Bruce Lee’s Never-Before-Seen Writings on Willpower, Emotion,

Reason, Memory, Imagination, and Confidence

themarginalian.org/2016/08/01/bruce-lee-notebook/

Although Bruce Lee (November 27, 1940–July 20, 1973) is best known for his legendary legacy in martial
arts and film, he was also one of the most underappreciated philosophers of the twentieth century,
instrumental in introducing Eastern traditions to Western audiences. A philosophy major in college, he fused
ancient ideas with his own singular ethos informed by the intersection of physical and psychological
discipline, the most famous manifestation of which is his water metaphor for resilience.

Early in his career, Lee was systematically sidelined by Hollywood’s studio system, which operated with
extreme racial bias and still used white actors in yellowface to portray Asian characters based on flat
stereotypes. Over and over, Lee was told in no uncertain terms that white audiences simply wouldn’t accept
an Asian man as a lead character in a movie.

Bruce Lee (Photograph

courtesy of the Bruce Lee
Foundation archive)

Even when he finally broke through and was cast as a lead, the studios continued to treat him as a brainless
robot, there to entertain with his kung-fu skills. When they tried to cut all the philosophy out of Enter the
Dragon because they wanted a vacantly entertaining action movie, Lee refused to go on set for two weeks,
insisting that the kung-fu and the philosophy were inextricably entwined, each the vehicle for the other.

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Hollywood eventually had to relent and it was precisely the philosophical dimension that rendered the movie
— just before the release of which Lee met his untimely death — a cultural icon and a beacon of racial
empowerment associated with the Black Power movement, later acquired by the Library of Congress as a
“culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” artifact.

Lee saw philosophy as inseparable from everyday life, just as he saw the mind as inseparable from the body,
each end of the battery constantly charging the other. He recorded his rigorous workout routine alongside his
philosophical meditations, which he fleshed out in the course of living. Like Oliver Sacks, who carried a
notebook everywhere, Lee always had a tiny 2×3″ pocketbook with him, which he filled with everything from
training regimens to the phone numbers of his pupils (who included trainees like Chuck Norris and Steve
McQueen) to poems, affirmations, and philosophical reflections. Even his handwriting, meticulously neat and
measured to fit the tiny page, radiates Lee’s formidable discipline and orderliness.

Bruce Lee (Photograph

courtesy of the Bruce Lee
Foundation archive)

But perhaps the most notable portion of his pocketbooks — or day timers, as they were called — were his
affirmations, reminiscent of the rules of conduct Nobel laureate André Gide penned in his youthful journal
and of artist Eugène Delacroix’s diaristic self-counsel. In these notes to himself, Lee articulated his personal
philosophies aimed concretely at his own growth but resonating with universally applicable insight into our
common psychology, behavior, and human nature.

With special permission from the Bruce Lee estate, here is an exclusive look at several pages from his 1968
pocketbook, penned shortly before Lee’s twenty-eighth birthday, each transcribed below, beginning with
Napoleon Hill’s “Daily Success Creed,” which Lee copied into his notebooks:

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 Archival material with
exclusive permission from the
Bruce Lee Foundation archive

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WILL POWER: —

Recognizing that the power of will is the supreme court over all other departments of my mind, I will
exercise it daily, when I need the urge to action for any purpose; and I will form HABIT designed to
bring the power of my will into action at least once daily.

EMOTION: —

Realizing that my emotions are both POSITIVE and negative I will form daily HABITS which will
encourage the development of the POSITIVE EMOTIONS, and aid me in converting the negative
emotions into some form of useful action.

REASON: —

Recognizing that both my positive & negative emotions may be dangerous if they are not controlled
and guided to desirable ends, I will submit all my desires, aims and purposes to my faculties of reason,
and I will be guided by it in giving expression to these.

IMAGINATION: —

Recognizing the need for sound PLANS and IDEAS for the attainment of my desires, I will develop my
imagination by calling upon it daily for help in the formation of my plans.

MEMORY: —

Recognizing the value of an alert memory, I will encourage mine to become alert by taking care to
impress it clearly with all thoughts I wish to recall, and by associating those thoughts with related
subjects which I may call to mind frequently.

SUBCONSCIOUS MIND: —

Recognizing the influence of my subconscious mind over my power of will, I shall take care to submit
to it a clear and definite picture of my CLEAR PURPOSE in life and all minor purposes leading to my
major purpose, and I shall keep this picture CONSTANTLY BEFORE my subconscious mind by
REPEATING IT DAILY.

CONSCIENCE: —

Recognizing that my emotions often err in their over-enthusiasm, and my faculty of reason often is
without the warmth of feeling that is necessary to enable me to combine justice with mercy in my
judgments, I will encourage my conscience to guide me as to what is right & what is wrong, but I will
never set aside the verdicts it renders, no matter what may be the cost of carrying them out.

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When Lee felt that he had arrived at a particularly significant idea, he wrote it on the unlined back of a plain
3×5″ lined yellow notecard, which he signed, almost like a will or perhaps a contract with himself. He would
often refine or copy reflections first recorded in his pocketbook onto the notecards reserved for only his
firmest convictions and deepest dedications.

What makes the affirmations especially notable is that they fuse ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions
(particularly Zen Buddhism’s ideas about character, the self, and the ego), questionable New Agey magical
thinking, and habits of mind which contemporary psychology has since proven fruitful — a reminder that our
personhood is a mashup of our era and our culture, with all their inherent knowledges and ignorances, and it
is the way we combine the elements at our disposal that makes us who we are.

Archival material with

exclusive permission from the
Bruce Lee Foundation archive

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

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

Things live by moving and gain strength as they go

Be a calm beholder of what is happening around you

There is a difference a) the world b) our reaction to it

Be aware of our conditioning! Drop and dissolve inner blockage

Inner to outer ~~~ we start by dissolving our attitude not by altering outer condition

See that there is no one to fight, only an illusion to see through

No one can hurt you unless you allow him to

Inwardly, psychologically, be a nobody

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 Archival material with
exclusive permission from the
Bruce Lee Foundation archive

I know that I have the ability to ACHIEVE the object of my DEFINITE PURPOSE in life; therefore I
DEMAND of myself persistent, continuous action toward its attainment, and I here and now promise to
render such action.

I realize the DOMINATING THOUGHTS of my mind will eventually reproduce themselves in outward,
physical action, and gradually transform themselves into physical reality; therefore I will
CONCENTRATE my thoughts for 30 min. daily upon the task of thinking of the person I intend to
become, thereby creating in my mind a clear MENTAL PICTURE.

I know through the principle of autosuggestion, any desire that I PERSISTENTLY hold will eventually
seek expression through some practical means of attaining the object back of it; therefore, I will devote
10 min. daily to DEMANDING of myself the development of SELF-CONFIDENCE.

I have clearly written down a description of my DEFINITE CHIEF AIM in life, and I will never stop trying
until I shall have developed sufficient self-confidence for its attainment.

Complement with Lee on the crucial difference between pride and self-esteem, then tune into the excellent
new Bruce Lee podcast, in which Lee’s daughter, Shannon, and creative director Sharon Lee unpack his
philosophies and discuss how the abiding ideas behind each of his tenets apply to various aspects of our
modern lives. You can help keep his legacy alive with a donation to the Bruce Lee Foundation.

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