Aside from a martial artist, and actor, Bruce Lee was also a philosopher. His words of wisdom will make you think, and you’ll find he used precision in the way he phrased his ideas.

Bruce Lee was arguably the most influential martial artist of all time. You don’t have to be a martial artist to appreciate his quotes. Here are the 5 most powerful from the late legend.

5) The key to immortality

“The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.”

Bruce highlights the rift between the world’s expectations of a person and their own expectations. By living a life rife with fulfillment of one’s own expectations, a person will live a life worth remembering.

One can certainly see the wisdom behind this quote, as it describes the exact pattern of Bruce Lee’s own life.

4) Absorb what is useful

“Absorb what is useful. Discard what is not. Add what is uniquely your own.”

This quote is fairly straightforward. It is part of what learning is all about. You retain what helps you in your daily life: Pass the Test; Survive; Improve.

3) Be water my friend

“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.”

In order to figure out the meaning of this, I suppose we should first discuss the extraordinary attributes of water. Water is flexible, it’s everywhere, and it’s life-sustaining. Water has no shape; instead, it flows where it desires, and it alters its movement and speed as it wishes or as the need requires. It is strong, free, and a powerful entity. Water is ever-changing and satiates our survival, our lives.

2) The great mistake is …

“The great mistake is to anticipate the outcome of the engagement; you ought not to be thinking of whether it ends in victory or defeat. Let nature take its course, and your tools will strike at the right moment.”

This one is pretty self-explanatory.

1) Goals

“A Goal Is Not Always Meant to be Reached, It Often Serves Simply as Something to Aim At.”

Bruce notes that sometimes, it’s okay to not reach that goal. If you’ve worked hard and made progress, that goal has still served its purpose by giving you something to aim for. It’s better to be a little optimistic than overly realistic if you want those goals to really work; it’s best to create multiple milestones along the way to help you out.