Bruce Lee is best remembered as a pioneering martial artist and movie star, but he also lived his life with a philosophical mindset that informed much of his work. Lee was born in 1940 in San Francisco and raised in Hong Kong. Though his time in Hollywood was fraught with racial bias, he nonetheless went on to break barriers with iconic films such as Fist of Fury and Enter the Dragon, and in the martial art he developed, Jeet Kune Do, which incorporates philosophy into the physical practice.

Lee’s philosophical thoughts also filled the pages of the notebooks he always carried with him. He regularly recorded everything from his training regimens to poetry to self-affirmations. His writings not only mirrored his physical discipline, but also reflected his belief in resilience, positivity, and personal growth. Though his life was tragically cut short in 1973, Lee’s thoughts and actions remain one of a kind, earning him distinction as an influential action star and philosopher alike.