“Don’t do things to put yourself in favor with others. Do things to put yourself in favor with you.”
If you know anything about Bruce Lee, you know that he was a very deep thinker. While the superficial world knows him for his martial arts he was an even more prolific philosopher! In fact, he regularly wrote in a journal. While a lot of his writings were meant to be private, his journal was discovered and his writings were released to the public in the book Bruce Lee: Artist of Life.
Through these writings, Bruce made himself vulnerable and you get to see a very honest reflection of who he was. You get to see Bruce as a man, not just as a martial artist. I think it is incredibly unfortunate that Bruce was not alive during the rise of blogs and social media because I believe that he would be an Incredible Blogger and Influencer! Oh and he would still be successful at life.
Bruce was incredibly comfortable in his own skin. This is something that was apparent even without reading his journals. When you heard Bruce Speak or Saw him do something you never had to question if he meant it. He never pretended to be someone that he wasn’t. My friends, to have a good blog or win at life, you need to be vulnerable and you need to expose yourself not knowing how you will be received. You need to expose yourself because it is what you care about. You make yourself vulnerable out of principle.
Would Bruce Lee have people disliking his videos or posts? Yes. Would Bruce Lee face internet trolls? Yes. Would Bruce Lee still run his blog anyways? Yes he would! Bruce lived his life by principles first and really we all should.
There will always be people that judge you behind a screen or even in person. I cannot tell you how many people just don’t understand my obsession with martial arts. People just don’t get it. They think we just yell and chop stuff. I will be honest with you, there was a time where I would suppress my love for the martial arts just to fit into society, but that was not the true and honest David. Now, I don’t care. I train 7 days a week. People don’t get it, and that’s ok because I do get it, and I love it!
My friends, don’t pretend to be someone that you’re not. Don’t conform to other people’s expectations. Don’t do things to put yourself in favor with others. Do things to put yourself in favor with you.
You need to have a healthy amount of selfishness with your life. Do the right thing for you because you have only one life to live. Make a difference with it. Bruce Lee died in his 30’s but his contribution to society is equivalent to that of someone much older. Bruce had an Influence, and you can too, but to get there you need integrity. You need to make decisions. And most of all, you need to think.
This blog stemmed from our decision to go for it. It stemmed from our thought and reflection, and most of all it is us being ourselves. We could create a blog on Olympic Curling, but that would not be Bouna-Fide!
So are you living like Bruce? Are you being your true self? If not start today. Open yourself up, and prepare to see your life become a fun adventure.
Sources
Lee, Bruce, and John R. Little. Bruce Lee: Artist of Life. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
