Neville Goddard introduced the world to the power of self-concept. But he never did anything with martial arts. Bruce Lee was the greatest martial artist of all time. And it was Bruce’s concept of self that transformed him into the martial arts legend we all know. So how did these two men teach the same principle without knowing it?
Ultimately it comes down to looking at trying to transform our lives through the use of techniques as seen in the spiritual and manifestation community. Yet, while teaching different techniques, both Neville and Bruce were strong proponents of not being fixated on techniques as the thing to stick to.
Techniques help amplify the power of self-concept.
On The Office TV series, Michael Scott represented a lot of the dysfunctional ways that some people tend to think about life, about themselves, and about other people.
He illustrated a great example of having a very dysfunctional self-concept.
Fear, insecurity, playing small, doubt, worry, anxiety, and perpetual negativity come from internal states of consciousness. How do we change this?
Instead of focusing on a particular style to change our lives, grow in confidence, and become a better leader, let’s look through a completely different lens.
We’ll begin with an unconventional illustration.
Bruce Lee is a great example of what actually makes the biggest difference in powerful personal development.
Bruce harmonized and focused on something beyond a particular style. His focus was on his concept of self, or self-concept.
Interestingly, this reference to self-concept was first brought to light by a teacher in a completely different field of study (metaphysics and mysticism), Neville Goddard.
Yet Bruce Lee was one of the key catalysts for making the philosophies of spirituality and personal development more globally accepted by pairing physical and spiritual health together through martial arts.
How Bruce Lee taught the power of self-concept.
Beyond being one of the premier martial arts icons of all time, Bruce Lee was an incredible philosopher. His ideas and his beliefs shaped the way that we saw the world of martial arts beyond the physical dynamics illustrated on screen.
But what all of these films represent is really a picture of self-concept.
When you dig into the Bruce Lee side of self-concept, he was not stuck in just one technique or form of martial arts. It was something else.
His kung fu was more than just “kung fu.”
Bruce Lee was constantly learning and adapting new things and bringing all of these new learnings into his concept of self so that he could be the best fighter.
Or be the best version of himself in the ideal state that he wanted to be.
And that’s really what self concept is all about.
Becoming aware of this philosophy of life can help us transform our lives more easily by getting out of these fixed and static ways of growth.
It’s not about the technique as much as it is shifting the way we look at ourselves, other people, and the world around us.
It’s not about doing a certain technique.
If you’re into spirituality/manifestation, you probably have read Neville Goddard, Law of Attraction, and other blog articles about manifestation.
And if you are really desperate for something to happen, you’re likely in the conscious state of something like:
“I really have to have this thing happen, I really have to have this change happen now. And I’m doing all these things, and they’re not working. But this person says, I can do it in 10 minutes, or two hours or whatever, yeah, I’m going to jump on this thing.”
So you jump on the new technique and you try it.
Maybe it works a little. Maybe you start seeing a little progress. But if you don’t commit to the consistent practice, it doesn’t become a part of who you are.
This is why some people say affirmations really work. And other people say that they don’t work at all.
Affirmations are just a tool, not the secret.
Which is what Neville Goddard taught in all of his books and lectures.
You have to become the person who already has what you desire and live in the state of consciousness that it is already done. Before you see tangible evidence of it. THIS is what having true faith is. Neville redefined faith as “Unwavering loyalty to the unseen reality within.”
Thinking from the state of consciousness of already having your desire is living by faith, regardless of what is showing up outside of you.
That is how you step into the realization, the manifestation or the consciousness of what it is that you want and bring it into being.
This is the way change actually works.
The Universe doesn’t give us what we want.
The Universe gives us who we are. That’s why consciousness creates reality.
We have to become that person who already is the best and has our desires fulfilled.
Which is the opposite of what we’ve all been taught and conditioned to believe and do. We’re taught to make things happen with action. Do -> Have -> Be is how we’ve been taught. But it’s the opposite order of how the Universe/GOD works.
It’s as Jim Kwik describes in his book Limitless. The process begins with Mindset, then Motivation, then Method.
Or another way of looking at it is: Be -> Do -> Have.
It all comes down to the inner work.
And that happens on the inside of us in our inner garden, a process I call Growth Farming.
You can use a backhoe, shovel or a spade to dig a hole on the ground to get down into the roots and see what’s really going on down there
In the inner garden, you have to dig into the soil of your deepest beliefs to see where there are roots of fear and doubt and worry are that siphon off the resources for living your best life.
Identify the unwanted things and surrender them.
You can pray something like,
“God, I can’t see this. I can’t see where the roots are from where I’m standing. But I know there’s roots to this stuff because I’m thinking these ways and this stuff showing up in my life. So I’m sorry, please forgive me. Thank you, I love you. I trust you’re doing the invisible work under the soil. I’m gonna go on about my life and commit to being the best version of me.”
All of this is the power of self-concept.
The backhoe, shovel and the spade are metaphors for doing the inner Growth Farming work. It’s the most important work you will ever do.
Those things are going to help you get into the soil, but you still have to be the gardener.
Going back to the Bruce Lee reference, it’s the same thing with martial arts.
You can learn how to practice kung fu. You can learn Tai Chi. You can learn Krav Maga or Brazilian Jujitsu.
You can learn any number of martial arts forms.
The form won’t make you into the greatest fighter.
You will.
Bruce Lee was the greatest fighter in the world because that was his self-concept.
And when he would go to demonstrations and show what he could do, he was living as the version of himself that already was the best in the world.
He didn’t have to prove anything to anybody.
*By the way, all the greats in any sport or field have used this mindset method, whether they called it self-concept or not. Michael Jordan, Floyd Mayweather, Muhammad Ali, Bo Jackson, and countless others all thought and acted in this way. Click on each name to see how each of these individuals lived out this teaching and be inspired by their stories.
Do you want to transform and change your self-concept to be the version of yourself you dream of being? This powerful book will show you exactly how to do it in a step-by-step process that is easy and creates powerful change fast!
It’s about being the best version of yourself.
Bruce Lee is an example of having a strong self-concept because he was constantly in the state of growth and improvement.
It was an ever-increasing transformational experience for him to continue to grow and evolve. He regularly taught about being like water, instead of being like a piece of wood or stone.
Because wood and stone are fixed objects, they can’t move and can’t change or adapt, so they cannot grow.
Get into the feeling state of being.
Be like water.
Be the water that has already taken the mold and shape of what it wants to become.
Bruce Lee’s philosophy rewritten for personal growth is, “Become the highly successful leader in your mind and heart. Become the transformational coach who leads people to places they never believed they’d reach.”
Become the person now that you dream about being years into the future.
But bring the “then” into the now and occupy that state of consciousness now. This is using the power of self-concept in the best way.
Simply sit in a place of thinking and feeling, repeating something like “Isn’t it wonderful!” to yourself.
Water the soil of your inner garden.
We’re continuing to plant inside of us the best seeds, the seeds of Love, and watering those every single day.
And reminding ourselves of who we are.
If affirmations, journaling, scripting, meditation, or any other technique helps you to stay in that state, do it.
But don’t tie yourself to the technique as though the technique is the secret.
It’s not. You are.
Remember, change happens when we choose it.
You can have a Michael Scott philosophy on life that creates a dysfunctional self-concept (and subsequently very toxic situations in your life, career, and relationships). OR…you can take on a very different approach to everything and embrace the power of self-concept in a confident way.
Do you want to change and improve your life?
Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn’t still be reading this.
Here’s some good news: You don’t have to figure this out alone.
We can make powerful changes for your life, career, and relationships happen together.
