#59 Faith

Often the immediate association with the word “Faith” is a religious one, but that’s not the type of faith we are talking about in this episode. The definition of faith in the dictionary is: "complete trust or confidence in someone or something." That’s how Bruce Lee interpreted “faith," to have trust and confidence in ones self and abilities. Bruce’s definition of faith is: the spiritual power of man’s will. Your will is your driver, something you can put effort into, but faith is the trust and confidence from the spirit. “Optimism is a faith that leads to success.” As is enthusiasm and as is confidence. Having optimism, enthusiasm and confidence means that you have a certain amount of faith in what you’re doing and who you are, and that things are going as they should. “True faith is faith back by action. Faith backed by action is applied faith.” Sometimes when we think of faith, particularly religious faith, we think about surrendering to a higher power. Which has its time and place, but in this instance Bruce, is talking about action backed faith and surrendering to the higher power within oneself, not outside of yourself. Faith is a powerful source of unlimited energy. Bruce believed in the idea that faith can actually be conditioned. If you don’t have faith in yourself, it is something you can teach yourself. “Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith can be introduced or created by affirmation or repeated instructions to the subconscious mind through the principle of autosuggestion. This is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith.” We all have this subconscious mind that sometimes goes into the habit of negative thinking. So it’s important to train the subconscious mind in this optimism. You can encourage, develop, and condition your faith; you don’t just put your faith outside of yourself hoping it will work out. “Faith is the maintaining of the soul through which one’s aims may be translated into their physical equivalent.” Faith is about tapping into your true essence and applying it toward the things that you want and translating that into physical reality. For Bruce, Faith leads to action. “Faith without work is death.” “Enthusiasm is the godhead within us and instinctively becomes the art of the physical becoming.” Everyone has faith, it’s just a matter of coaxing it out and developing it. Take Action: Create some simple affirmations, you can use the three we talked about: optimism, enthusiasm, and confidence. Where do you have worries? How can you shift that into a more faith-filled outlook? #AAHA This week our #AAHA shout-out goes to Sal Khan, American educator and founder of the Khan Academy, an online educational platform. Khan Academy has produced over 6,500 video lessons teaching a wide variety of academic subjects, originally focusing on mathematics and sciences. Khan attended MIT, graduating with degrees in mathematics, electrical engineering, and computer science. In 2003, Khan started tutoring his cousin and when other friends and relatives sought his tutoring he began making tutorials on YouTube. His educational videos gained worldwide interest and popularity. The lessons are free, and have been translated into languages from all over the world. Sal Khan, you’re awesome! #BruceLeeMoment A moment from listener Damien L.: “"Do not run away; let go. Do not seek, for it will come when least expected." This quote made me realize that I do not have to keep searching for my answer because it will come when I least expect it. Since then I have been less worried and have accepted that I will find out when I am supposed to. Bruce Lee's philosophy has also helped me understand that if I do not get into the academy I can find another path for my life.” Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com Find the full version of our show notes at BruceLee.com/podcast