Life’s Work: An Interview with Jet Li

Before Li was born, his grandmother predicted that he would bring fortune to their family—and as a teenager he did, earning Chinese state sponsorship for his martial-arts career and winning five consecutive national championships. In his twenties he became an action movie star, popular with fans across Asia and then around the world. After surviving the 2004 tsunami in the Maldives, he launched one of China’s first charitable foundations and deepened his study of Buddhism. His new memoir is Beyond Life and Death.  The following are a few of the important takeaways from his interview with the author.

When he was two years old, his father passed away. After that, his mother worked hard to take care of the family, but they were still very poor, so he knew he also had to work very hard and always try his best. At eight he started learning martial arts, and his teachers chose him to continue.  Talent, learning curiosity and working smart made him stand out as a martial artist.

He even competed against his teachers. According to Li, with any performance, you can show your personality as well as your movement. You can be polite and humble and nice. When you do all that, even the people you beat are still happy. It’s the same in acting. A lot of people want to be actors, but the audience likes the ones who have something special inside.  According to him, you can compete only against yourself to do better and better. A lot of people go the wrong way, chasing others. So go your own way.

At 16 he already had one of the highest salaries in the country. So he asked himself, How do I work harder, be more famous, and get more money? That was his thinking then. After the trip to America, on the way back to China he passed through Hong Kong. A movie company boss asked, “Do you want to be an action star?” he said, “Why not?”

The first thing is to show up on time. Lots of famous actors might show up for a 7 AM meeting at 7:30. But he is always on time because in his martial-arts training, if he wasn’t, he was punished. The second thing he learned at a young age is that just because you’re a champion this year doesn’t mean you’ll be one the next.  Every competition, you need to restart and try harder.  So you can’t get lazy. You can’t think you’re special. You have to work seriously every time, and then the team will follow you.  Complaining, yelling, being angry doesn’t help. If you don’t have loss, you won’t appreciate success.

Giving back to society was the second part of his life, which he called “big Jet” or “big self” because he was no longer working for himself but working to help others.  Yes, governments, rich people, and big companies all have a responsibility. But as a citizen of the world, you also have a small one—maybe it’s giving 12 cents a month or volunteering. You can start there and grow.

From observation, you don’t understand the whole picture. Everybody is unique, with their own love, power, wisdom, and journey. You need to respect yourself and discover yourself.

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