Bruce Lee's Best Quotes

Discover the impact Bruce Lee had on the world, not just as a martial arts icon, but as a source of wisdom, through this collection of his best quotes. These quotes, drawn from both his real-life teachings and the characters he portrayed in film, encapsulate his dynamic philosophy and enduring influence.

“Be water, my friend.” – Bruce Lee
“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.” – Bruce Lee
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” – Bruce Lee
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.” – Bruce Lee
“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” – Bruce Lee
“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.” – Bruce Lee
“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” – Bruce Lee
“Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.” – Bruce Lee
“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” – Bruce Lee
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.” – Bruce Lee
“It’s not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.” – Bruce Lee
“The more we value things, the less we value ourselves.” – Bruce Lee
“As you think, so shall you become.” – Bruce Lee
“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.” – Bruce Lee
“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” – Bruce Lee
“Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.” – Bruce Lee
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” – Bruce Lee
“Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.” – Bruce Lee
“The possession of anything begins in the mind.” – Bruce Lee
“Choose the positive. You have choice, you are master of your attitude, choose the positive, the constructive. Optimism is a faith that leads to success.” – Bruce Lee
“Don’t fear failure. — Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail.” – Bruce Lee
“Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” – Bruce Lee
“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” – Bruce Lee
“Boards don’t hit back.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Enter the Dragon” (1973)
“Be happy, but never satisfied.” – Bruce Lee
“Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning.” – Bruce Lee
“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.” – Bruce Lee
“The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.” – Bruce Lee
“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” – Bruce Lee
“What you habitually think largely determines what you will ultimately become.” – Bruce Lee
“The spirit of the individual is determined by his dominating thought habits.” – Bruce Lee
“Real living is living for others.” – Bruce Lee
“For it is easy to criticize and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime.” – Bruce Lee
“Showing off is the fool’s idea of glory.” – Bruce Lee
“Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.” – Bruce Lee
“I am not teaching you anything. I just help you to explore yourself.” – Bruce Lee
“Never take your eyes off your opponent, even when you bow.” – Bruce Lee’s character in the film “The Big Boss” (1971)
“Only the self-sufficient stand alone – most people follow the crowd and imitate.” – Bruce Lee
“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.” – Bruce Lee
“If there is a God, he is within. You don’t ask God to give you things, you depend on God for your inner theme.” – Bruce Lee
“Art calls for complete mastery of techniques, developed by reflection within the soul.” – Bruce Lee
“To know oneself is to study oneself in action with another person.” – Bruce Lee
“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.” – Bruce Lee
“A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.” – Bruce Lee
“The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable.” – Bruce Lee
“The martial arts are ultimately self-knowledge. A punch or a kick is not to knock out the guy in front, but to knock out your ego, your fear, or your hang-ups.” – Bruce Lee
“Don’t think! Feel!” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “The Way of the Dragon” (1972)
“I am not afraid of an opponent who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I am afraid of an opponent who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Fist of Fury” (1972)
“This time you’re eating paper, the next time it’s going to be glass.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “The Chinese Connection” (1972)
“Like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Game of Death” (1978)
“Remember, you can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “The Big Boss” (1971)
“A good martial artist does not become tense, but ready.” – Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Game of Death” (1978)
“In the middle of chaos lies opportunity.” – Bruce Lee
“To express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself; that, my friend, is very hard to do.” – Bruce Lee
“The more we understand, the greater and deeper will be our contact with all that is around us.” – Bruce Lee
“Using no way as a way, having no limitation as limitation.” – Bruce Lee
“To spend time is to pass it in a specified manner. To waste time is to expend it thoughtlessly or carelessly. We all have time to spend or waste, and it is our decision what to do with it. But once passed, it is gone forever.” – Bruce Lee
“Reality is apparent when one ceases to compare. — There is ‘what is’ only when there is no comparison at all, and to live with what is, is to be peaceful.” – Bruce Lee
“Learning is never cumulative, it is a movement of knowing which has no beginning and no end.” – Bruce Lee
“Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system.” – Bruce Lee
“The consciousness of self is the greatest hindrance to the proper execution of all physical action.” – Bruce Lee
“It is compassion rather than the principle of justice which can guard us against being unjust to our fellow men.” – Bruce Lee
“Life is never stagnation. It is constant movement, un-rhythmic movement, as we as constant change. Things live by moving and gain strength as they go.” – Bruce Lee
A martial artist has to take responsibility for himself and accept the consequences of his own doing.” – Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Game of Death” (1978)
“Simplicity is the key to brilliance.” – Bruce Lee
“I wish neither to possess nor to be possessed. I no longer covet ‘paradise’. More important, I no longer fear ‘hell’.” – Bruce Lee
“The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest.” – Bruce Lee
“It’s not what you give, it’s the way you give it.” – Bruce Lee
“Remember no man is really defeated unless he is discouraged.” – Bruce Lee
“Martial arts mean honestly expressing yourself.” – Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Way of the Dragon” (1972)
“Take things as they are. Punch when you have to punch. Kick when you have to kick.” – Bruce Lee
“One should be in harmony with, not in opposition to, the strength and force of the opposition. This means that one should do nothing that is not natural or spontaneous; the important thing is not to strain in any way.” – Bruce Lee
“After all, all knowledge simply means self-knowledge.” – Bruce Lee
“There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity.” – Bruce Lee
“Just a moment. I like to understand things!” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s character in the film “Marlowe” (1969)
“Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man who wins, is the man who thinks he can.” – Bruce Lee
“I do not believe in styles anymore.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s appearance in the TV series “Longstreet” (1971)
“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.” – Bruce Lee
“I have already found my way.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s appearance in the TV series “Here Come the Brides” (1969)
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water.” – Bruce Lee
“Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.” – Bruce Lee
“You must be shapeless, formless, like water.” – This quote is inspired by Bruce Lee’s philosophy and adapted for his appearance in the TV series “Blondie” (1969)
“The best technique is to have no technique.” – This quote is from Bruce Lee’s appearance in the TV series “Ironside” (1967)