Be Water, My Friend
Bruce Lee was one of my favourite heroes.
He was well known for his roles as Kato in the original Green Hornet TV series. His failure to star in the Warner Brothers' “Kung Fu” TV series propelled him to seek his fortune elsewhere, and looked towards Asia.
He became an instant star in Asia with his first box office hit "The Big Boss". After a series of box office hits, he achieved international stardom.
What was a setback turned into a tremendous opportunity for him. If he had remained in the US, he would never had made it on the global stage.
Likewise, for all of us, any setback in life presents another great opportunity. We only have to change our course in life.
Unfortunately, he died at the age of 32. Within such a short time, he managed to transform pop culture, film and martial arts.
The origins of MMA can be traced back to his philosophical approach in mixing different forms of martial arts.
I leave you with one of his most famous quotes.
“Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.
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. Now, water can flow or it can crash. BE WATER, MY FRIEND.”
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Interesting story. I remember Bruce Lee movies being very popular as I was growing up in the 1970s.
Yes he was popular. Kung fu became the rage in the early 70s. My brothers and I took up martial arts as a result.