Shoe Dog

The narrator eats a light breakfast and goes for a run. He reflects on being from Oregon. He’s proud to be from Oregon but also feels most people think little of importance ever happens there. The narrator is living at home with his parents again after seven years away. He attended the University of Oregon and received a master’s degree in business from Stanford. Despite these accomplishments, he still feels “like a kid” (2). He’s 24 years old. He reflects on what he wants from life and decides that he wants his life to feel like play. This leads him to think about his “Crazy Idea.” He begins to run faster, growing excited while imagining his Crazy Idea working. He gives himself the advice to never stop, to “just keep going” (5), no matter what. Fifty years later he will reflect on this advice and conclude it is the most important advice there is.

Knight approaches his father while he watches television. Knight wants to ask for help with his Crazy Idea. While in business school at Stanford, Knight wrote a paper about the potential impact of Japanese running shoes in the running shoe market. Knight saw enormous potential there and continued thinking about this idea well after presenting his paper.