Lee was as a total human being, you know he could not have had the negative mentality that life was a constant struggle to be defended against. Bruce Lee was about keeping the mind on the positive and being in the flow. Endurance is about having the stamina to experience your whole life. It's about inviting all of the experiences, including the challenges and catastrophes, because every experience has a lesson in it. "The good life is a process, it's not a state of being. The good life constituted a direction selected by the total organism when there is freedom to move in any direction." The first step in the good life process is freeing your mind from the limiting thoughts that are preventing you from engaging fully in life. "The cultivation of the spirit is elusive and difficult and the tendency toward it is rarely spontaneous." You have to work at this, the cultivation of your spirit and root does not happen automatically. You cannot quit when it gets tough. "The true stillness is the stillness in movement." If you develop your inner being and you have a strong root from which you function, then your life can be moving around you in a spiral of ups and down, but you at the root can maintain your stillness in the middle of it. "Wisdom does not consist in trying to wrest the good from the evil, but in learning to ride them as a cork adapts itself to the crests and troughs of the waves." Take Action: What happens to you when you get thrown by life's difficulties? Can you be more flexible and adaptable? Notice what kind of escape fantasy you have and when you have it. What are you praying for to take you out of your current life? Where are you trying to force instead of flow? #AAHA James Wong Howe was a Chinese American cinematographer born in 1899 and worked on over 130 films. In the 1930s and 1940s, Howe was one of the most sought after cinematographers in Hollywood. He was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won twice for The Rose Tattoo (1955) and Hud (1963). Howe was prevented from becoming a U.S. citizen until the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943. Prior to WWII, he met his wife and they married in Paris in 1937. Due to anti-miscegenation laws, the marriage would not be legally recognized in the U.S. until 1949. James Wong Howe died in 1976 at age 76. Howe, you were a creative and social pioneer, and we think you're awesome! #BruceLeeMoment A moment from Daniel: "My wife and I went out of town to visit our parents over Thanksgiving, and we came back home on Sunday the 27th, I wasn't even aware that it was Bruce Lee's birthday. I previously went out and bought a inflatable Christmas Dragon for the yard, right after Halloween, in Bruce's honor of course. I put it up as soon as we got back home, which just happen to be his birthday, which would come to my attention through your podcast the following day. I just thought the Dragon was perfect and so was the timing, with his work being a more in depth influence on my life, as of the last 2 years." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

"Defeat is a state of mind; no one is very defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality. To me, defeat in anything is merely temporary, and its punishment is but an urge for me to exert greater effort to achieve my goal. Defeat simply tells me that something is wrong in my doing; it is a path leading to success and truth." Bruce defines defeat not as a mistake or failure, but as an attitude of giving up or a depressive attitude, a loss of energy. We all get knocked down and experience moments where things go wrong. It is important to process your feelings about that failure, but you cannot dwell there. Failure is merely temporary and if you accept defeat then you stay knocked down instead of getting back up. You must accept defeat to be truly defeated. The answer to your problem is within the problem itself. What is it you're trying to do? Why weren't you able to do it? Was it something that was within your power to control or was it outside of your control? What can you learn from this? When something goes wrong, if you're willing to dive deep into the problem and be very honest with yourself, there is an answer for how you can work your way out of or around the problem. "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 stumbling block." It can be frustrating when you invest time and energy into an endeavor and then something out of your control causes you to fail. You might feel that since you failed it was not worth all the effort and time you put in, but you can control how you react to the failure. "It is not a shame to be knocked down by other people. The important thing is to ask when you are being knocked down, "Why am I being knocked down?" If a person can reflect in this way, then there is hope for this person." The sting of defeat is meant to be a wake up call; not a life sentence. "Be pliable. When man is living, he is soft and pliable; when he is dead, he becomes rigid. Pliability is life; rigidity is death, whether one speaks of his body, his mind or his spirit." "With every adversity comes a blessing because a shock acts as a reminder to oneself that we must not get stale in routine." Take Action: When you get knocked down by life or circumstance, how can you reframe it as a learning opportunity? How can you use this as opportunity to learn more about yourself rather than place blame outside yourself? #AAHA "Jennifer Ho is a professor at UNC Chapel Hill. She is Asian American, a professor of mixed raced studies, 20th and 21st century American literature, and critical race theory. She has written extensively on issue surrounding mixed race identity. She works diligently, both in the classroom and in her research/talks/publications, to help people understand the importance of and influence that Asian Americans have in American culture and history; as well as showing people where racism exists in our society and how to address institutional racism and how to be a racial ally." #BruceLeeMoment Our #BruceLeeMoment comes from Trent N.: "The first time I listened to the podcast, it brought a tear to my eyes. Hearing Shannon speak about Bruce Lee's philosophy is just like hearing Rachel speak. The messages are almost identical. This makes me wonder if Rachel had been a fan of Bruce Lee. I'm going to bet that she was. I wish that I could have met Bruce Lee but in some respects, I already have. I realized that I don't have to be awesome like Bruce or Rachel were, but that people in the world can experience that 'Bruce Lee' feeling from me being the most authentic person I can be. This authentic being is what is remembered, way after the person is gone." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

Director John Alan Thompson joined us to discuss the film project we worked on together, "One Family." John discovered he wanted to be a filmmaker at 15. A video production class in high school and seeing "Apocalypse Now" propelled John to start experimenting with filmmaking. His teacher told him about a competition that AFI was hosting for students, and his senior year John created a short film that ended up placing. After that first taste, John dove into filmmaking. John still mostly works in short formats, creating music videos, commercials, and short films, including the short film he made with the Bruce Lee Family Company "One Family." This project came to John during a time when he was feeling creatively depleted and filled doubt about some life choices. When he started reading Bruce's philosophy, it was exactly what he needed to hear at that moment in his life. John absorbed from Bruce that fundamental part of living is finding that true essence inside of you and expressing it to the world. For the "One Family" film, Shannon wanted to share this story of the fight between Bruce Lee and Wong Jack Man, a pivoting moment for Bruce that hasn't been told well. The biggest challenge with creating "One Family" is that we didn't have any footage we could use. This challenge of recreating the fight through non-traditional means intrigued John. He pitched the idea of using old photographs and animating them, which proved to be complicated since we didn't have an animation budget. No one moves like Bruce Lee, so the creative puzzle was how to represent the energy, movement, and flow of Bruce's fighting. When Bruce had a school in Oakland, he was challenged by the San Francisco Chinatown community because he was teaching his martial arts in a very brash way and teaching it to anyone who wanted to learn regardless of gender, race, or background. That was not done. The Chinatown community wanted him to stop teaching to non-Chinese so they challenged him to a fight. They picked their champion, Wong Jack Man, and came down to the Oakland school for the fight. Shannon's mother, Linda, witnessed the fight. Bruce won the fight in 3 min, but the take away for him was that his traditional kung fu training didn't prepare him for actual combat outside of a competition environment. This opened Bruce's mind to needing to look at Kung Fu and his approach to combat as well as to training and being in the right kind of shape. Bruce won the right to continue teaching whoever he wanted and continued to do so. He truly believed that we are all one family, all of us humans, no matter our backgrounds, ethnicity, gender, or orientation. This is why the film is titled "One Family." #AAHA Paul Kariya is a Japanese Canadian hockey player that played in the NHL from 1993-2010. He played for four NHL teams, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, and St.Louis Blues. He still holds a few team records for Ducks and Predators. NHL First Team All-Star three times, Second Team All-Star twice. Kariya's international resume includes Olympic silver in 1994, and gold in 2002 with Team Canada, World Championship gold in 1994, silver in 1996, World Junior Championship gold in 1993. He was elected to the Hall of Fame on 26 June 2017, and is the first Asian player to be inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame. #BruceLeeMoment From listener Dan V.: "Growing up as a young child was not easy for me. Never knowing my father and only living with my mother until I was four years old, it was a very difficult time for me, as you can imagine. In 1970 I was forced to live in a shelter until I was nine years old. It was in those years that I was taken in by Bruce Lee's philosophies through his movies. He inspired me to take up martial arts; I loved the energy that was linked to his Philosophies." Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We had our first live taping of the Bruce Lee Podcast last Thursday, July 20th celebrating the podcast's one-year anniversary and honoring the 44th anniversary of Bruce Lee's passing. When we started the podcast a year ago, on July 20th, it was to commemorate that day with a beautiful remembrance of Bruce Lee and the gifts that he left behind for all of us. The podcast format allows us to discuss Bruce Lee's philosophy more in-depth and share his legacy with everyone for free. Special guest Osric Chau joined us for the event and shared his experiences completing the Bruce Lee Podcast Challenge, shared his thoughts on Bruce Lee, and gave an #AAHA shout-out. Osric Chau was born in Vancouver, his father is from Hong Kong and his mother is Malaysian. He trained in Wing Chun for many years and wanted to be a stuntman, but was discovered and his first film was Kung Fu Killer (2008) with David Carradine. Since then he's been in 2012, What Women Want, The Man with the Iron Fists, and was in recurring roles in Supernatural and now on Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. We were lucky to have Osric join us for the evening before heading down to Comic Con in San Diego. For the podcast challenge we asked people to complete three action items (listed at brucelee.com/podcast-challenge) We asked Osric to complete the challenge and he graciously said yes. He said this about his overall experience: "I loved it, this was probably one of my favorite things I've done in recent memory. It literally changed my life and I think it will continue to change my life." He's decided to incorporate the challenge into his life and continue doing the action items! Osric shared with us some of his affirmations: - "Today's my day, tomorrow's someone else's. I will make the most out of every minute to the fullest of my capabilities." - When confronted with an obstacle I will see it as a challenge to accomplish my goal in a better and creative way; it's an opportunity to think outside my box." - "Smaller Goals. I will focus on and set smaller goals for today, goals I can start and accomplish today. Smaller goals that lead to my larger and more ambitious goals." For the "I would feel better in my body if…" action item, Osric thought at first he didn't have anything to improve since he already eats well and exercises, but then realized he hates stretching. Realizing this is his weakness; it took Osric all week to remember to do stretches, but then after thinking about it often he found himself stretching while watching TV or doing something else. This is similar to how Bruce Lee would do his stretches, while reading or doing something else. In the final action item, the Harmony Challenge, "Letting others be," Osric thought it would be easy since he considers himself a cheerful, kind person, but then he realized how much he enjoys gossip. When sitting in the makeup trailer people enjoy gossiping and he used to join in, but during this challenge the extra awareness made him step back and not participate in the gossip. Instead of wanting to put others down, he wants to raise people up Thank you so much Osric for joining us for the live event and for participating in the podcast challenge. We know that just by sharing your challenge experience you'll inspire many people out there with your vulnerability and sharing your journal and experiences. #AAHA Osric's Awesome Asian and Hapas nomination goes to Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani. Kumail is known for being on Silicon Valley and stars in the movie "The Big Sick," (in theaters now!) which he co-wrote with his wife Emily about their relationship. It's possibly the first movie to star a Pakistani actor in the lead role and it's getting excellent reviews. Osric says he's seen it once already and loved it and is thinking of seeing it again. Kumail, we think you're awesome! Share your #AAHAs and #BruceLeeMoments with us at [email protected] Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast