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Have you pondered lately about your own worth? Your own contentment for who you are?Have you felt that your life’s on a roller coaster with the booze of emotions? Have started some days on the mountains of ecstasy only to feel fallen down in the valley of self-pity? You are not alone.
Just like you, I’m reflecting daily on my desire to develop a kick-ass attitude filled with positivity. Your income, success and fulfillment survives and thrives by the kick-ass attitude. Your life vampires - ego, emotional vices, hatred, despair and negativity dread to face your kick-ass attitude.
A Black Belt in Attitude
Have you ever ridden on a roller coaster? Do you remember the jolt of happiness you felt when the ride began? You were fearless, happy and immersed in the moment. Do you remember screaming later on? Or even shouting out loud? Your reality changed in the split second. You became a chicken from a ninja in matter of minutes. With the change of your reality, your attitude changed. All of these happened in matter of minutes. What you want to become with the kick-ass attitude is to learn not to change your inner reality when going gets tough.
Who is the most smashing champion of “Kick-Ass” attitude? No other name comes close to the greatness of Bruce Lee for that matter. In his short life, Bruce Lee has been remembered as the father of the modern day martial art. I’ve also stumbled upon his mastery of thoughts on the way of life - to think like a winner with the Kick-Ass attitude.
Bruce Lee’s black belt, kick-ass attitude acts as a shield to your inner reality of positivity and optimism. It’s a warrior that insures your thoughts from getting attacked by the evil of negativity. It’s a certification of mental steadfastness to wither the worst of outer reality to remain calm and confident with the mastery of focus - on what we can control and let go what we cannot.
1. Focus on what matters the most. ~
“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
What we become in life begins with the reality we create in our mind. Everything we do in our life is a reflection of what we feed our mind with. A healthy body is a reflection of a healthy diet. A healthy mind is a reflection of healthy thoughts. We waste priceless life energy by focusing our thoughts on things we cannot change - the economy, the gas price to name a few. We can certainly transform our lives by investing our priceless life energy into what we can change - by setting realistic goals that can be measured and by working hard until those goals become a reality. Work on one goal at a time and immersed yourself with best of your ability and most noble intentions. You’ll be amazed at uplifting and positive attitude of your own as a result.
2. Come out of “Me, Me, Me” shell ~
“Real living is living for others.” - Bruce Lee
It’s easy to get lost in the incessant desire to lock all of our thoughts into a “me” shell. Our desire for the more throws us into a never ending roller coaster ride of emotions of highs and lows in matter of a short time span. Sadly enough, our attitude is always a loyal servant to our egotistical desires. When we do something for others, we give freedom to our thoughts. Our thoughts grow with the food of positivity that we feed by making difference in some-one’s life. Life is an echo. What we do comes back to us. The more we give to others, the more we receive from the universe. Our attitude fires up with the higher self-worth and feeling of contentment that comes from within. The subtle yet the profound change begins to take place in our mind. We feel happy with enough and learn to let go our yearning for the more.
3. Control your mental chatter ~
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, 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.” - Bruce Lee
We have a formidable foe who never leaves us. He’s there when we are awake and never sleeps when we are at sleep. He talks to us constantly. He tells us how we shall program our mind. In fact, he is the chief programmer of our mind, a Chief Technical Officer of our life. He’s the invisible devil who chatters with our mind. When we drive and if a car comes close, he’s chatting madness. When we speak with a friend and if our friend disagrees with us, this devil chatters with our mind, “Hell with this guy, he is stupid.” He creates a fake reality in our mind about what we see and experience everyday. He’s in full control. You can squash this devil if you learn to free up your mind. Listen to others when they speak intently, bury emotions that sprung out of the mental chatter with a smile. You’ll soon become the master of your invisible foe. Your upbeat attitude will squash any mental chatter that tend to bore negative attitude.
4. Strive to live the life of values and transparency ~
“If you make an ass out of yourself, there will always be someone to ride you” - Bruce Lee
Our attitude is a selfless, loyal servant of our own desires. Our attitude grows with our own desire to live the values that we strive for in our life. Often those who succumb to the “me-centered” thoughts sell their values and transparency for the sake of achieving a life of possessions. What they forget in their pursuit of collecting those possessions is that they become possessed by the same possessions they brag most about. It’s easy to fool others but equally harder to fool our own inner consciousness. The road taken to shortcut the pathway to success ends up with the obstacles of major bumps from the diminished self value. A life of integrity and transparency leads to the longer yet pleasant journey to the peaks of success with picturesque view of your beautiful inner self. The choice is yours to make.
5. Set achievable goals ~
“As you think, so shall you become.” - Bruce Lee
A lousy attitude is an outer expression of our metal clutter. When we don’t have a clarity in life, when we don’t take time to develop a worthy purpose driven by achievable goals that we can monitor and measure, we tend to play the blame game - We tend to blame the world for our state of being, we blame our partner for every hiccup in our relationship, we blame our boss for not making more money.. You get the idea. We tend to focus our thoughts on the blemish desire to hold others accountable for our apathetic, loser attitude. The good news is that we can change all of that in matter of minutes. All we need to do is to understand the axiom of life - We are where we are is the culmination of our thoughts and actions thus far. That can be changed as easily as a sailor changes the navigation of his boat. Take control of your destiny. If you don’t, someone else will definitely be in charge for the better or worst of your fate yet to come.
6. Stay away from the influence of negativity ~
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” - Bruce Lee
Time is the most precious treasure we have. We can make more of other things in life but we cannot make more time. With our short journey on this earth, we shall always be mindful about spending our time with and for the positivity in our life. Our life constantly evolves. We grow up with friends and relatives who sometimes are negative. As much as we love them for their relationship with us, We shall never allow their toxic emotions to influence our thoughts. I keep a journal of my life with the events of the day that I can reflect upon to understand the subtle influence of negativity in my life. Without the awareness, negativity creeps into our mind with deftness of a robber to rob our passion and purpose. Be conscious about every conversation that you engage in with your friend or a family member and cut short those conversations of negativity swiftly to spend your time on the worthy causes of life - clarity and inner happiness.
Final Thought
Attitude is a choice. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can certainly control how we react to it. Bruce Lee believed in the life of offense with a “Kick-Ass” attitude of positivity. If we constantly work on -
~ Our consciousness to be aware of the thoughts we focus on
~ Strive to do something for others
~ Control our own metal chatter of negativity
~ Live the life of utmost values and transparency
~ Set achievable goals and work hard on them
~ Learn to stay away from our emotional vices
We will earn a diploma from the Bruce Lee’s Institute of “Kick-Ass” attitude.
To Your Success,




Woah. I didn’t know that a few of the more popular quotes like the “empty your cup” and “real living is to live for others” can be attributed to him!
Now can I have my diploma or *ahem* black belt! in Attitude here?
Daniel
http://winningeveryone.com
Daniel Richard | WE’s last blog post..Winning People with Our Limitations
This is great! One of the keys for me is controlling mental chatter and negativity. It’s easy to slip into a pattern of negativity, and continue to spiral downward, if you let yourself. As long as I stay focused, this doesn’t happen, but it’s key for me to stay focused.
Lance’s last blog post..Get Out and Play
Come out of the “me” shell - that’s my favorite. I am still working on that one! It’s sometimes hard to realize how REWARDING it is to give. Thank you for the reminder!
vered’s last blog post..Oops. I Accidentally Got Involved In a Blogging War
I’m a 4th Dan Karate Blackbelt. After 18 years of intense martial art training I’ve got a fair idea of what the pros and cons are and how it forges one’s character.
What the training did for me was to sharpen what I call the ‘diamond edge’ of my personality. The positive side to the ‘diamond edge’ is being very focussed and disciplined, with little regard of my feelings of discomfort, tiredness, or fear. That means I achieve a lot more than most people.
The negative side of the ‘diamond edge’ is that I have little regard for feelings - my own and others. At its worst that spells out a lack of empathy and a certain ruthlessness.
As you can imagine, the ‘diamond edge’ makes me quite formidable - but not very nice!
I stopped training 2 years ago when I realised I was becoming too hard. Now I’m a lot kinder, and life is a lot more fun.
Kick-ass attitude isn’t everything!
Bruce Lee was also the founder of Jeet Kune Do, which epitomized his fighting style.
It was also called “the formless form.” Among all the different styles and techniques available, just se what works and discard the rest. He was the ultimate pragmatist.
Al at 7P’s last blog post..What the Prius Has Taught Us About Innovation
Shilpan,
Excellent article. I love Burce Lee and watched all his movies several times.
Attitude is a choice — is so true. Everybody talks about positive attitude etc., but it is very important to cultivate that attitude and constantly work on achieving it.
I also like your point about setting achievable goals. Everybody has goals in life. But the one who is breaking it down to an achievable goal and working towards it with full focus and kick-ass attitude will definitely accomplish the goal.
Ramesh | The Geek Stuff’s last blog post..Howto resolve Algorithm negotiation failed issue on SSH
The truth is everywhere
I especially liked “Be Water…” The flow.
One little detail re: #3 - the mind does sleep in deep sleep. The ego reveals itself as a figment of mind by sleeping with it. The ‘person’ ceases each night. The trick is in learning not to listen so much during the day.
Controlling the mind is like controlling a pack of monkeys. Easier to step past the mind, then the grip of mind will fall away and it will become the tool rather than the master.
Davidya’s last blog post..pause
Wow this is just absolutely fabulous, funny, and inspiring. Great work. My biggest issue is with the mental chatter. I screen snipped that and saved it so I can remind myself to “be more like water”.
Dr. Nicole Sundene’s last blog post..Hot Dogs: Foe of Kitchen Table
This has got Digg written all over it. When we empty our mind we become one with the moment. We don’t want it to be any different. If we can’t sleep then use that time to meditate. If we are stuck in traffic then use that time to look around.
Our attitude is our choice and it makes us who we are.
Great article!
Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters’s last blog post..Celebrate the 4th of July The Way Our Forefathers Did
Black belt is only the beginning. 4th dan is much more impressive (as Mary would gracefully disagree with).
Tackling the mental chatter is absolutely critical for everything.
Jarrod - Warrior Development’s last blog post..Continuous Improvement is the Only Way
Six fantastic ways to becoming a better YOU! Doc KC
Six fantastic ways to becoming a better YOU! No, you’re never alone! Of course you have your family, friends, and even your great group here of like-minded people all ready to help when you are losing your positive attitude (even if just for a short while), but most importantly…you have YOURSELF! And that’s the best friend you’ll ever need/have!
This article helps you learn HOW to be your own best friend! Excellent! Doc KC
I think “focus” and “control your mind chatter” are closely intertwined. You may think that it’s other people or outside influences that make you lose your focus, but it’s really what you say to yourself about those outside influences that can make you lose your focus. Very nice article Shilpan.
Marelisa’s last blog post..How to Become a Renaissance Man/Woman
This is awesome. I love Bruce Lee, and he seemed to have a great deal of inspiration for us. I especially like how you were able to interpret and put things into such great perspective.
Nathalie Lussier’s last blog post..The Difference Between Fulfillment and Achievement
This is my favorite quote ““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”. I also like the quote on water.
Great article! Love the lessons that you highlighted!
Evelyn
Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Map’s last blog post..7 Everyday Actions That Reflect Your Lack-laden Thoughts
Bruce Lee certainly inspires people in many ways. He is associated with intense mental discipline and physical stamina. His life choices are teachers just as any life choices you make are teachers. What matters is that you decide to observe others and step back to observe what initially seemed imperceptible in yourself.
Hi Shilpan,
I share the same favorite quote as Evelyn…”the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could all be the one who has mastered our talents?
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..MMM - Can She Talk?
This was great! And now I’m off to go practice my kick for the 10,001st time…
Sara’s last blog post..Redefining the American Dream
Being a Martial Artist, I think I don’t know if I should pick this post as my favorite or the one with Einstein…
You tornado kick this one dude! Kiiiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
chris’s last blog post..13 Questions For America
Hi Shilpan, very cool article! I’m not a big Bruce Lee fan, but these quotes are awesome!
Irene | Light Beckons’s last blog post..Glass Half Full
Shilpan,
Who knew Bruce Lee was such a philosopher? Lot’s of great advice here. Now if we can all just follow it!
This is some great stuff. I do believe a positive inner attitude that is strong and resourceful can be cultivated.
I also think, however, that a positive “kick-ass” attitude can be adopted by some as a kind of escapism from a negative emotional reality. It becomes an inauthentic overlay that shields us from what we are afraid to deal with.
So, as long as it’s authentic, I’m all for the kick-ass attitude.
Blessings,
Andrea
@Daniel ~ Yeah! Bruce is very inspiring.
@Lance ~ Mind chatter is the most difficult aspect of our life to control. It’s there all the time.
@Vered ~ Yes, It is rewarding to GIVE than to RECEIVE.
@Mary ~ Good points. If you read between the lines, my thoughts are germane to Kick-ass the bad attitude philosophy. It’s not about aggression at all.
@Al ~ Yes, He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do concept. Thanks for mentioning.
@Ramesh ~ Setting ACHIEVABLE goals really stresses importance on our thoughts to consider what is possible and what is not in the realm of the possibilities…Good point.
@Davidya ~ I love this thought, “the mind does sleep in deep sleep. The ego reveals itself as a figment of mind by sleeping with it. The ‘person’ ceases each night. The trick is in learning not to listen so much during the day.”
Shilpan
@Dr Nicole ~ Yes, mental chatter is our worst foe yet we never give any thoughts to that. Thank you for the kind words.
@Karl ~ I like your thoughts on “Emptying our mind” We can be truly free if we learn to empty our mind every day..
@Jarrod ~ Wow! Good to hear that you and Mary have known martial art. Thank you for the comment.
@Dr KC ~ Thank you for reminding us that our best friend live within our own self. Beautiful.
@Mare ~ I like your thoughts on focus and mental chatter. “I think “focus” and “control your mind chatter” are closely intertwined.” Good thinking..
@Nathalie ~ Thank you for the kind words. Bruce Lee was an inspiration to generation of 70’s and he is still inspiring a whole new generation.
Shilpan
This is a great post even though I am not keen on the “kick ass”-label. If we focus on what we can control and let go what we cannot there is no need to kick ass.
Bruce Lee is not the original source for the quote “Your mind is like a cup of tea. Empty your cup.” It is an old Zen thing, the source I found is Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912).
Bengt’s last blog post..How to find your passion
Shilpan-
I definitely agree about getting rid of negative influences. Once we focus on the positive and let go of the negativity, we become much happier people. Thanks for this article!
One of the most enjoyable articles, I have been reading lately, is Bruce Lee’s 6 ways to develop a Kick-Ass Attitude, which I got from one of my favorite web blogs, SuccesSoul .
Kick-Ass Attitude, could be translated as:
to be very impressive, to beat someone at something , for example: “You will kick his ass at tennis! “, or to express negative feelings vigorously; complain and to oppose by argument; protest.
But The Freedictionary.com, defines it as :
Idioms-kick ass/butt Vulgar Slang ” To take forceful or harsh measures to achieve an objective”, which is an excellent definition, when it is referred to our personal and professional life. The previously expressed in based on the premise of course, that without a good personal life, we can not achieve an effectively good, professional life.
The main idea is to set achievable goals, in other terms, “As you think, so shall you become.” - said by Bruce Lee, which is the most important axiom in life, to finish the article expressing that we should spend our time on the worthy causes of life, keeping clarity and inner happiness as a way of maintaining a succesful soul.
Link to my review: http://daphouse.blogspot.com/2008/07/bruce-lee-and-kick-ass-attitude.html
Thank you, Shilpan , for giving us, through your blog, SuccesSoul, good patterns to add to our lives. Enjoy it — Cheers.. Diego Peris
Diego A. Peris S.’s last blog post..Bruce Lee And The Kick-Ass Attitude
Good points, Shilpan! I’ve just written a piece about a similar topic: “A Different Path to a Successful Life. Hard work and competence is a wining combination.
Jean Browman–Transforming Stress’s last blog post..One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Oops! That quotation mark seems to have made the link invalid. It should be A Different Path to a Successful Life. So much for competence!
Jean Browman–Transforming Stress’s last blog post..One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Shilpan,
You have expressed a lot in a few words. “learn not to change inner reality when the going gets tough” is very important to me. I also like the expression “investing priceless life-energy”.
Perhaps the most important lesson to learn from your post is “never allow their toxic emotions to influence our thoughts.”
Thank you for writing this.
Ayesha
Ayesha Parveen’s last blog post..Friends, across the continents
@Evelyn ~ That’s my favorite quote as well.
@Liara ~ I like your thoughts, “What matters is that you decide to observe others and step back to observe what initially seemed imperceptible in yourself.”
@Barbara ~ I agree with you wholeheartedly. It’s focus and discipline that makes greatness out of a humble beginning such as Albert Einstein.
@Sara ~ It’s funny.. Thanks for the sense of humor.
@Chris ~ Good to hear that you are a martial artist. Now, that’s commendable from an educator. No one dares to kick-ass you..
@Irene ~ Thanks for the kind words..
@Lori ~ Yes, He is known more for his martial art greatness than certainly for his wisdom..
Shilpan
This is a fantastic article, you covered so much!
Not believing or buying into all the mental chatter is a big one for me, I learned to say “thanks for sharing” and get back to the task at hand.
Loved it! creative and inspired, you’ve been dugg
Monica’s last blog post..We Have A Winner!
thanks for an article on BRUCE LEE, my favorite hero.
paresh’s last blog post..World’s leading vehicles ‘hearts’ are manufactured in Solapur……
Martial arts are inner arts first when properly practiced, and can help us grow with foundational principles, even if we don’t practice the outer, physical form. Synchronistically, I posted about lessons from a Samurai…
Pamir | Reiki Help Blog’s last blog post..Reiki lessons from a Samurai
Bruce Lee was amazing. Imagine how he would fare in today’s movies? Absolutely badass!
Personal Trainer’s last blog post..Top 5 Reasons Why it is So Hard to Lose Weight
This is great! I love Bruce Lee, not only as a martial artist but also as a philosopher. In the U.S., very little emphasis is placed on Bruce Lee, the philosopher, and it’s a shame. Bruce was brilliant in body, mind and spirit. Thanks for sharing Bruce’s fantastic philosophies.
CyberDonna’s last blog post..My Knees are Singing