Tips from another Bruce

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Martial artist Bruce Lee was a childhood hero of mine. While the quality of his movies has not held up well over time, his writings on goals and the mental aspects of training remain valid.

Here is a collection of 20 tips that transfer to training on any musical instrument.

[Updated 2021 from a “Random Monday” post, JE. The full list of tips linked above are worth the click if you have read this far! Below is my selection of a few of the best tips.]

2. Learn, Discard, Create
“Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.”

It’s all well and good to learn from others, but it’s not until you take action that you discover what works and doesn’t.

When you discover what doesn’t work, you simply discard it and keep going. When you keep moving forward, you create your own path.

Living a successful life is all about experimenting and trying new things. The more things you try, the closer you get to true success.

7. Manage Your Time
“If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.”

We are surrounded by distractions, such as e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook. They are great at connecting us to each other, but they distract us from what is truly important.

Learn to manage your time, and get the most valuable tasks done before you start to play.

You can often double, triple, or even quadruple your productivity by using just a few simple time management tips.

A good one that I use is to write down the three most important tasks for the next day before I go to bed.

9. Set Goals
“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

If you want to create your dream life, or start a business around your passion, you first have to know what you want. For the longest time I avoided setting goals, because I thought it was unnecessary.

It wasn’t until recently that I discovered that goal setting can not only make me more productive, it can also dramatically increase the clarity I have.

When you set goals, use the S.M.A.R.T criteria, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals.

12. Control Your Thoughts
“As you think, so shall you become.”

What you think about, you draw into your life. If you’re constantly being negative, you will draw more negativity into your life.

Instead of focusing on the negative, think about what you want to get out of life and focus on the positive.

This is another way of telling you that you have to set goals and focus on those goals as often as possible. The results you will get by doing this will be dramatic.

Most people sit around whining about their miserable life, and then they wonder why nothing good ever happens to them.

University of Horn Matters