What Introverts Can Learn from Bruce Lee
In his quiet moments, charismatic actor Bruce Lee expressed philosophical attitudes characteristic of an introverted approach to life.
Several years ago, I posted a short video about martial arts master and actor Bruce Lee (1940-1973) as an introvert. Many personality analysts also peg him as an introvert, likening him to legendary athletes Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods for his disciplined pursuit of self-mastery, absolute self-confidence, independence and introspective nature.
Yet the biography Bruce Lee by Matthew Polly casts doubt on the label “introvert” for Lee. In Polly’s telling, Lee read intensively as a boy – a key indicator of an inward orientation typical of introverts – but otherwise was the polar opposite of his studious older brother Peter. Irrepressibly rambunctious, Lee loved activity and attention, and constantly provoked street fights. It got to the point where his parents, told that the boy was close to being jailed for his out-of-control troublemaking, sent him from Hong Kong to the US to try to give him a decent future.
From the Polly biography I learned that Bruce Lee appeared in 22 Hong Kong films from the age of two months to 19 (his father was a Cantonese opera star), that he was initially rejected for kung fu training because he had partial European ancestry, that he became the cha-cha champion of Hong Kong as a teenager, and that Lee broke back into the movies as an adult through Hollywood connections. He trained movie stars like James Coburn, Steve McQueen and Sharon Tate in his signature high kicks and faster-than-light punches.
According to this biography, Lee experienced a spiritual awakening around age 21. After that time, he juggled his high-octane mastery of martial arts with philosophical study and contemplation. It’s the latter leanings that give people the impression that Bruce Lee was a sage and an introvert. In college he took courses in Eastern and Western philosophy, then continued philosophical reading on his own, building up a library that ranged from Descartes and St. Thomas Aquinas to Lao Zi’s Dao de Jing and Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings. After his untimely death at age 32, Lee’s spiritual writings were published in book form and caught on with many who appreciated his pithy, Asian-flavored insights on self-realization.
In 1969, influenced by Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, Lee defined his life goal as follows:
“I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.”
Note that the superstardom did come about, but mostly after his death.
Below are some additional quotes that showcase Bruce Lee’s contemplative side.
On self-actualization
“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.”
“I have always been a martial artist by choice, an actor by profession, but above all, am actualizing myself to be an artist of life.”
“My personal message to people is that I hope they will go toward self-actualization rather than self-image actualization. I hope that they will search within themselves for honest self-expression.”
On discipline
“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.”
"The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus."
On wisdom and perspective
“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”
“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”
“Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.”
"To know, but to be as though not knowing, is the height of wisdom."
"Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light."
“Live content with small means; seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion. Be worthy, not respectable, wealthy, not rich.”
On solitude and independence
"A wise man can always be found alone. A weak man can always be found in crowds."
“In solitude you are least alone. Make good use of it.”
"The most dangerous person is the one who listens, thinks and observes."
"The sacred journey is taken alone. - Each man must seek out realization himself. No master can give it to him.”
On adaptability
“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. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape in which it is placed. It may flow swiftly or it may flow slowly, but its purpose is inexorable, its destiny sure. Be like water, my friend.”