Tai Chi and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu -- The Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Graham Barlow
Bruce Lee, MMA and Shaolin Monks -- the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with Matthew Polly

Do You Share the Quality that Made Bruce Lee Successful?

I am reading "Bruce Lee: A Life," by Matthew Polly. Bruce possessed one quality that he had in common with almost all successful people.

Bruce Lee believed in himself, had a goal, and worked hard to reach his goal.

Do you have a martial arts goal? Do you want to learn Bagua, or Taiji, or Xingyi? 

It is a good idea not to write down a goal that is overwhelming. Do you want to learn Chen Taiji? Then start with the silk-reeling exercises. Set a goal of learning one every two days, and set a time to study. It may only be ten or twenty minutes, but that is okay. 

Perhaps your goal is to learn a form. You can have a big goal such as "Learn Xingyi," but then have smaller goals that help you achieve the big goal. 

Do you want to learn the Five Fist Postures? Then write down your goal, set a day to complete it, and then plan out the time to study and practice and get feedback.

Maybe your next goal is the Bagua Swimming Body form. Set a time to complete it, then make a plan to take it movement by movement. Study part of one section each day. Before you know it, you will reach the end. 

Do you want to manage the stress in your life? Then set a goal to do that, and begin studying and practicing qigong every day. Even just five minutes a day can make a difference in your life if you work at it.

On my website -- www.internalfightingarts.com -- members find step-by-step instruction in the skills they need, from basic to advanced, in these arts. Plus, they have the opportunity to get personal feedback on their movement, mechanics, techniques and their progress.

But they have to set their own goals and work at them.

Success in anything does not happen just by thinking about it or watching free YouTube videos.

What are you going to do about it today? How much time will you spend setting your goal and planning the steps and the time you will take to get there? 

An instructor can only point the way. The rest is up to you.

Bruce Lee didn't let anything stop him from achieving his goal. At one point, he was earning less than $200 a month teaching gongfu. His first school closed because students moved away or had to quit for various reasons. He faced discrimination in Hollywood and the cancellation of his first TV show, "The Green Hornet," left him unemployed.

But he had the vision. He knew what he wanted and he did not let anything stop him. Unfortunately, he did not live to see just how well he achieved his goal, but he did achieve it. So can you.

What is stopping you?

-- by Ken Gullette

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