“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
— Napoleon Hill
Steve McQueen’s rejection could have ended Bruce Lee’s career. Instead, it led to a single handwritten page that would sell for $55,000 and accurately predict his rise to global stardom.
The secret?
He didn’t invent his own success formula – he borrowed Napoleon Hill’s from 1937, followed it exactly, and became the most famous martial artist in history.
Here’s the real story behind Bruce Lee’s “Definite Chief Aim” letter.
Key Takeaways
- Bruce Lee wrote his Definite Chief Aim after being rejected by Steve McQueen in 1969
- He was directly using Napoleon Hill’s method from “Think and Grow Rich”
- The letter accurately predicted his rise to world fame within 4 years
- The original sold for $29,000 in 1993 and approximately $55,000 in 2019
- The Bruce Lee estate rarely credits Napoleon Hill’s influence
- The real power: A rejected actor used a method from a book and changed cinema history
Quick Summary
Bruce Lee’s famous Definite Chief Aim letter wasn’t an original creation – it was his implementation of Napoleon Hill’s method from “Think and Grow Rich.”
Written in January 1969 after Steve McQueen rejected him, Lee followed Hill’s formula exactly: state your goal, set a deadline, declare what you’ll give in return, and read it daily.
Within four years, he achieved the world fame he predicted.
The letter has sold for up to $55,000 at auction and been displayed in Planet Hollywood restaurants worldwide, yet the Bruce Lee estate never acknowledges its connection to Napoleon Hill’s work.
The Letter That Predicted Everything
In January 1969, Bruce Lee was a struggling actor who had just been rejected by Steve McQueen for help getting Hollywood roles. Depressed and frustrated, he turned to self-help books.
What he wrote next would sell for $55,000 at auction 50 years later.
The Complete Story
The Rejection That Started Everything
Steve McQueen’s refusal to help Bruce Lee get acting roles sent Lee into what biographer Matthew Polly called “a funk.” Lee had lost face in front of Stirling Silliphant, a Hollywood power player.
Instead of giving up, Lee immersed himself in three books:
- Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”
- Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking”
- Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends & Influence People”
Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” introduced the Definite Chief Aim method that Lee would use. [Get the book on Amazon]
According to Mike Stone (who introduced Lee to Hill’s work): “I shared Hill’s book with Bruce and the idea of goal setting.”
The Letter: January 1969
(Heritage Auctions Letter, sold September 25, 2019)
Bruce Lee wrote his Definite Chief Aim on a single sheet of paper, with “secret” marked in red at the top and bottom:
“My Definite Chief Aim
I, Bruce Lee, will be the first highest paid Oriental super star in the United States. In return I will give the most exciting performances and render the best of quality in the capacity of an actor. Starting 1970 I will achieve world fame and from then onward till the end of 1980 I will have in my possession $10,000,000. I will live the way I please and achieve inner harmony and happiness.
Bruce Lee
Jan. 1969
(secret)”
What Actually Happened
The Prediction:
- World fame starting 1970
- Highest paid Oriental superstar
- $10,000,000 by 1980
- Inner harmony and happiness
The Reality:
- 1970: Returned to Hong Kong, made first film
- 1973: “Enter the Dragon” released, achieved world fame
- 1973: Died at age 33 from allergic reaction to medication
- Never reached $10M goal but became highest-paid Asian actor
- Estate worth hundreds of millions today
Matthew Polly notes: “The first part of his prediction was a reaction to McQueen’s rejection, while the last line was pure wishful thinking.”
The Auction History
First Sale: August 7, 1993
- Linda Lee (Bruce’s widow) auctioned items from the estate
- Superior Galleries hosted the auction
- The Definite Chief Aim letter sold for $29,000
- Black Belt Magazine called it “eye-popping”
- Equivalent to $55,000 in 2024 dollars
Planet Hollywood Displays
After the 1993 auction, copies appeared in Planet Hollywood restaurants:
- Las Vegas location
- Times Square, New York
- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (off Highway 17 Bypass)
As restaurants closed over the years, these display copies were auctioned separately (examples from 2012 and 2015 can be found online).
Second Major Sale: September 25, 2019
Heritage Auctions sold what appears to be the original:
- Sold for approximately $55,000
- Listed as “Bruce Lee extraordinary autographed personal statement”
- Description confirmed: “8.5 x 11 in. stationery with ‘secret’ imprinted in red”
- Provenance traced back to the 1993 Superior Galleries auction
The Hidden History: No One Credits Napoleon Hill
Despite clear evidence that Bruce Lee used Napoleon Hill’s method, the Bruce Lee estate rarely mentions this connection:
The Bruce Lee Podcast:
- August 16, 2016 episode on “Definite Chief Aim” – no mention of Hill
- February 19, 2019 episode revisiting the topic – still no mention of Hill
Shannon Lee’s Book (2020): In “Be Water, My Friend,” Shannon Lee discusses the Definite Chief Aim but never mentions Napoleon Hill or his influence.
She writes:
“In 1969, my father created a document entitled ‘My Definite Chief Aim.’ It was a single piece of paper written in his handwriting… This is some serious goal-setting. Of course, he died before he was able to attain the ten million dollars, and it was more like 1973 when he achieved world fame, though it can be argued that he started working toward that with great result in 1970, which is when he did his first film in Hong Kong. All told, I’d say he did a pretty good job in the few years he had.”
Note that she calls it “serious goal-setting” – not acknowledging it as Napoleon Hill’s specific method, despite the exact title and format coming directly from “Think and Grow Rich.”
Be Water, My Friend: The Teachings of Bruce Lee. [Get the book on Amazon]
The Pattern: The Bruce Lee estate consistently presents Lee’s philosophical writings without crediting sources.
The Real Lesson
The power of Bruce Lee’s story isn’t that he invented a unique philosophy.
It’s that he found a proven method and executed it with total commitment.
It is uplifting to appreciate that Bruce Lee sought guidance and inspiration from a book
Bruce Lee wasn’t a superhuman who created success from thin air.
He was a struggling actor who:
- Got rejected
- Read self-help books
- Found a method that worked
- Wrote down his aims
- Read them daily
- Achieved them
The letter’s value isn’t in Bruce Lee’s genius.
It’s in proving that Napoleon Hill’s 1937 method actually works when you commit to it completely.
Final Thoughts
Bruce Lee’s Definite Chief Aim letter has become legendary – displayed in restaurants, sold at auctions, quoted in countless articles.
But an important fact often gets buried: This wasn’t Bruce Lee’s invention.
It was Napoleon Hill’s method from 1937, applied with fierce commitment by a frustrated actor in 1969.
The letter proves two things:
- The method works
- You don’t need to be special to use it
Bruce Lee’s superhuman achievement came from using a method available to anyone willing to write one page and read it twice daily. That’s the real secret marked in red ink.
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