Sourcing Bruce Lee

Did Bruce Lee say a quote that starts with “Always be yourself"?   Introduction  Another Bruce Lee "quote" appeared on my radar today. In full it reads (as shown in the image at top): "Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it." I was not sure about this one. It fit with Bruce's thoughts on self-expression, so I was optimistic. The Sources The Warrior Within, John Little This quote was easy to find. A version of it appeared in one book: The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee  John Little, 1996 This is basically a real quote! One page 127 the following appears: "Lee attempted to explain this highly individual way of personal growth during a conversation he shared with Hong Kong broadcaster Ted Thomas: 'When I did The Green Hornet television series back in 1965, I looked around and I saw a lot of human beings. And as I looked at myself, I was the only...

Did Bruce Lee say a quote that starts with “If you love life"?  Introduction  Another Bruce Lee "quote" appeared on my radar today. In full it reads: "If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of." I'll admit that I was on the fence about this one. It could be real, or it could be fake. I decided to check it out. The Sources Striking Thoughts, 2000 This quote was easy to find! It appeared in two books: The Warrior Within: The Philosophies of Bruce Lee  John Little, 1996 Bruce Lee: Striking Thoughts  John Little, 2000 Furthermore, it was listed the same in both books.  Conclusion This quote is confirmed! As this was the 10th post to the Sourcing Bruce Lee blog, I didn't want readers to think I'm only interesting in debunking "Bruce Lee quotes." If someone is using a quote that Bruce Lee actually wrote, and attributing it to Bruce Lee, I want to promote that! If you like this article, and might want to learn mo...

Add caption Did Bruce Lee say a lengthy quote that starts with “If you always put limits on everything you do"? Introduction  Another Bruce Lee "quote" appeared on my radar today. In full it reads: "If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." Right away I knew something was wrong with this. The more I read "Bruce Lee" speaking like a modern motivational speaker, the less likely it is that he said such words. That prompted me to begin my investigative process. The Sources  Tao of Jeet Kune Do Expanded Edition I checked the seven authoritative sources for Bruce Lee quotes that I described in my article Do Not Pray for an Easy Life .  Bruce Lee did not saying anything like the quote in question. In fact, the word "plateau" doesn't appear in any of the sources.  T...

Did Bruce Lee end a quote by saying "Learn, master, and achieve."? Read on!  Introduction  There's no shortage of imagery containing the quote above. It usually takes some form of the following: "Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. Learn, master, and achieve." There does not appear to be any "definitive" source for this quote. It's sprinkled among the usual uncited "quote sites" and it appears in a few books that collect such sayings without doing any verification. The Sources Bruce Lee: Artist of Life, 1999 I checked the seven authoritative sources for Bruce Lee quotes that I described in my last post . It turns out that one of them,  Bruce Lee: Artist of Life  John Little, 1999) is the source for part of the quote. That book includes the following: "Learn the principles, abide by the principles, and t...

Did Bruce Lee say the following? "Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” Read on! Introduction  Bruce Lee Podcast #69  I used the Bruce Lee web site and podcast as the starting point for this research. The quote in question  appears on the web page of Bruce Lee podcast number 69, from October 2017 , as shown above. Zero Sources I thought this would be an easy quote to research. However, I could not find any reputable source for this quote!  I checked the following authoritative sources for Bruce Lee philosophy, the first four of which are recommended by the Bruce Lee philosophy page . All include Bruce Lee as author, with the exception of the last. The secondary author and first date of publication follow. Bruce Lee: Wisdom for the Way  Shannon Lee, 2009 Bruce Lee: Artist of Life  John Little, 1999 Bruce Lee: Striking Thoughts  John Little, 2000 Bruce Lee: The Tao of Gung Fu: A Study in the Way of Chinese Martia...

Introduction  Wargamer,  https://www.wargamer.com/articles/napoleonic-war-games/ I read the following quote, and as you might expect, it tripped my radar. Bruce Lee supposedly said: "To hell with circumstances. I create opportunities." My question: what are the true origins of this quote? The image above provides a hint, if you're a military history fan. The Authority The most recent "authoritative" source for this quote appears to be the Bruce Lee podcast, episode 74 , with notes published on 28 November 2017. Bruce Lee Podcast 74,  https://brucelee.com/podcast-blog/2017/11/28/74-to-hell-with-circumstances The Oldest Online Version My next question is: what is the earliest source we have for Bruce Lee saying this quote, if it indeed exists? The oldest version with the same words that I could retrieve online, with a reliable date, appears in a German language forum, dated 17 February 2007 . The person making the post uses it as his signature:...

Calligraphic 夢語 by Takuan Sōhō (1573-1645), Nomura Art Museum, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan, 1624 This is a brief message to direct readers to a new post I published at Martial History Team , titled Did Takuan Sōhō Write a Famous Quote about Mushin ? When I began my investigation of the issue in question, I wondered if it linked to Bruce Lee. If it did, I would have published the results here. It turned into a much more complicated historical topic, so I published the story at Martial History Team. Enjoy! If you like this article, and might want to learn more about martial arts history in general, visit  Martial History Team , and also check out our  Facebook page ,  Instagram  account, and  Twitter  feed. Be devoted!