But he had to cross many obstacles to succeed in what he did. Here are a few facts that many people do not know about Bruce Lee.
1. Bruce Was Born in America
Although born in America, Bruce Lee was grown up in Hong Kong. He would get into fights very often in his teens, and after a particularly bloody fight including a trip to police station, he was sent back to America by his family.
2. He Dropped Out Of The University
In America, at the end of his junior year in 1964, Bruce decided to drop out of the university to dedicate himself to martial arts. He thought he would join the list of people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who became famous despite dropping their studies.
3. He Was Badly Injured
He grievously injured his back during one of the practice sessions for The Green Hornet series in 1970. The doctors asked him to forget Kung Fu. But for someone who loved martial arts so much, this was too devastating a blow to take. Although he took physical rest for 6 months, his mind worked furiously and he wrote down many ideas and methods of martial arts. After 6 months, he himself started practicing them, moderately at first and vigorously with time, and then resumed to his teaching. But his back remained as a source of pain through out his life.
4. Many Opportunities Were Stolen From Him
After The Green Hornet series, he did not get any television work. The movie he acted in, The Silent Flute, was a flop. At that time, Warner Bros have contacted him asking help in developing a TV series based on martial arts. He gave them many ideas which were used in the famous TV series Kung Fu which starred David Carradine, and not Bruce Lee. Warner Bros themselves admitted that they never even considered Bruce for that role.
5. His Practice Was Vigorous
After his recovery from the back injury, Bruce Lee practiced incessantly to get back the previous vigor in his body. There are records which show that he practiced kicks up to thousand times a day.
6. He Loved Reading
Bruce Lee had a vast collection of books, and still looked for new books every time he went out. He read not just the books on martial arts, but books on personal growth. He even liked novice writers of his time like Napoleon Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and Clement Stone.
7. His Success Came from a Less-Than-Perfect Victory
Bruce Lee was once challenged in the 1960s, for revealing the secrets of Chinese to others. He won the fight, but he was not happy: He took 3 minutes to win the fight when he could have completed in one minute. This less-than-perfect experience had made him modify the traditional martial arts to make them more deadly and powerful.
Dedication, determination and confidence that he can achieve what he wants are what that made him successful.
