120 Bruce Lee Quotes On Life, Education, Discipline

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

bruce lee quotes i respect faith but doubt what gets you education wisdom

I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes poorer are inwardly more try enrich ourselves outwardly wisdom

The poorer we are inwardly, the more we try to enrich ourselves outwardly. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes this achieving the center being grounded ones self about highest state human being can achieve wisdom

This achieving the center, being grounded in one’s self, is about the highest state a human being can achieve. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes knowledge will give you power character respect wisdom

Knowledge will give you power, but character respect. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes what defeat nothing education nothing first step something better wisdom

What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better. Bruce Lee

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bruce lee quotes showing off fools idea glory wisdom

Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes the height of cultivation runs simplicity halfway cultivation runs ornementation wisdom

The height of cultivation runs to simplicity. Halfway cultivation runs to ornamentation. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes your mind result thousand yesterdays wisdom

Your mind is the result of a thousand yesterdays. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes water can flow crash water friend wisdom

Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes be a calm beholder what happening around you wisdom

Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you. Bruce Lee

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bruce lee quotes dont know what meaning death afraid die stop going forward wisdom mountains nature landscape

I don’t know what is the meaning of death, but I am not afraid to die – and I go on, non-stop, going forward. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes more value things less value ourselves wisdom house pool luxury

The more we value things, the less we value ourselves. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes best techniques simple ones executed right wisdom karate beach man sun sea

The best techniques are the simple ones executed right. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes how much have learned but absorbed what learned wisdom karate beach people sun

It is not how much you have learned, but how much you have absorbed in what you have learned. Bruce Lee

bruce lee quotes life wise limitless there border frontier wisdom nature mountains

Life is wise, limitless. There is no border, no frontier. Bruce Lee

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The Best Bruce Lee Quotes

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bruce lee quotes life your teacher you are state constant learning wisdom black man sitting working

Life is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning.

Not “what” to think but “how” to think.

Time means a lot to me because, you see, I, too, am also a learner and am often lost in the joy of forever developing and simplifying. If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

I’ll not willingly offend, nor be easily offended.

Empty your mind. You know how water fills a cup? It becomes that cup. You have to think about nothing. You have to become nothing.

At this moment stop inwardly – when you do stop inwardly, psychologically, your mind becomes very peaceful, very clear. Then you can really look at “this”.

bruce lee quotes humble superiors is duty equals courtesy inferiors nobleness all safety wisdom black man

To be humble to superiors is duty; to equals is courtesy; to inferiors is nobleness; and to all, safety!

Yesterday’s dreams are often tomorrow’s realities.

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

Use no way as way. When there is a “Way”, therein lies the limitation. And when there is a circumference, it traps. And if it traps, it rots. And if it rots, it’s lifeless.

Here now, forever more our lives must part. My path leads there and yours another way; I know not where tomorrow’s path may lead, nor what the future holds.

bruce lee quotes pray easy life strength endure difficult one wisdom man mountain nature

Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.

There is no weapon more deadly than the will.

Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity.

In order to taste my cup of water you must first empty your cup. My friend, drop all of your preconceived fixed ideas and be neutral. Do you know why this cup is so useful? Because it is empty.

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The possession of anything begins in the mind.

Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.

An intelligent mind is one which is constantly learning, never concluding – styles and patterns have come to conclusion, therefore they have ceased to be intelligent.

Choiceless awareness – do not condemn, do not justify. Awareness works only if it’s allowed free play without interference.

The happiness that is derived from ordinary life last longer; like coal, it burns gradually and slowly. The happiness that is derived from excitement is like a brilliant fire – soon it will go out.

bruce lee quotes good life process state being direction destination wisdom black woman looking

The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.

If anyone still believes in racial differences, I think he is too backward and narrow. Perhaps he still does not understand man’s equality and love.

Prosperity is apt to prevent us from examining our conduct; but adversity leads us to think properly of our state, and so is beneficial to us.

Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.

There is intelligence when you are not afraid.

Part 2. Bruce Lee Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Bruce Lee Quotes

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bruce lee quotes successful warrior average man with laser like focus wisdom

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

A goal is not always meant to be reached. It often serves simply as something to aim at.

Keep your mind on the things you want and off those you don’t.

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. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

Simplicity is the last step of art and the beginning of nature.

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

You just wait. I’m going to be the biggest Chinese star in the world.

bruce lee quotes hell circumstances create opportunities wisdom path nature

To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.

Part 1. Be like water; water has form and yet it has no form. It is the softest element on earth, yet it penetrates the hardest rock.

Part 2. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape in which it is placed.

Part 3. In a cup, it becomes the shape of the cup. In a vase, it takes the shape of the vase and curls about the stems of flowers. Put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.

Research your own experience; absorb what is useful, reject what is useless and add what is essentially your own.

I present a possible direction, nothing more. It is like a finger pointing away to the moon; don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.

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

Remember my friend that it is not what happens that counts, it is how you react to them.

Your mental attitude determines what you make of it, either a stepping stone or stumbling block.

You cannot hurt that which is formless. The softest thing cannot be snapped and emptiness cannot be confined.

That of not being tense but ready, not thinking but not dreaming, not being rigidly set but flexible. Aware and alert, ready for whatever may come.

bruce lee quotes freedom lies understanding yourself moment wisdom woman

Freedom lies in understanding yourself from moment to moment.

It is not daily increase but daily decrease – hack away the unessential! The closer to the source, the less wastage there is.

What you habitually think largely determines what you will ultimately become.

Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. Have faith in your ability. You will do just fine.

No one can hurt you unless you allow him to.

Empty yourself! Open up! After all, the usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.

Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

There is another bit of Chinese philosophy that has a bearing on problems common to all human kind. We say, “The oak tree is mighty, yet it will be destroyed by a mighty wind because it resists the elements; the bamboo bends with the wind, and by bending, survives“.

Ever since I was a kid, the word “quality” has meant a lot to me.

What I honestly value more than anything else is quality: doing one’s best in the manner of the responsibility and craftsmanship of a Number One.

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

Short Bruce Lee Quotes

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One-liners, short Bruce Lee quotes, thoughts and sayings for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, and backgrounds.
bruce lee quotes doer alone learns wisdom woman nature

The doer alone learns.

Nothing exists except the here and now.

Those who gain, lose.

Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.

The true stillness is the stillness in movement.

A purpose is the eternal condition of success.

You will never get any more out of life than you expect.

Every man today is the result of his thoughts of yesterday.

Do not precede others, always follow them.

bruce lee quotes quick temper will make fool you soon enough wisdom asian man sitting

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

The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.

As you think, so shall you become.

Be proficient in your field as well as in harmony among fellow men.

Faith without work is death.

Faith backed by action is applied faith.

Thoughts backed by faith will overcome all obstacles.

Don’t strive to become, but be.

False teachers of the Way of life use flowery words.

Meditation is the freeing of the mind from all motives.

An idea, by itself, it not erroneous but judgment makes it.

Be flexible so you can change with change.

When one is not “expressing” himself, he is not free.

It is later than you think! Know yourself!

Intelligence is the understanding of self.

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

The law of averages: put in more, come out with more.

Failure is what your mind acknowledges.

No man is defeated unless he is discouraged.

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Inspirational Bruce Lee Quotes

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bruce lee quotes practical dreamer backed action wisdom black man sitting stairs

Be a practical dreamer backed by action.

If you want to do your duty properly, you should do just a little more than that.

I don’t believe in pure luck. You have to create your own luck. You have to be aware of the opportunities around you and take advantage of them.

We are told that talent creates is own opportunities. But it sometimes seems that intense desire creates not only its own opportunities, but its own talents.

Loneliness is only an opportunity to cut adrift and find yourself. In solitude you are least alone. Make good use of it.

One must always strive to be better. The sky’s the limit.

Humility forms the basis of honor, just as the low ground forms the foundation of a high elevation.

It is a fact that labor and thrift produce a competence, but fortune, in the sense of wealth, is the reward of the man who can think of something that hasn’t been thought of before.

bruce lee quotes sorrows best educator man further through tear telescope wisdom nature

Sorrows are our best educator. A man can see further through a tear than a telescope.

There is no such thing as defeat until you admit so yourself, but not until then!

Are you a flowing entity, capable to flow with external circumstances, or are you resisting with your set choice pattern?

Art is never decoration or embellishment. Instead it is a constant process of maturing (in the sense of not having arrived!).

An intelligent mind is an inquiring mind. It is not satisfied with explanations, with conclusions; nor is it a mind that believes, because belief is again another form of conclusion.

Ideas are the beginning of all achievement – in every industry, in every profession.

bruce lee quotes spiritual power mans will removes all obstacles wisdom man nature tree

The spiritual power of man’s will removes all obstacles.

Gather materials. Masticate the facts. Relax and drop the whole subject. Be ready to recognize and welcome the idea when it comes. Shape and develop your idea into usefulness.

Any idea that is constantly held in the mind and emotionalized, begins at once to clothe itself in the most convenient and appropriate physical form that is available.

My will to do springs from the knowledge that I can do. I’m only being natural, for there is no fear or doubt inside my mind.

Recognize and use the spiritual power of the infinite. The intangible represents the real power of the universe. It is the seed of the tangible.

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.

It’s the will that makes men – success takes perseverance.

To refuse to be cast down, that is the lesson.

Conclusion

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bruce lee quotes usefulness cup its emptiness wisdom

I have to leave now, my friend. You have a long journey ahead of you, and you must travel light. From now on drop all your burden of preconceived conclusions behind. Remember, my friend, the usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness.

Further Readings

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Author Bio

maxime lagace

Maxime Lagacé started collecting quotes in 2004 after he lost his girlfriend in a car accident.

In search of meaning, he dived in the self-improvement world, psychology and trail running.

Books, blogs, quotes and nature became his guide.

He started journaling, reflecting, writing his thoughts, feelings and quotes.

His goal was to understand his pain, his depression, his fears, his lack of motivation and inspiration.

He finished his software engineering degree in 2007 at the École de Technologie Supérieure de Montréal.

A few years later, he started his first website to share his love of quotes.

Maxime is a father of two, husband, and INFJ.

Other notable interests of Maxime are health (mental and physical), meditation, bananas, SEO, human potential, and education.

You can find him on X, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Last update

February 26, 2022

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