Bruce Lee Quotes

Bruce Lee, seorang yang menginspirasi dalam dunia beladiri. Bukan hanya master dalam beladiri Jeet Kune Do, tetapi dia juga dianggap salah satu legend dalam beladiri. Kemampuannya tentu tidak diragukan lagi sebagai legend, bahkan beberapa media menyebutkan bahwa dia adalah salah satu super human dengan kekuatannya yang di atas rata-rata manusia normal. Beberapa kemampuannya yaitu gerakan tendangan dan pukulan yang sangat cepat, lalu pukulannya mampu membuat orang terpental, dan sebagainya.

Bruce Lee

Selain master dalam beladiri dia memiliki profesi lain sebagai guru beladiri, pemain film, dan juga filosofer. Sebagai guru beladiri, Bruce Lee dikenal sebagai guru dari atlet terkenal yaitu Chuck Norris, murid didikannya tersebut bahkan berhasil menjadi juara dunia. Sebagai pemain film, dia pernah menjadi pemeran utama dalam berbagai film beladiri yang terkenal di masanya. Sedangkan sebagai filosofer, Bruce Lee memiliki pandangan, motivasi dan juga filosofi yang menarik. Nah, pada artikel ini, saya akan membagikan beberapa kutipan yang pernah disampaikan oleh Bruce Lee:

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“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” 

“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” 

“Be happy, but never satisfied.”

“Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty, often hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. As love grows older, our hearts mature and our love becomes as coals, deep-burning and unquenchable.” 

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” 

“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.” 

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.” 

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times.” 

“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.” 

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.” 

“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” 

“Don't fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” 

“The doubters said, "Man can not fly." The doers said, "Maybe, but we'll try." And finally soared. In the morning glow. While non-believers. Watched from below.” 

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” 

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” 

“If you don't want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today.” 

“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” 

“Use only that which works, and take it from any place you can find it.” 

“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successfull personality and duplicate it.” 

“Not being tense but ready. Not thinking but not dreaming. Not being set but flexible. Liberation from the uneasy sense of confinement. It is being wholly and quietly alive, aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.” 

“A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.” 

“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” 

“Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.” 

“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.” 

“Forget about winning and losing; forget about pride and pain. Let your opponent graze your skin and you smash into his flesh; let him smash into your flesh and you fracture his bones; let him fracture your bones and you take his life! Do not be concerned with escaping safely- lay your life before him!!” 

“You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” 

“A good teacher protects his pupils from his own influence. ” 

“If there is a God, he is within. You don't ask God to give you things, you depend on God for your inner theme.” 

“For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime.” 

“If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

“As you think, so shall you become.” 

“Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.” 

“To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to either spend or waste and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever.” 

“Be self aware, rather than a repetitious robot.” 

“Self-knowledge involves relationship. To know oneself is to study one self in action with another person. Relationship is a process of self evaluation and self revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself - to be is to be related.” 

“Time means a lot to me because you see I am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing.” 

“Using no way as a way, having no limitation as limitation.” 

“Now I see that I will never find the light, Unless, like the candle, I am my own fuel, Consuming myself.” 

“Many people dedicate their lives to actualizing a concept of what they should be like, rather than actualizing themselves. This difference between self-actualization and self-image actualization is very important. Most people live only for their image.” 

“The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits.” 

“Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul.” 

“Defeat is not defeat unless accepted as a reality-in your own mind.” 

“Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.” 

“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.” 

“The meaning of life is that it is to be lived, and it is not to be traded and conceptualized and squeezed into a patter of systems.” 

“Boards don't hit back.” 

“Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water.” 

“The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.” 

“The More we value things, the less we value ourselves.” 

“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one's potential.” 

“Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can.” 

“Everything you do, if not in a relaxed state will be done at a lesser level than you are proficient. Thus the tensed expert marksman will aim at a level less than his/her student.” 

“Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.” 

“Real living is living for others.” 

“If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves. Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo.” 

“All knowledge leads to self-knowledge.” 

“To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.” 

“Do not deny the classical approach, simply as a reaction, or you will have created another pattern and trapped yourself there.” 

“‎The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” 

“The idea is that flowing water never goes stale, so just keep on flowing.” 

“Preparation for tomorrow is hard work today.” 

“Obey the principles without being bound by them.” 

“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.” 

“Its like a finger pointing away to the moon. Dont concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.” 

“You cannot force the Now. But can you neither condemn nor justify and yet be extraordinarily alive as you walk on? You can never invite the wind, but you must leave the window open.” 

“Moving, be like water. Still, be like a mirror. Respond like an echo.” 

“The world is full of people who are determined to be somebody or to give trouble. They want to get ahead, to stand out. Such ambition has no use for a gung fu man, who rejects all forms of self-assertiveness and competition.” 

“Linda and I aren't one and one. We are two halves that make a whole -- two halves fitted together are more efficient than either half would ever be alone!” 

“If you think a thing is impossible, you'll only make it impossible.” 

“The possession of anything begins in the mind.” 

“...if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.” 

“Take no thought of who is right or wrong or who is better than. Be not for or against.” 

“To me, the extraordinary aspect of martial arts lies in its simplicity. The easy way is also the right way, and martial arts is nothing at all special; the closer to the true way of martial arts, the less wastage of expression there is.” 

“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.” 

“The word "superstar" is an ilusion” 

“In Buddhism, there is no place for using effort. Just be ordinary and nothing special. Eat your food, move your bowels, pass water and when you're tired go and lie down. The ignorant will laugh at me, but the wise will understand.” 

“It is compassion rather than the principle of justice which can guard us against being unjust to our fellow men.” 

“As long as I can remember I feel I have had 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.” 

“But neither can you condemn nor justify and yet be extraordinarily alive as you walk on. You can never invite the wind but you must leave the window open.” 

“The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.” 

“Knowledge earns you power, character earns you respect.” 

“Water is fearless, you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a teapot it becomes the teapot, water can flow drip, creap, or crash!” 

“Set patterns, incapable of adaptability, of pliability, only offer a better cage. Truth is outside of all patterns.” 

“I am not afraid of a person who knows 10000 kicks. But I am afraid of a person who knows one kick but practices it for 10000 times.” 

“If I tell you I'm good, probably you will say I'm boasting. But if I tell you I'm not good, you'll know I'm lying.” 

“Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.” 

“Because one does not want to be disturbed, to be made uncertain, he establishes a pattern of conduct, of thought, a pattern of relationship to man etc. Then he becomes a slave to the patter and takes the pattern to be the real thing.” 

“Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system.” 

“You just wait. I'm going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world.” 

“Don't think. Feel. It's like a finger pointing at the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all of the heavenly glory.” 

“If you follow the classical pattern, you are understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow -- you are not understanding yourself.” 

Bruce Lee Quote

“...we have more faith in what we imitate than in what we originate. We cannot derive a sense of absolute certitude from anything which has its roots in us. The most poignant sense of insecurity comes from standing alone and we are not alone when we imitate. It is thus with most of us; we are what other people say we are. We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay.” 

“Using no way as way. Having no limitation as your only limitation.” 

“Be like water making its way through crack. Do not be assertive but adjust to the object and you shall find a way round it or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid outward thigs will disclose themselves. Moving be like water. Still be like a mirror. Respond like an echo.” 

“Relationship is understanding. It is a process of self-revelation. Relationship is the mirror in which you discover yourself -- to be is to be related.” 

“Just be ordinary and nothing special. Eat your food, move your bowels, pass water, and when you're tired, go and lie down. The ignorant will laugh at me, but the wise will understand.” 

“The man who is really serious, with the urge to find out what truth is, has no style at all. He lives only in what is.” 

“In order to control myself I must first accept myself by going with and not against my nature.” 

“Ricorda, amico mio, che non è tanto importante quello che ti succede, ma come reagisci agli eventi.” 

“Bring the mind into sharp focus and make it alert so that it can immediately intuit truth, which is everywhere. The mind must be emancipated from old habits, prejudices, restrictive thought processes and even ordinary thought itself.” 

“Having totality means being capable of following "what is," because "what is" is constantly moving and constantly changing. If one is anchored to a particular view, one will not be able to follow the swift movement of "what is.” 

“Effort within the mind further limits the mind, because effort implies struggle towards a goal and when you have a goal, a purpose, an end in view, you have placed a limit on the mind.” 

“Voidness is that which stands right in the middle between this and that. The void is all-inclusive, having no opposite--there is nothing which it excludes or opposes. It is living void, because all forms come out of it and whoever realizes the void is filled with life and power and the love of all beings.” 

“There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Jeet Kune-Do is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way.” 

“I'm moving and not moving at all. I'm like the moon underneath the waves that ever go on rolling and rocking. It is not, "I am doing this," but rather, an inner realization that "this is happening through me," or "it is doing this for me." The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.” 

“If you want to be immortal live a life worth remembering.” 

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless and add what is specifically your own” 

“Do not pray for an easy life. Pray for a difficult on with the strength to endure it.” 

“Satori - in the awakening from a dream. Awakening and self-realization and seeing into one's own being - these are synonymous.” 

“I am not afraid of an opponent who practiced ten thousand kicks once. What I am afraid of is an opponent who practiced one kick, ten thousand times” 

“In the middle of chaos lies opportunity” 

“Remember no man is really defeated unless he is discouraged.” 

“I fear not the man that can throw a thousand different kicks once, but the man who can throw one kick a thousand times.” 

“Practice makes perfect. After a long time of practicing, our work will become natural, skillfull, swift, and steady.” 

“Only the self-sufficient stand alone - most people follow the crowd and imitate.” 

“...good technique includes quick changes, great variety and speed. It may be a system of reversals much like a concept of God and the Devil. In the speed of events, which one is really in charge?...to put the heart of martial arts inyour own heart and have it be a part of you means total comprehension and the use of a free style. When you have that you will know that there are no limits.” 

“Do not allow negative thoughts to enter your mind for they are the weeds that strange confidence.” 

“In Life There are No Limits, Only Plateaus.”“Give up thinking as though not giving it up. Observe techniques as though not observing.” 

“It is not a shame to be knocked down by other people. The important thing is to ask when you're being knocked down, 'Why am I being knocked down?' If a person can reflect in this way, then there is hope for this person.” 

“Put 'going the extra mile' to work as part of one's daily habit.” 

“What you must not do now is to worry and think of the Nationals that is now of the past. What you Habitually Think largely determines what you will become. Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. I have faith in your ability. You will do just fine.” 

“Never trouble trouble till trouble troubles you. I'll not willingly offend, nor be easily offended.” 

“I wish neither to possess nor to be possessed. I no longer covet 'paradise'. More important, I no longer fear 'hell'.

"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."

“Showing off is the fools's idea of glory.” 

“Proprio come per mantenere una buona salute a volte bisogna prendere una medicina sgradevole, così per poter fare le cose che ci piacciono spesso bisogna fare qualcosa che non ci piace.” 

“Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality."

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Mungkin itu dulu beberapa kutipan pilihan dari Bruce Lee. Sebenarnya masih banyak kutipan yang pernah diucapkannya, bahkan jumlahnya ribuan. Namun karena terlalu banyak saya hanya menyampaikan beberapa yang terbaik dan terpopuler saja.

Diperbarui pada 16 Januari 2017.