Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living (Bruce Lee Library)

by Bruce Lee

The self-actualized seek freedom and purity. — Those who distrust the life-giving force within them, or who have none, are driven to compensate through such substitutes as money. When a man has confidence in himself, when all he wants in the world is to live out his destiny in freedom and purity, he comes to regard all those vastly overestimated and far too costly possessions as mere accessories, pleasant perhaps to have and make use of, but never essential.

There is only self-help. — I have come to discover through earnest personal experience and dedicated learning that ultimately the greatest help is self-help; that there is no other help but self-help — doing one’s best, dedicating one’s self whole-heartedly to a given task, which happens to have no end but is an ongoing process.

There is no external help. — The problem lies in asking somebody else to solve your own problem instead of asking yourself.

The greatest victory is over oneself. — Self-conquest is the greatest of victories. Mighty is he who conquers himself.

The more you have, the more you have to lose. The more you value things, the less you value yourself. The more you depend upon others for esteem, the less you are self-sufficient.

Self-knowledge is true mastery. — True mastery transcends any particular art. It stems from mastery of oneself — the ability, developed through self-discipline to be calm, fully aware, and completely in tune with oneself

am happy because I am growing daily and honestly don’t know where my ultimate limit lies.

Self-honesty leads to one becoming a “real” human being,