Rudy Arnauts: building new paradigms

Together with two other guys, Bryan Roberts with Eco-Tech Construction & Steve Francois with Tek-Nique Entertainment, Rudy took on a $ 300,000 renovation of a historic building in Tampa, Florida- USA. The goal from the very beginning was to make the project a demonstration model of their business concept in action: an open collaborative business network. Think of it as a Wikipedia of environmentally progressive technology. When Rudy first started this project he was half a heartbeat away from being homeless - literally sleeping in the building which at that time had no power or toilets.

The Project 3.0 show documents how the core team of 3 guys has grown to over 50 members in the first year ranging from startups to publicly traded companies. Over $ 100,000 in renovations have been performed & the building is about to open officially. The first 5-6 episodes of the show will summarize the team’s journey from the very beginning to the present after which the show continues in real time - making it the very first interactive business reality show in the world. I am glad to have the honor of interviewing Rudy, learning about his story and having him share his insights with us.

Anubhav : We are glad to have you share your vision with us. I would like you to explain your work to our readers.

Rudy: My goal is to build two global companies from the ground up. The biggest challenge by far is that I’ve undertaken this effort with zero financial resources. I am looking to build a paradigm shift in both social networking and real estate development. Even though this sounds grand - and it is - many definite realistic steps towards those goals have been accomplished.

The big vision is to build a global entrepreneurial social network website. The current revenue model for social networks is advertising-based whereas I see the value in the business deals that can be executed through this network. My plan could be compared to how Ebay charges a transaction fee for providing online auction infrastructure. I visualize this site to provide infrastructure for any kind of positive business venture imaginable combined with complete financial transparency.

The paradigm shift in real estate development goes hand in hand with this business model. It basically consists of a completely new construction method we have developed as a direct result of the projects we have undertaken in combination with an equally significant shift in the financial business model that goes with it.

Anubhav: Please give some insight into the background behind your work in construction.

Rudy: The first big break came when we had the opportunity to take over an abandoned historic building. The initial plan was to convince the owner to hire us to do a $300,000 renovation to it. He refused - which was an unexpected huge disappointment. We decided to take on the job anyways without a dime in our pocket. At the time I thought it was complete insanity until one of my partners convinced me that there was value in us filming a documentary of us just trying to take on such an endeavor without resources. An interesting story is something people will want to watch. Two out of three of us slept in that building for months with no power or toilets.

Our specific angle is to renovate this building as sustainable as possible so we targeted companies that produced the most sustainable and cost effective products around. A lot of these are new & evolving technologies & therefore these companies are in need of promotion to let the public know about them. The first sponsorship we secured was for $500 worth of recycled fly ash concrete with which we did a complete overlay of the first floor. The most recent sponsorship we secured is a complete historic façade renovation by the same company that restored the US Library of Congress & State Capitol buildings in Washington DC and are valued at $50,000.

Anubhav: Your work sounds amazing. Tell us more about your documentary?

Rudy: The documentary we have been filming since the very beginning is the greatest foundation of the web concept I could ever have hoped for - it proves the unfolding of this new business paradigm of open financially transparent collaboration in action. Since we didn’t have any money to buy building materials we started soliciting companies to sponsor materials in exchange for marketing/publicity - in other words for being in the documentary. When a lot of people watch, it makes a film possess promotional value. The documentary is about to be released where the first 5-6 webisodes summarize everything from the beginning to the present after which the show continues in real time. Anyone with a great idea that can improve on what we’re doing is encouraged to contact us - and then they’re on the show. Whatever profits are generated from that idea will be shared with the contributor; we will publish our contract with them on our site for the whole world to see.

Anubhav: What kind of lessons do you feel the readers can learn from your story?

Rudy: The lessons are numerous. What first may seem as an enormous obstacle or disappointment could actually be a great blessing - I have found this to be true every single time. It really is all in how you look at it. Not getting hired to do a $300,000 construction job felt like a big letdown at the time but in the end this ended up giving us the best possible platform to build our concept upon. After overcoming the first obstacle one can then build upon their previous success to reach the next level up closer to their goal. I can relate this to obtaining our second sponsorship which was $ 2,000 worth of LED lights.

It is important to stay completely open minded as to how your path towards your goal may unfold. It hardly ever goes as planned. Look at every occurrence from a perspective of what you can learn from it. In the end you will always learn more from your failures - it is in overcoming those failures that you will truly find yourself. In a lot of ways, reaching success without that failure is almost a certain recipe for disaster.

Anubhav: How important is a sense of vision in one’s success?

Rudy: I feel that being a visionary and implementing the vision is the first step to success. For the past two years, I have been far from what mainstream society would consider a “success”. However, I do have a firm vision of what I’m building towards. Once you decide to implement your vision the way in which the successive steps towards realizing the goal unfold are often completely beyond your control. The important thing is to be aware of opportunities when they present themselves so you can capitalize on them and build upon that achievement to move up to the next level. A firm vision of what you are looking to accomplish and holding it firmly in the mind is the most important thing for success.

Anubhav: Please tell our readers more about yourself and your philosophy.

Rudy: I am 43 years old, I have had several great peaks of success in life; I’ve “made it” and subsequently lost it 4 times - this round is the fifth time of starting over from nothing. The first time I made money it honestly came way too easy. The natural by-product of that is an over inflated ego and a complete lack of appreciation for the value of the things that were achieved. Sure enough, within a couple of short years I had lost it all. Looking back, I would say that a huge ego is definitely the number one cause of failure. It’s a tight rope to walk because people that think big have to have a certain level of ego in order to think that way in the first place. The balance is differentiating between ego & confidence. Nobody really ever does it alone. Always surround yourself with like-minded people and be certain to appreciate their contributions towards your success.

Anubhav: Thank you for sharing the story behind your work and your philosophy for success. Are there any final thoughts you would like to share with us?

Rudy: I would like to recommend everyone to read “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill which is one of the greatest success books of all time. In a lot of ways I feel that the documentary you are doing on successful individuals is the video version of this book. We are what we think, and for me, the philosophy of manifestation goes right down to the spiritual core of being and Purpose in life. Quantum physics has empirically proven that the observer’s expectations directly affect the outcome of an experiment. This to me is scientific proof that the attitude/belief/expectation that you hold firm in your mind directly impacts what events & circumstances play themselves out in your reality. Every great achievement throughout history started as an image in someone’s mind first.

Visionaries carving their destiny: Karthik Naralasetty

Karthik Naralasetty is a rarity among individuals of his age. This goal oriented and purpose driven former student of Rutgers University, New Jersey was called the “Obama of Rutgers” by his professor for the causes he led while attending the university. At the age of 19, he started an organization called ‘Youth4cause’ to bring about social awareness among youth around the world. Although he is no longer actively involved with the organization, his vision sustains itself at Rutgers University with seventy students as volunteers belonging to different cultures and faiths from all over the world.

The following is a brief interview with Karthik for a brand new section on CarveyourDestiny.com titled “Visionaries carving their destiny.” It is a section that introduces the audiences to visionaries among everyday people who may not be known to the world yet, but are surely on the track of becoming so!

Anubhav: Thank you for joining us Karthik. Please tell something about yourself.

Karthik: I hail from a middle class family in Andhra Pradesh . I always had the passion to become a trend setter in whatever I do. I always had the desire to do something outstanding and to think out of the box. I started my first organization while all the other students my age were busy with either partying or homework. My deep interest in issues relating to Poverty, economic development and civil society has seen me represent India at various international events.

My passion for social service started when I was very young. My father was my greatest inspiration, he directs a series of awareness programs in rural India. In 2007 I was invited by the Brisbane Government (Australia) to participate at the Asia Pacific Cities Summit. The conference was an eye opener for me as I met many young people from different parts of the globe.The exchange of ideas gave me a different perspective about life.

Anubhav: Please give a background about the initiation of Youth4Cause. Why did you decide to create this organization?

Karthik: It was my first day at the school; the university campus is filled with new and excited faces. Many of them are international students flocked up from all the parts of the world.

There were many student organizations on campus. I got a brochure from the campus information center; I was amazed to see that there was not even one organization that fights global issues and empower youth to take action. All I saw was organizations representing a particular country (Indian Student Organization, Pakistan Student Organization, Muslim Student Organization etc) culture or a religion.

That’s the moment I have determined to start a youth organization that really focuses on global issues and which can educate students on the issues. I felt there was an immediate need for the young people to act on global issues. After all we have the power, energy and passion to make a change.

Anubhav: Describe the process of starting Youth4Cause.

Karthik: It all started when I met my history professor and explained my idea of having an organization which focuses on global issues like Extreme Poverty, HIV/AIDS etc.

He then Introduced me to his undergraduate class and asked me to speak about my idea. I explained to the students about why I wanted to start this organization, and how it can bring lasting change in the lives of other people.

Soon the college newspaper (Observer) took an interview of mine about the idea of having a youth organization on campus and published it the next day. I was amazed by the response I got from the students. Soon I had around 30-45 students willing to join as volunteers for the organization. We soon applied for the official registration at the Campus Leadership Center and the SGA (Student Governing Authority).

Anubhav: What are some of the objectives that you have accomplished through Youth4Cause?

Karthik: We fund raise for an organization in India which supports poor stage drama artists.

Youth4cause fed 20 poor artists in the first month of founding. All the volunteers were very happy on our first event and were motivated to do much more contribution to poor and needy. We started fundraising around campus and nearby local business; we soon reached the target of raising $1000!

Then onwards we have conducted many awareness campaigns on campus and inspired many young people to join our organization to bring some positive change in the society…

Anubhav: What is the one philosophy of your success that you would like to share with us?

Karthik: I strongly believe that the so called ‘unrealistic’ goals can be achieved with a set of realistic steps. What you need is dedication and perseverance towards what you are doing.The best way to achieve your dreams is to visualize it.

I even used to visualize when I am about to address a meeting at the organization. This really helped me to be confident and bold at whatever I do, because I already knew what was going to happen.

Anubhav: After creating a revolution in the university through Youth4Cause, what is the next step for the Obama of Rutgers?

Karthik: I had a personal commitment to myself; I shall resign for the post of president after a year of founding. This is what I have said to myself before founding the organization. I am happy that I have fulfilled my promise. I am no more the president of Youth4cause.

I got back to India in September 2009. Having attended Rutgers University, New Jersey for a year, I decided to come back to India to pursue my dream of becoming an entrepreneur. The desire to serve my own nation brought me back to India where I have now formed a company called Redcode of which I am also the CEO and President. My key role is defining the company strategy and spearheading Global Operations, Sales and Marketing. I am also involved in the development of Competency & Solution Units.

I am passionate and excited about how technology can change the way we live and my dream is to build the next Google. It may sound unrealistic today but as I have said before, “unrealistic” objectives are attainable through realistic steps!

*Is your life an inspiring story too? If so, drop an email at anubhav101@gmail.com and if interesting enough, it maybe featured right here on the Carve your Destiny Website!

What we all can learn from Michael Jordan

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

Failure is something that may need to be redefined within your mind. It’s not something to attach too much meaning to. But people do though. They may think that it’s the end of the world, that the sky will fall if they fail.

It rarely does.

If you look at successful people then you see that they have an abundance mentality. They know there are new chances and opportunities if they fail. And that there are lessons to be learned from failures. Those failures may be necessary to achieve success. Without them you don’t get feedback and wisdom that is essential for your future success. And by making mistakes for yourself you get experience. Reading about someone else’s mistake or knowledge isn’t the same thing as experiencing and acquiring it for yourself.
Failure is a learning experience. It can help you. But first you have to try. Without trying you aren’t going anywhere. You can read more about the power of failing in Why You Should Never Fear Failure.

Rely on your own expectations.

“If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.”

“It’s heavy duty to try to do everything and please everybody . . . My job was to go out there and play the game of basketball as best I can, … People may not agree with that . . . I can’t live with what everyone’s impression of what I should or what I shouldn’t do.”

“You have to expect things of yourselves before you can do them.”

You can’t live your life through the eyes of others. Through the expectations of others. It will just pull you seven different ways at once or change depending on their mood and what happened last time you worked/played/tried. And then it will very difficult, perhaps impossible, to change the outcome.

You need to release yourself from the need for validation from others. And from their expectations. Instead, validate yourself. Instead, set expectations for yourself. See yourself doing something. Visualize it. Without you being able to see it you will have a very hard time achieving it.

Know what you want and where you are going.

“I’m not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.”

Know why you are doing something. Set a clear direction. And remind yourself of it constantly to keep yourself from veering of that path.

When you are actually out there, be detached from outcomes.

“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot . . . when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.”

When it’s game-time, when you are out on the court, stay unattached to the outcome. Or you will get nervous and fumble. This is for when you are out there playing. In between you can think about your goals and possible outcomes.

But when you play/blog/work etc. stay unattached to the outcome. Just focus on what’s in front of you. Things will become easier. You’ll create less inner anxiety and pressure for yourself. And you will perform better because you are focusing on what’s right in front of you and not weighing yourself down with a lot of self-created negativity.

Obstacles will always be there. Don’t be discouraged.

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Do you really want to go where you are going? Then you’ll find a way. But you need to focus on what you want. Not on what you don’t want. If you focus on what you want solutions will start to pop up in your surroundings with the help of your reticular activation system.

And I guess you can see obstacles as a way for the world to test people, a way to see if they really want something. The ones that do will break through those obstacles and go on while the rest find something better suited for them. Or just go home.

What is the positive in all of this?

“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.”

There is always something good to find in just about anything. Ask yourself “what is positive/useful in all of this?” This allows you to find valuable lessons within temporary setbacks and failures. It is also a way to turn a negative mood into a more positive and constructive one. Such a mood is most often a lot better and more useful than moping around and feeling sorry for yourself.

Remember to have fun.

“Just play. Have fun. Enjoy the game.”

This one ties into being detached. When you are detached from outcomes you can enjoy what you are doing in the present moment.

If you on the other hand are attached to outcomes then there is quite a risk of spiralling down negative thought patterns. You might for instance start to over think something simple and take the fun out of it. Or pull the rug from under yourself by thinking about possible negative outcomes. Your mind may get lost in a negative past/future.

And then it will be hard to have fun. To keep your eyes on the ball. And to achieve what you would like to achieve.”

Disclaimer: I take no credit for this article. I am publishing it on  Carve Your Destiny as it is extremely inspiring. The source of this article is mentioned below

Source: http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2008/01/24/michael-jordans-guide-to-shooting-for-the-stars/

Sylvester Stallone, from rags to riches..

“The Sylvester Stallone story is a true rags to riches tale. He rose from an almost impossible situation to the fame and fortune that he now enjoys. I love to hear stories like this one, the Sylvester Stallone story is rather inspirational. I aim to give a bit of a reminder to everyone that no matter what circumstances you may find yourself in, there is always a way to turn things around if you’re committed.

I will give a brief outline of the Sylvester Stallone story as best I can from what I have gathered through my reading about him. The Sylvester Stallone story begins Stallone attended school in suburban Philadelphia where he first started acting. He then spent two years instructing at the American college of Switzerland in Geneva. When he arrived back in the United States he became a drama major at the University of Miami where he also began to write. He left college before graduation and moved to New York to pursue his acting career. He auditioned for almost every casting agent in town with no success. He decided to turn more towards writing and wrote many screenplays while waiting for his acting career to blossom.

In 1974 he got a break as one of the leads in “The Lords of Flatbush”. He also received his first writing credit for additional dialogue on this film. Despite this small break he struggled to build momentum. He kept auditioning with one rejection after the next. He started writing more screenplays and received similar rejection. Stallone had run out of money and was living in a desperate situation. He could barely even feed his family. Then one day he was walking through the streets of New York and he wandered into the library to keep warm. This became a regular habit for him during the colder months. During his time at the library he began reading books from writers such as Tolstoy and Edgar Allan Poe. This gave him a bit of an extra edge in his writing endeavours and so he pursued this more and more. By this stage he was desperate to get work but he wouldn’t take an average job, he knew his outcome, he wanted to be an actor and that was it. He resorted to many regrettable things like hocking his wife’s jewellery. I mean seriously, there are some things you should never do, you could get killed for something like that ha ha.

“

The Sylvester Stallone story continues… One day Stallone was sitting at home watching a fight between Weppner and Ali. Weppner was getting absolutely slaughtered but kept holding his ground and coming back for more. This underdog was really fighting for it despite the slim chance he would even get close to winning. This inspired Stallone to begin writing based on his inspiration from this fighter. He wrote for over 24 hours straight and after this time he had written the entire script to Rocky. He began trying to sell the screenplay to many producers with enormous numbers of rejections. This went on for months. He was so poor by this time that he decided he had to sell his best friend, his dog. Stallone waited outside of a local liquor store asking people if they would buy his dog. Eventually someone bought the dog for around $50. He was devastated to have to do this. He kept pursuing this story that he had written. Eventually someone loved it and they agreed to do the movie. He was wrapped and told them that he wanted to play the part of Rocky. They declined and told him he was a writer not an actor. Stallone disagreed and told them he was an actor. He declined there offer of over $100 000 despite his current poverty. A couple of weeks later they contacted him with an even higher offer and Stallone still insisted that he play Rocky. The once again declined.

Was he nuts? I mean the man was poor, he could barely even eat. The offer kept rising just so he would sell them the film without playing the part. The price eventually got to around $400 000 and still he declined. He was certain that he was actor and that was it, there was no compromise. Eventually they offered Stallone a measly $25000 so they weren’t throwing their money away by having him as the lead role. He accepted. Then the first thing he did was go back to the liquor store to buy back his dog. He waited 3 days for the guy to come by and finally there he was with his dog. He offered the guy $150 to buy back the dog, the man declined. The offer kept rising, but again, Stallone knew his outcome and kept pursuing his goal. It ended up costing him $15000 and a part in the movie to buy back his dog. The guy and the dog are in Rocky.

Of course we all know what happened with the Rocky movie. It won Academy Award for best picture in 1976. At the awards ceremony he read out all the rejection slips from those who said the film would be sappy, predictable and a film that no one would want to watch. How’s that for a story of triumph? It shows that you have all the resources you need to overcome any obstacle and achieve any aim you have in life, no matter what your age, background, colour or gender is. True persistence pays off every time in every circumstance. Persistence will fight off failure faster than skill or luck ever could. Just ask Sylvester Stallone, he persisted and knew his outcome and look where he is today, he is living his dream.”

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Disclaimer: I take no credit for this article. I am publishing it on our Carve Your Destiny as it is extremely inspiring. The source of this article is mentioned in the end.

Source: http://www.endlesshumanpotential.com/sylvester-stallone-story.html

The Bruce Lee Story

“Most people know Bruce Lee as one of the greatest martial artists ever, but his story extends much deeper than just martial arts and movies. Bruce Lee believed in success and overcame tremendous adversity to become one of the most recognized names around the world. A successful actor, entrepreneur, author, director, and martial artist, Bruce achieved his success all before his untimely death at the age of 32. His legacy is immortalized in everything from the films that he made to the video game characters that bear his resemblance and his famous Jeet Kun Do moves. This is the story of Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee was born on November 27, 1940 (The year and the hour of the Dragon) in San Francisco, California, to a Chinese father and a Chinese/German mother. His actual Chinese name was Lee Jun Fan, but a hospital nurse encouraged his mother Grace to also give him an American name, so it was decided that Bruce would be his name in the United States. Shortly after his birth, the family moved back to Hong Kong where Bruce remained until the age of nineteen.

A Trouble-Maker Teen

At the age of thirteen, after having gotten beat up by a local Hong Kong street gang, Bruce began to seriously train in Kung-Fu through a school taught by Sifu Yip Man, a master of the Wing Chun system of Kung-Fu. That was the last fight that Bruce ever lost in Hong Kong.

Bruce was a cocky and hot-tempered teen, however, and rarely backed down to a challenge. At the age of eighteen, Bruce’s street fighting habits were already bringing the Lee family much unwanted attention from the police. At the age of nineteen, Bruce beat another boy in a street fight. That boy happened to be the son of a well-feared Triad Lieutenant (Triad is the Chinese Mafia). At that point, Bruce’s parents, fearing action from both the police and the Triad, decided to send Bruce to San Francisco to live with relatives. They felt that his life was limited in Hong Kong and it was only a matter of time before Bruce would enter a life of crime there himself.

Hitting the (American) Pavement Running

After a three-week voyage, Bruce Lee entered San Francisco at the age of nineteen with only $115 in his pocket. Bruce stayed with an old friend of his fathers for several months and then set out on his own and eventually settled in Seattle, Washington. He worked at several odd jobs in the local Chinese communities until he settled on a job working for a restaurant owner, Ruby Chow. There Bruce worked as a waiter and busboy while taking courses at Edison Technical School. The same year that Bruce hopped off the boat from Hong Kong, he earned his high school diploma.

The Student Becomes the Teacher

Bruce was an exceptional student of Sifu Yip Man, but he was never officially declared a master. Yet, the passion and the beauty of the martial arts that Bruce possessed compelled him to share it with a society who knew very little about the Eastern ways. Bruce would hold Kung-Fu classes in backyards and at the city parks where he taught his fellow students.

The Love Story That Broke Social-Norms

In 1961, Bruce was accepted into the University of Washington as a Philosophy Major. As a way to meet people and make a few extra dollars, he taught Kung-Fu to the students at the University. One of his students was Linda Emery who also attended the University of Washington as a pre-medical student. Bruce took an immediate liking to Linda. Linda was of Swedish and English descent and at the time it was a social taboo to have an Asian man with a Caucasian girl. Despite social taboos, on October of 1963, Bruce took Linda out for their first date and the two became very close from that day forward. Three years later, in 1964, Bruce proposed to Linda. The two got married later that year.

Bruce Lee’s Fight for the Right to Teach Everyone

As a martial arts teacher, Bruce never cared about race. His philosophy was to teach all those who had the desire to learn. But in the 1960s, race was a touchy subject across America and prejudice existed, not only against minorities, but also within the Chinese community. Many in the California Chinese community felt that Bruce was violating their code not to share their secrets with those who were non-Chinese. At the time, Bruce had two Kung-Fu Institutes in Seattle and Oakland, where he taught anyone who walked in his doors.

In 1965, at the age of 24, Bruce was challenged by Jack Man Wong, a leading kung-fu practitioner in the Chinatown District of Oakland. The terms: If Jack won, then Bruce would agree to either close his Kung-Fu Institutes or stop teaching Caucasians. If Bruce won, then Jack would stop teaching altogether. The fight lasted only about a minute with Bruce reigning victorious, but afterwards, Bruce was bothered at why it took him so long to beat Jack Man Wong and reevaluated his style of Kung-Fu to incorporate more aspects of other martial arts such as Karate, Muay Thai, and Judo.

In 1966, Bruce got his big break as an actor came when he was chosen to play the part of Kato, alongside actor Van Williams, in the television series, The Green Hornet. With the success of the television show, Batman, ABC was eager to try out this pilot that was based on the popular comic book. During the screen tests, the producers were initially worried that Bruce’s “oriental” looks would turn off viewers, but partly because he would be wearing a mask the entire time and even more so because of his superhuman martial arts abilities, the producers decided to star Bruce in the supporting role. Unbeknownst to everyone at ABC, Bruce’s martial arts ability was so phenomenal on screen that his character became more favored with audience viewers than the Green Hornet himself. When the television show was syndicated in Hong Kong, it was relabeled from The Green Hornet to The Kato Show.

Handling Racial Prejudice in Hollywood

In 1969, the television show, The Green Hornet, aired its final episode and Bruce was trying to find another television role. Warner Brother’s approached Bruce for his input on a new pilot that they were working on called Kung-Fu. Bruce worked very hard on the project, giving the screen writers and directors his input, but then Warner Brothers announced that they had selected Caucasian actor, David Carradine, for the role instead of Bruce Lee. It’s been speculated that Bruce was never considered for the main role because viewers might not be ready for Bruce’s “Oriental” looks.

The Injury That Almost Ended His Career

On August 13, 1970, Bruce was weight lifting when he heard a loud popping sound from his back accompanied with tremendous pain. He tried to remedy his back pain with heat and massage treatments, but the pain worsened and he had no choice but to go to seek medical help. The medical doctors told Bruce that he would never kick again and for the next six months, Bruce was confined to a bed. During that time, Bruce began to delve into the concepts and philosophy of Jeet Kun Do and complied volumes of handwritten notes on the subject. After his death, his wife Linda had these notes published as a best-selling book, The Tao of Jeet Kun Do. After six months, Bruce was able to move around again and he went back to doing heavy exercises to regain the strength and the muscle that he had lost while he was bed ridden. In another six months, Bruce brought himself back to his prime shape, although he did suffer from back pain for the rest of his life.

Bruce Lee’s Vision Letter

Angry after having been burnt by Warner Brothers and frustrated at the lack of opportunities in Hollywood for an Asian American actor, Bruce sat down one night and wrote a letter to himself.

“By 1980, I will be the best known oriental movie star in the United States and will have secured $10 million dollars… And in return, I will give the very best acting I could possibly give every single time I am in front of the camera and I will live in peace and harmony.”

In 1973, months after Bruce’s untimely death, the blockbuster movie Enter the Dragon was released in both the United States and China, elevating Bruce to the level of an international star. According to Jack Canfield, that very letter that Bruce wrote to himself is hanging up on one of the walls at Planet Hollywood in New York City.

Bruce Lee Lands His Success

Not long after Bruce wrote his promise to himself, he took an opportunity presented to him by a Hong Kong film studio with starring roles in The Big Boss, Fist of Fury, and The Way of the Dragon. These films elevated Bruce to an icon status in Hong Kong. Then in 1973, Bruce got the break that he had been waiting for when a joint American/Hong Kong production was set to shoot titled, Enter the Dragon, which was the movie that would catapult Bruce into Hollywood stardom. Unfortunately, Bruce suffered his untimely death only days before Enter the Dragon hit the big screen, but it elevated Bruce into American stardom that he had been working hard to achieve.

What drove Bruce to do so much at such an early age? What was his mindset? Bruce never was one to remain idle. He never considered himself a master, but rather a student-master, who was always eager to learn more about his craft. Here are some lessons we can learn from Bruce Lee:

You must train consistently if you want to become better

There’s a reason why Bruce was the greatest martial artist of his time and it wasn’t because he was lazy. Bruce trained his body everyday and it would upset him if he missed a workout. If you too desire to become the best in your area of passion, then you will have to commit yourself towards training everyday to enhance your performance.

You must learn and grow

Bruce had a voracious appetite for books. His personal library contained some 2,500 books from all different fields. Besides martial arts books, Bruce read quite a few personal development books from authors such as Napoleon Hill, W. Clement Stone and Dale Carnegie. He never saw himself as a master of anything. He told people that he had skill in the martial arts, but he was still learning, and that was true with his own personal development as well. He continued to expand his knowledge and to grow himself personally.

The biggest enemy that you’ll ever fight is yourself

Bruce had to overcome some major obstacles in his path on his rise towards personal success. He had to overcome poverty, racial prejudice, prejudice within the Chinese community, financial woes, injuries, and lost opportunities. Any one of these obstacles could have easily erased Bruce Lee from popular culture, but it was his die-hard commitment not to let himself give up that made him what he is today.

An absolute focus and determination to succeed

Bruce started his adult life here with only $115 and a big dream. Only ten years later, Bruce was training Hollywood notables like Steve McQueen, James Colburn, and Kareem Abul-Jabbar. Bruce attributed his quick rise to success through his focus and his obsessive determination to get what he wanted.

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Disclaimer: I take no credit for this article. I am publishing it on our Carve Your Destiny as it is extremely inspiring. The source of this article is mentioned in the end.

http://www.synergyinstituteonline.com/detail_article.php?artid=309