How Bruce Lee’s ‘Striking Thoughts’ Can Inspire You

“Education: to discover but not merely to imitate. Learning techniques without inward experiencing can only lead to superficiality.” – Bruce Lee

Man, Bruce Lee was the shit when I was a kid (actually he still is)!

I don’t remember which movie of his I saw first, but I have watched a bunch of them.

One of the things that I liked most about him when I was younger was just how badass he was.

He didn’t take any shit from anyone and he always stood up for his community. This was really cool to me back then.

And to an extent, it still is.

But Bruce Lee, and this is something that I found out much later in life, is more than a martial artist and ass kicker. “Thanks for that Captain Obvious,” you might be thinking.

And you are right. I was ignorant to all that Bruce Lee is. But I didn’t know, okay?

Anyways, it wasn’t until I was in my maybe late teens or early twenties when I found out that Bruce Lee was also a philosopher; that he was a really big thinker.

I started watching some of his interviews and I was amazed by the stuff that he talked about.

He talked about how to live life, race relations in America, and how to be an artist.

These were all stuff that I really liked to think about too, so I watched a bunch of these interviews and read a bunch of his quotes just to learn about his perspectives on life and this universe that we live in.

But after a little while, I stopped. I wasn’t as interested in what he had to say anymore.

Maybe it was because I consumed too much of his knowledge or maybe it was because I just wasn’t as interested in the topics that he talked about anymore.

I was still a big fan of his –I just wasn’t that interested in learning about his philosophies.

(Just to be totally transparent with you, this review includes affiliate links. What this basically means is that if you decided to use the provided links to buy the product, I will get a small commission from your purchase, at no extra cost to you.)

Let’s fast forward a few years…

A few months ago, I started feeling lost.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.

I wanted to be a writer, but I was failing at it hard and felt I couldn’t become successful at it and decided to quit.

I had no direction and no other passions to fuel me. I was on the internet every day researching for ideas of things that I could do. But I couldn’t find anything that interested me.

So I decided to go look for some business and/or self-help books… just something that would spark some inspiration in me.

I was looking around, but couldn’t find what I was looking for. As I was about to leave the store, I remember this one book that my cousin had told me that I would like.

It was Bruce Lee’s “Striking Thoughts.”

So, I went over to the computer and searched for it. Lucky for me, there were two or three copies left at that store. I went to search for it… I found it… I read a few pages… I liked it… so I bought it.

Striking Thoughts: Wisdom for Daily Living by Bruce Lee is a book filled with Lee’s philosophies on life. He talks about pretty much everything that people experience.

In the book, he gives advice on how to be a human, how to raise children, how to teach and learn, and stuff like that.

He also talks about how to liberate yourself from your confinements and gives his thoughts on how to be an artist.

But the one part that helped me the most… that motivated me to start writing again was the chapter on how to be a human being.

In this part, he talks about how a person can achieve one of the main goals (in his opinion) of life –becoming their true self.

Lee shares his thoughts on how to function as a human being, what the duty of a human is, the nature of humans, and what self-honesty can do for your growth.

Now, don’t get me wrong. This didn’t solely inspire me to start writing again. There were other things that I watched, read, and listened to as well.

But Lee’s philosophies did play a part in helping me find purpose again.

So if you are someone who is feeling lost or just someone who wants advice for everyday living, I highly suggest you grab Lee’s book and read it.

The chapters aren’t too long and you can definitely read one a day.

Also, you don’t have to read the parts in chronological order. You can pick whichever section you feel you need help with or advice in the most and read that part.

So grab Lee’s “Striking Thoughts: Wisdom for Daily Living” (which you can click here to get from Amazon) and become a better you!