Biography: Film star, philosopher, one of the greatest martial artists of all time. Moved from San Francisco to Hong Kong shortly after he was born, which was shortly occupied by Japan. At school he was not purely Chinese, and he was not British like other kids at his international school - turned to fighting to deal with bullying. Bruce Lee was 13 when he met his teacher Yip Man who taught him Wing Chun, a style of Kung Fu. He constantly had to prove himself, as he was not seen as Chinese. He developed a reputation for being street tough. He was arrested after a bad street fight with the son of a police officer. He was sent back to America. He did odd jobs, and was willing to teach anyone in martial arts. He was challenged to a fight if he lost he would have to shut his school down. His style incorporated dance, wing chun, boxing, and fencing. He started to develop is own philosophy of martial arts.

Biography: Bruce Lee believed that the individual was more important than any style or system. He focused on thousands of hours of deep practice. His talents were born of the unique mix of circumstances and experience.

Quotes:

"I do not believe in styles anymore. I do not believe there is such a thing as the Chinese way of fighting, Japanese way of fighting."

- Bruce Lee

"When people come to me to learn, they're not coming to me to learn to defend themselves. They want to learn to express themselves through movement, anger, or determination."

- Bruce Lee

Insights:

1. There is always a method to what appears to be natural talent or magic.
2. Genius is not born, rather it is made through deep practice.

Insights:

1. Fixed mindset believes that traits are fixed; a growth mindset believes that traits can be developed through effort, guidance, and persistance.
2. With a growth mindset we have the ability to improve in anything.
3. Most of us carry family patterns and mindset without realising it.

Insights:

1. Naturalistic is a type of intelligence that enables people to see nature in all its complexities. Jane Goodall is an example of this type of intelligence.

Insights:

1. We struggle to concentrate on tasks if we spend too little or too long on them.
2. The Pomodoro Technique is based on the idea that are peak efficiency is spending 25 minutes on a task, followed by a 5 minute break.

References:

1. Francesco Cirillo: tomato kitchen timer.

Definition: Uncompleted tasks create a tension that keeps the task in our mind until completion.

References:

1. 1920s. Bluma Zeigarnik observing waiters in a cafe that could easily remember orders, but forgot as soon as the bill was paid.
2. Bluma Zeigarnik giving tasks and then interrupting. Participants were more likely to remember when tasks were incomplete.

Insights:

1. If you are struggling for focus, it is possible that there is something that you have been avoiding that you should be doing.

Principles:

1. Break tasks into smaller pieces that lead towards habits.
2. Start somewhere. Anywhere.