I recently completed Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. It is a compelling read that shows the heart and passion of the “shoe dogs”, the people who grew the company, Blue Ribbon, from an overseas distributor for Japanese shoe maker Onitsuka Tigers, to Nike, a now-household brand, that designs, develops and manufactures its own lines of shoes. From selling Tigers out of the trunk of his car to currently employing around 62,000 people for a brand valued at $29.6 billion, Phil Knight has been a trail blazer.

It is hard to condense this book that is full of heart and soul to a mere few lines, but I think these quotes from the book aptly describe the spirit of the people behind Nike.

The art of competing, I had learnt from track, was the art of forgetting. You must forget your limits. You must forget your doubts, your pain, your past.
– Phil “Buck” Knight

Somebody may beat me – but they are going to have to bleed to do it.
– Steve Prefontaine

The cowards never started and the weak died along the way – that leaves us.
– Bill Bowerman

Today, at the mall, I saw the Nike outlet across the floor from Onitsuka Tigers and one floor above Adidas and I can’t help but be amazed and awed at the incredible journey that lead them here. Nike is a reminder of what is possible if we have the audacity to dream and courage to believe.