1. For my first reading reflection, I chose to read "Shoe Dog", the autobiography written by the founder of Nike, Phil Knight. Something that surprised me a lot was that Phil Knight admitted in his book to never being with a girl before. Something I admired a lot about Phil was that he knew his own passion and he decided to pursue it despite all of his friends and classmates who "greeted his passion and intensity with labored sighs and vacant stares". He did not let anyone's opinions get in the way of his goals. There really was not an obvious least admirable thing that Phil Knight portrayed in his book, but I would go with the fact that he seemed to feel bad about his appearance sometimes. Although there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Phil Knight's name before, none of it was discussed in his autobiography. Whenever Phil faced adversity it is evident that he simply pushed through and would not give up his dream.
2. Phil Knight had several competencies that helped him become as successful as he is today. One was his relentless attitude. He knew that he had to keep grinding in order to achieve his goals. Phil also took risks and was actually very brave. He never backed out of his endeavors it seemed. He was also very intelligent as you might expect.
3. One thing in his autobiography that was confusing to me was his list of all the regrets he had in his life. I would think that someone as successful as Phil Knight simply forgets about his mistakes and has little to no regrets. It's reassuring to see that billionaires still recognize the mistakes they have made and still feel regret for their past actions.
4. I would ask Phil Knight, simply out of curiosity,
a. When was the exact moment that you realized that Nike was going to be huge?
b. Who is your favorite athlete of all time?
5. Phil Knight definitely valued hard work and realized that he would never get anywhere without working hard. I do not think that he tried to cut any corners. I share the same opinion actually. Although I do not like to work hard for things, I know that in order to attain your goals you must work hard and strive for greatness.
Hi Michael, something that surprised me to was that in my autobiography, Yunus could not maintain romantic relationships. It was even mentioned that maybe very determined entrepreneurs are not good at maintaining romantic relationships because they will always put their idea first. I find it inspirational a relentless (determined) attitude. I feel like it is a commonality between successful entrepreneurs to be able to construct something huge. Great questions lol.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael, I think the relentless attitude you talk about is something so crucial to all forms of entrepreneurship. Being able to attack your goal and never stop is a recipe for success in the business world, so long as that goal is well constructed. I also find it interesting that Knight has no regrets, something a lot of people can't say. That just proves that getting things wrong shouldn't be a regret, it should help you make things right.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael!
ReplyDeleteI like your mention of Knight’s attitude and his risk-taking tendencies. Risk is such a huge factor in creating a successful venture, but I often feel like it’s downplayed because it’s hard to mention some of the risks that may not have worked out. I’m sure it must have been interesting to read all of his life’s regrets, but I agree that it’s a little confusing and I wonder as to why he decided to include that list.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read a blog post about the book Shoe Dog. I know a lot of my personal friends have read it and enjoyed it, so it was interesting to get another persons thoughts on it. It seems you read the book with a great attention to detail and did a good job summarizing your thoughts. I enjoyed how your post was organized numerically.
Hey Micahel, I enjoyed reading your post. I never knew who the founder of Nike was, so it was great to get a little bit of information on him.The things you mentioned in your post opened my eyes to how different people, even with societal success, work hard and persevere through their mistakes.
ReplyDelete