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;...

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 tr...

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 l...

"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 in...

"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 t...

  "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 motio...

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 p...

"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 per...

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...

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 ab...

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...

"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  Th...

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 oth...

"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...

"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...

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 vi...

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 c...

"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...

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 kno...

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." The...

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...

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...

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 c...

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...

"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...