40 Bruce Lee Quotes That Will Change Your Life

Published July 22, 2014
Updated August 15, 2019

When the going gets tough, there are these 40 Bruce Lee quotes to keep you going.

A famed martial artist, action-film actor, and seemingly immortal cultural icon, Bruce Lee is remembered as much for his words of wisdom as he is for his lightning fast kicks. Today, we look at some of the most introspective and inspirational Bruce Lee quotes:

Bruce Lee Quotes Live A Life Worth Remembering

Bruce Lee Quotes Mistakes Are Forgivable
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.

Bruce Lee Quotes On Happiness
Be happy, but never satisfied.

Bruce Lee Quotes Speak The Truth Today
If you don't want to slip up tomorrow, speak the truth today.

Bruce Lee Quotes On Learning
Learning is never cumulative, it is a movement of knowing which has no beginning and no end.

Defeat Is A State Of Mind
Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.

Hack Away At The Unessential
It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential.

Do Not Pray For An Easy Life
Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.

Bruce Lee On Practice
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.

Inspiring Bruce Lee Quotes
Make at least one definite move daily toward your goal.

Man The Creature
Man, the living creature, the creating individual, is always more important than any established style or system.

Knowledge And Character
Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.

Impossible
Cease negative mental chattering -- if you think a thing is impossible, you'll make it impossible.

The Best Bruce Lee Quotes
Running water never grows stale. So you just have to keep on flowing.

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

Living For Others
Real living is living for others.

Happiness Based On Excitement
The happiness that is derived from excitement is like a brilliant fire - soon it will go out.

Empty Your Cup
Empty your cup so that it may be filled; become devoid to gain totality.

Obey The Principles
Obey the principles without being bound by them.

Do Not Waste Time Bruce Lee Quote
If you love life, don't waste time, for time is what life is made up of.

Bruce Lee Quotes Don't Fear Failure
Don't fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail.

Bruce Lee Quotes No Limits
There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.

Bruce Lee On Self-Improvement
Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.

Reality Is Apparent
Reality is apparent when one ceases to compare.

Bruce Lee Quotes
Absorb what is useful, discard what is not, add what is uniquely your own.

Bruce Lee Quotes Willing And Doing
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.

Concentration
Concentration is the root of all the higher abilities in man.

Create Opportunities
To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.

Bruce Lee Quotes On Setting Limits
If you always put limits 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 Quotes On Self Help
Ultimately the greatest help is self-help.

Bruce Lee Quotes Know Yourself
For it is easy to criticise and break down the spirit of others, but to know yourself takes a lifetime.

Bruce Lee On Showing Off
Showing off is the fool's idea of glory.

What Should Be
What is is more important than what should be.

Bruce Lee On Having Faith In Yourself
Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

A Quick Temper
A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.

As You Think So Shall You Become Quote
As you think, so shall you become.

Walking Into Darkness
Those who are unaware they are walking in darkness will never seek the light.

Bruce Lee On Enduring A Difficult LIfe
Do not pray for an easy life; pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.

Spending Time Thinking
If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you'll never get it done.

Aim At Your Goal
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.

And be sure to check out these equally awe-inspiring Bruce Lee videos:


Enjoy these inspiring Bruce Lee quotes? Then be sure to see All That's Interesting's other posts on interesting quotes and amazing facts to make you the life of the party!

author
Alec
author
Alexander is a Brooklyn-based cofounder of All That's Interesting with an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in History and Economics and an MSc from the School of Oriental and African Studies in Economics. He specializes in American history, the Cold War, and true crime.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.