Be Water, My Friend

This book "Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee" by Shannon Lee has so much to offer whether or not you are a Bruce Lee fan. Prior to reading this book, I'm not a Bruce Lee fan. I've never watched his movies and I don't know much about his life as a martial artist, actor and philosopher. I've only heard of his famous saying "Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. You put water into a cup; it becomes the cup. You put water into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. You put it into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. Now water can flow, or it can crash! Be water, my friend." That's about it. After reading this book, I am in awe of Bruce Lee's teaching. In many ways, this book reads like a self-improvement or spiritual book but it is also a partial memoir of Shannon's life. Many of Bruce Lee's abstract ideas are explained through Shannon's personal experiences or grounded examples. This book is carefully written to deliver a good punch (pun intended) to the readers.This book starts with the introduction of Bruce Lee's famous "Be Water" philosophy. This philosophy can be applied to both life and martial arts. The idea behind it is that you want to be like water as a person. Water has characteristics of readiness, and it is moving and flowing in all directions when it is not obstructed by something. To imbue water's characteristics into one's life, one needs to be "in the flow", in part, being present (by choosing to live life consciously, purposefully, and intentionally); be pliable (by not being rigid to one's circumstances and surroundings); have appropriate tension (so that one can be present, pliable, and engaged when the floodgates open); and be purposeful (by embodying an idea, practice, value, or concept into one's being). This forms the foundation of the "Be Water" philosophy. After learning the "Be Water" philosophy, Shannon takes a deep dive into other parts of Bruce Lee's philosophy - The Empty Cup (Chapter 2), The Eternal Student (Chapter 3) and Knowing the Opponent (Chapter 4) of which I won't go into any details but I found them to offer great paradigm shifts to my thinking. One of my favorite chapters is The Tools (Chapter 5), where Shannon shares the tools to integrate Bruce Lee's philosophy into our lives (It is important to note that the focus of this book is to become the best version of ourselves and not to become Bruce Lee-like). The six tools she described - Take Aim, Take Action, Affirm, By Symbolic, Journal and Get Physical, are prescriptive and practical. For instance, affirmation can be challenging because self-doubts will always creep in. However, Shannon suggested affirmations to be framed in a way such that they just aren't true yet. Along the same vein, she suggested that we write down our affirmations by framing them as something we're working on: instead of writing "I'm a good writer", write "I'm writing everyday to become a good writer." This way we're authentic with our affirmation, and it is something we can trust and fall back on - like faith. I dare to say all six tools can be applied to other philosophies and doctrines which makes this chapter incredible to read. The Rainstorm (Chapter 7) is another favorite of mine. I felt Shannon poured her heart into this chapter. Shannon was vulnerable by sharing her struggles and chronic depression after she found out her brother, Brandon Lee, died. Eventually, Shannon was able to pick up her feet when she found hope through her dad's writing. The last chapter, My Friend (Chapter 10), is a chapter where we learn about Bruce Lee, as a friend. I'm sure all citizens of this world can appreciate this chapter because Shannon goes in depth of Bruce Lee's teaching of friendship and inclusion. As Bruce Lee once said "If every man would help his neighbor, no man would be without help. I'm not one of those guys that can brush people off. Besides, I feel that I can just take a second to make someone happy, why not do it?" Shannon added "We hear the words “compassion” and “empathy” and “unconditional love” a lot, and they are good and noble words, but maybe if we start more simply and with something more common that we all have access to, like the word “friend,” it could be a path that would eventually lead us to those noble qualities more easily."All in all, I highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to self improve and/or who wants to learn about Bruce Lee's legacy. Not everything you read in this book is applicable but I also believe all books speak to us differently in different seasons of our lives. For this reason, I will reread this book again in the future.

This book sheds a lot of insight into the man that is Bruce Lee. I also like Shannon's take on some of the quotes, although at the end of the day each one can interpret it differently. Overall a great read, opens up pathways to have no technique.

A very insightful read with very good words of wisdom.

Well written, I will give copies to everyone I know eventually. Very inspirational. Loved how Shannon incorporated Bruce Lee's words with her own.

A friend of mine was excited to get this book and he has really enjoyed it.

A philosophy that we can live by in order to be at our higher vibrations. There is so much love, light and learning in this book. It touches more than just Bruce Lee successful career but his own essence.

Simply put, this was an outstanding read. Many helpful life management lessons, tools, and perspectives. I highly recommend this book. I'll be gifting it to my family members and friends. Rock Solid; Well Done and thank you!

The book is great, I really liked it. However, I received it in a box with no protection inside. The poor book came rattling inside the box. This is a mistake that cannot be made. Book is a delicate object and needs protection. Furthermore, the book came with a cover that was dirty with something sticky and also had physical marks. I tried to clean it but the physical marks won't come off. For the book I give 5 stars. For the purchase I give 1 star. I will keep the book even with the marks because I think it deserves a better fate than a container full of other objects.

I'm only into the first chapter but wow what a great book Shannon wrote. I ordered the hardcover and the text is perfect and makes for a quick read. Shannon tells us things that were never written or told about Bruce before. A must have for Bruce Lee Fans. Seller shipped fast and was well packaged, Would order from seller again.

Book arrived sooner than stated, in excellent condition. Looks brand new. Excellent all round value. I’ll use them again.

Além de ótimo acabamento e diagramação de extremo bom gosto, o livro é uma obra fidedigna da "filosofia de Bruce Lee". Não se trata da história de um "lutador", e sim de um "pensador", cujos ensinamentos servem para todas as situações que vivenciamos no dia a dia. Sua filha Shannon não produziu um livro, mas uma obra de arte tanto para apreciadores de Bruce Lee como para os jovens que "ainda" não o conhecem (se é que isso é possível!).Alex (Rio de janeiro) @gastrolex

Really good book. For me a solid 9/10

Filosofia e ideologia del leggendario Bruce Lee riunite e spiegate in questo libro dalla figlia Shannon. Sempre un buon prodotto per conoscere e approfondire il mito.