Chess I AM the MASTER

These 4 Bruce Lee Qotes were analyzed by George Lydiate

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

Now I might be an outlier of the younger generations, but I feel as if my generation are much more easily deterred by hardship, and will quit at the first sign of any real adversity.

Therefore what Bruce says here is far more valuable than one realises. Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, the only way to develop the necessary thick skin that life requires is to test ourselves on a consistent basis.

This will in turn build strength of character – and from that we gain the will to endure any hardship that life can throw at us. By cowering for an “easier” life, you are only doing yourself and those around you a disservic

2. Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

We are all unique in this world, and therefore we all see the world in different ways. No matter your colour, creed or religion, it is important to remember that we can all help one another and level up together.

This means we can all learn from one another, and no matter how good you think you are, there will always be something new to learn. Bruce was a perfect example of this – as he even developed his own Martial Art known as ‘Jeet Kun Do’ – which was an amalgamation of all that he had learnt.

Therefore we must take this into our own lives – take what is useful – whether it be career skills, a new philosophy, or even people, and discard what we no longer see as efficient or beneficial. Not only to improve ourselves, but to improve those that seek knowledge from us.

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

I personally struggle a lot with this one. In today’s society, we are often way too afraid to ask what we believe are stupid questions. Whether it be to our boss, family and friends, or complete strangers, we dare to ask out of fear at admitting we’re flawed.

However we often forget the outcome of not asking questions, as all questions need to be answered. Even if the answer is doubtful, we must ask in order to grow and improve ourselves.

By not asking the questions that need to be asked, this often causes more problems later on down the road, which could have been answered by simply asking in the first place! Remember there is no such thing as a stupid question – but you will always look stupid for not asking them.

4. You know how I like to think of myself? As a human being.

This last one is in my opinion the most powerful of them all. We seem to live in a world that is getting more and more divided each day. Whether it be on politics, ideology or physical features, we can often judge and prejudice those we somehow seem as stupid or inferior.

Kindness can go a lot further than you think. I’m not particularly religious myself, but there is one particular scripture from the Bible that I love, which is “Treat thy neighbour as you would treat yourself”.

So ask yourself – how would you like to be treated? With love? With care? So why would you treat anyone else differently? After all, we are all human.