Bruce Lee Podcast

This week we discuss Bruce Lee’s affirmations. These are 7 ideas he wrote on small note cards and carried with him always: Memory, Subconscious Mind, Imagination, Reason, Emotion, Conscience and Will Power. These 7 ideas are part of a whole system of well being and self-cultivation Bruce developed. And they work together as a harmonious ecosystem. Today we discuss the first three ideas: Memory, Subconscious Mind, and Imagination. 1st Affirmation: Memory “Recognizing the value of an alert mind, and an alert memory, I will encourage mine to become alert by taking care to impress it clearly with all thoughts I wish to recall and by associating those thoughts with related subjects which I may recall to mind frequently.” Bruce Lee on memory: “Not memory for memory’s sake, not accumulation of knowledge, but synthesis and application.” 2nd Affirmation: Subconscious Mind “Reorganizing the influence of my subconscious mind over my power of will, I shall take care to submit to it a clear and definite picture of my majo

Bruce Lee, was an extremely joyous person who loved to laugh. It’s an often overlooked part of his personality but he loved to joke and play around, and make other people laugh. He also thought of happiness as a synonym for well-being. Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce’s wife, tells us about Bruce’s humor and how much she laughed during their years together. Bruce was also quite a prankster on set and with friends, and he loved a good pun. His playful character also created a fun-loving energy in his home. Brandon Lee, Bruce’s son and Shannon’s brother, seemed to have inherited his father’s jokester personality. Shannon shares how Brandon would pull pranks and how their family was filled with a sense of play, lightness, joy, and laughter. For Shannon, laughter is an integral part of who she is and she considers laughter the best medicine. Bruce Lee distinguished “being happy” with “happiness.” Being happy was just about passing moments while achieving happiness over a lifetime involved being productive towards ones go

In this week’s episode we have a special guest Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce Lee’s wife and Shannon’s mom. Linda shares stories of her life with Bruce, how they first met and what it was like to be married to and in a partnership with him. She said that Bruce considered his greatest accomplishment was being a father. She describes what kind of father he was to Brandon and Shannon, and how his unusual schedule allowed him to spend more time with his kids than other fathers at the time. Every day was different for Bruce with teaching, traveling, training or filming. Linda shares some daily rituals that grounded Bruce—he drank tea with honey and ginseng every morning, and throughout the day to maintain his energy. We also discuss the unique path Bruce decided to take in his film career. After facing discrimination in Hollywood, he chose to go to Hong Kong to create his own production company and make the films he wanted to make. “You need to know yourself, you need to believe in yourself, you have to have faith in yo

“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.” This quote is very close to Shannon’s heart. When her brother Brandon unexpectedly died in 1993 on the set of the Crow, Shannon was overwhelmed with intense pain and grief. It was on her journey to find healing from her grief that she started to delve into her father’s writings for the first time and she found this quote. Bruce’s words helped his daughter find space to heal and process Brandon’s death. Shannon is motivated to share her father’s writings and quotes because his words personally helped her get through the toughest time of her life. After discovering her father’s writings, Shannon experienced her own #BruceLeeMoment of self-awareness and the call to be on a path of self-actualization. She quit acting and decided to dedicate her life to spreading h

“Walk on.” There’s a story behind this famous quote. In 1969, Bruce severely injured his back during a routine training session because he didn’t warm up properly. He was told he could never practice martial arts again and may never walk normally. Devastated by this news, Bruce became a researcher of his injury, his body and ultimately created his own path to healing. The journey was long and there were many ups and downs. At one point he took one of his business cards and wrote “Walk on” on the back. He put this card where he could see it to remind him every day to move forward with his recovery. No matter what anyone else said, he would always “Walk on." It is from this year-long recovery period that produced much of Bruce Lee’s writing. Since he was confined to his bed, Bruce would read and write constantly to stay active. In one of his writings Bruce says: “Whether I like it or not, circumstances are thrust upon me, and being a fighter at heart, I sort of fight it in the beginning. But soon realize that w

In this week’s episode we talk about the three core tenets of Jeet Kune Do: Simplicity, Directness, Freedom. Bruce Lee applied these tenets to martial arts, but also to everyday life. Shannon shares the story of the pivotal fight that led Bruce Lee to develop his own martial arts philosophy and way: Jeet Kune Do. In Bruce Lee’s words: “The art of Jeet Kune Do is simply to simplify. Jeet Kune Do avoids the superficial, penetrates the complex, goes to the heart of the problem and pinpoints the key factors. Jeet Kune Do does not beat around the bush. It does not take winding detours. It follows a straight line to the objective. Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points. Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style, it can fit in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do utilizes all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any techniques or means which serve its end.” Essentially: Taking what is useful and rejecting what is useless. You h

“Under the sky, under the heavens, we are but one family.” This week we discuss harmony. Harmony was an important part of Bruce Lee’s philosophy and the way he lived his life. He was always seeking connection over opposition and never needed to compare himself with anyone else. He truly believed that we are one family—black, white, brown, yellow, red—we are all one. Bruce Lee believed in the harmony of totality versus partiality. You need to be aware of your surroundings and relate to your surroundings, and this helps you be in harmony with yourself and the world. It is hard to learn about yourself in complete isolation, you need to live in the world. We also discuss the idea of "Harmonious Individuality." This is one of Bruce Lee’s core principles. It’s a fusion of Eastern and Western ideas. You can be a very unique individual and yet still be connected to and in harmony with the world around you. Being an individual does not have to mean that you are separate from your community or your environment. Separat

“To change with change is the changeless state.” Change often brings fear, and many times we resist. But if you can flow and be adaptable, you can move through all of the things that life throws at you, with much ease you will remain in a place where you wont freak out and you will remain in a changeless state. “To understand your fear in change is the beginning of really seeing.” Life is constantly moving and changing and you have to follow that movement like the shadow following the body. Being tense and fearful of change brings despair and destruction of your joy. Being present in the moment for what the moment brings is more important than worrying about something that hasn’t happened. “Wisdom does not lie in trying to wrest the good from the evil but rather lies in learning to ride them as a cork adapts itself to the crest of a wave. Resisting change is resisting life. “The meaning of life is to be lived.” #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week’s shoutout goes to Judy Joo, a chef, writer and TV perso

“What was that? An Exhibition? We need emotional content. Now try again!” What did Bruce Lee mean by “Emotional Content?” He was describing the feeling of being totally present in your body and connected to your own life force. A spiritual life force that is the energy of creation. This force helps you become a human being from moment to moment. When you are creating emotional content, you are creating in awareness, openness and receptivity to everything around you. You are in a state of relating to your surroundings. You are not in isolation—you are connected. “Don’t think, FEEL.” Don’t pull yourself out of a real moment by thinking and intellectualizing. Stay in the moment and be totally present for the total experience. Emotional content is also about the creation of art. Art is the communication of authentic feelings. We are all artists of our own lives. Bruce Lee believed that art is the work of enlightenment. And the origin of enlightenment comes from understating your own heart and living whole-hearted

This week we talk about how Bruce Lee documented his goals, valued mistakes and created a personal definition of success. A dedicated journal writer, Lee consistently wrote down his big and small goals. He believed that all goals did not have to be achieved, they were a way to orient yourself towards a big dream with meaning. They were also an opportunity to make mistakes along the way, learn and adapt as necessary—being in flow, using no way as way. He wrote this big goal for himself when he was 28 years old: My Definite Chief Aim I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness. Bruce Lee Jan. 1969 Bruce Lee also valued mistakes and defeat. To him, "defeat is nothing bu

How did Bruce Lee interpret the ideas of Originating and Innovating? This week we discuss Bruce’s unique take on these ideas. His definition of these words have nothing to do with the buzzwords of business. Originating is the process of self-actualizing and becoming your true self and innovating is what gets created in the world when you are connected to your authentic energy. "We tend to have more faith in what we imitate than what we originate. We feel we cannot derive a sense of absolute certitude from anything which has its root in us. The most poignant sense of insecurity comes from standing alone and we are not alone when we imitate.” Most of us are seeking validation by imitating the path or success of others even if it’s against our true nature. But our mission in life should be to originate by letting our true inner light shine through. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week’s shoutout goes to pioneering comedian, actress, singer and activist Margaret Cho. Margaret was the first Asian American le

"Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself. Do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate him.” This week’s show covers Bruce Lee’s thoughts on self actualization vs. "self-image" actualization. He did not look to imitate others, he was committed to going deeply within himself to find the truth about his own unique essence and how to express it honestly in the world. He was constantly working on understanding his true self through active observation, questioning, researching and journaling. "Research your own experience. Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is essentially your own.” Shannon talks about the pressures of being Bruce Lee’s daughter and how her dad’s philosophy ultimately guided her to discover her own true identity. She also shares a great story about how her dad challenged the producers and studio during the filming of Enter the Dragon to ensure his philosophies stayed in the script. #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week’s shouto

In this episode we discuss one of Bruce Lee's most important philosophies—Take Action! Bruce Lee was known around the world as an action star but his philosophy about taking action goes much deeper. Philosophy was not just an intellectual exercise for Bruce, he believed in applying it in real life through continual action. It was also an emotional process that started in his heart, then energized his body to manifest ideas in the real world. It was a process of becoming more intensely himself. He encouraged his students to experience what it feels like to be fully alive and live the philosophy. “Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” #AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week’s shoutout goes to pioneering Asian actor and activist George Takei We all know him for his most famous role as Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the USS Enterprise in the TV series Star Trek. But George is also an ardent activist working on behalf of LGBTQ+ rights. Thank you George for being a positive role mod

We discuss Bruce Lee’s most famous philosophical quote. What does it mean and what inspired him to come up with it? Shannon shares personal stories about her dad and unpacks the quote to help us understand its depth and meaning. We give our first #AAHA (Awesome Asians Hapa) shoutout to Justin Lin and we hear a #BruceLeeMoment from one of our team members who used Bruce’s teachings to get through a harrowing personal challenge.

One Inch Punch: The tiny startup with a giant global fan base The Bruce Lee family company is a tiny family startup in a very unique situation. Millions of fans around the world but they didn’t control the rights to Bruce Lee’s name and likeness due to a bad deal that left a giant media conglomerate in charge. Learn how Shannon Lee tapped into her dad’s philosophy and wisdom to reclaim the rights and create a new company to serve her dad’s mission of personal freedom. We also introduce our other segments: #AAHA: Awesome Asians and Hapas. We give a shoutout to Asians and Hapa peeps doing awesome things in the world. #BruceLeeMoment: Moments of Bruce Lee’s philosophy taking action in the real world.

A brief introduction about the Bruce Lee Podcast from Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee and CEO of the Bruce Lee Family Company.