Lessons Learned from Bruce Lee

I have a post on Lessons Learned from Bruce Lee on Sources of Insight.  Bruce Lee was one of my early inspirations.  He was a patterns and practices kind of a guy.  In fact, Bruce influenced my software engineering approach.  Rather than lock into a single style, he took the best techniques from various martial arts and measured against effectiveness.  For example, he took a boxer's hands and a wreslter's grappling skills.

Here is a summary of my lessons from Bruce:

• Be YOUR best.
• Absorb what is useful.
• Keep an open mind.
• Aim past your target.
• Stay flexible.
• Focus on growth.
• Master your mind and body.
• Apply what you know.
• Make things happen.

My favorite Bruce Lee quote is "Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”  It's all about finding what works for you and not blindly adopting things.

I've included a more exhaustive list of my favorite Bruce Lee quotes in my post, Lessons Learned from Bruce Lee.  Whether you're a Bruce Lee fan or on a path of personal development, I think you'll enjoy the tour of Bruce's insight and words of wisdom.

Comments

• Anonymous
  July 03, 2009
  Yes, there is alot to be learnt from Bruce Lee.

• Anonymous
  July 04, 2009
  And it's bonus day for thos of us who are fans of both.  Thanks for sharing.

• Anonymous
  July 04, 2009
  Very true words, but there are major challenges.... When one is a novice, they do not have the knowledge to determine what is useful.... Even when one has obtained the distinction of guru, it is not simple. New ideas may challenge established concepts. Some will be viable and may render previous methodologies obsolete or sub-optimal. Others will sound extremely good, yet have significant flaws, which have not yet been discovered. My path in this journey has been to always keep an open mind, and to listen to the experiences of others (at all levels of expertise). It has not always been easy, and there have been detours...but the journey has never been boring.