Phil Knight is the former CEO of Nike, who has been with the company for over 50 years. He was born in Portland, Oregon, on January 25th, 1938. His father was an accountant, and his mother a teacher.
As a child, he became interested in business through reading about companies like General Motors and Ford in Fortune magazine. After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in economics, Phil joined the family business that imported Japanese running shoes to sell at its sporting goods store called Blue Ribbon Sports (BRS). The company had seen some success selling Onitsuka Tiger Shoes, which they renamed “Nike” after the Greek goddess of victory.
In this blog post, we look at some famous quotes from Phil Knight and implement them in different aspects of our lives.
1. “If you have non-stop confidence, it will take you very far.”
I tend to agree with this quote. Self-confidence is an essential trait for success in life. If you are confident about your abilities, they are most likely going to be true. But, unfortunately, it’s not that hard to fake self-confidence, especially if you start believing in yourself.
2. “To be successful, you have to combine your passion with some sort of talent.”
As I always say, you’ve got to love what you do so much that even on the days when it’s challenging, you still want to get up in the morning for it. Don’t pick a career just because you want to make a lot of money. Pick something that you enjoy and are good at because success will come naturally.
3. “If the rate of pay is high enough, people will do almost anything.”
There’s truth in this quote. People tend to bend over backwards when they get paid enough for doing it. And why wouldn’t they? The more you get paid, the more was what you do worth. That’s why so many people are so desperate to win lottery jackpots.
4. “And I guess that’s why entrepreneurs are never satisfied with the status quo because to an entrepreneur, everything has room for improvement.”
It is important for a business person or someone who wants to succeed in any field not to get complacent. There is always something that can be done better or more efficiently. Don’t settle for average because it will stop you from doing anything exceptional.
5. “If I had gone into this business thinking, “Gee, with my egalitarian spirit, I’m going to make everybody equal,” they’d have hung me from the nearest tree.”
Life is not fair. Some people are rich, and some people are poor. You can’t make everyone equal because no two people are alike. All you can do is provide the best possible service or product to your customers so that they come back for more, instead of your competitors’. That’s why business is called business and not charity.
6. “We’re always thinking about how we can do things better because we believe in the simple fact that if you make a better shoe, people will wear it.”
If you want to be successful, offer something better than your competitors’. This could be a product or service, or an experience. The downside to this type of thinking is that you have to keep working non-stop because someone else will catch up eventually.
7. “You can’t be a player if you don’t play.”
If you want to get ahead in life, don’t sit on the sidelines and complain about other people’s success or how life isn’t fair. Instead, please do something about it by directly applying yourself to whatever you are doing. There is no substitute for hard work.
8. “For me, the most important thing was finding a company that had excellent management, strong values and high standards.”
No business can stay afloat without having all of these three things in place. The difference between a good company and the best company is the people inside. If you are working for an excellent company with great managers, you will be successful.
9. “No one ever drowned in their sweat.”
This quote doesn’t necessarily mean that we should never give up on our dreams and ambitions. Instead, it means that if you are determined enough, it’s only a matter of time before you succeed. This doesn’t mean that everything will be easy along the way. Life is full of obstacles and challenges, but if you never give up, then eventually, you’ll come out on top.
10. “People have to take responsibility for their actions. I have a rule: Under any circumstances, I won’t accept anyone’s excuses as to why they can’t work anymore. No one is going to hand me anything.”
You are the master of your destiny. It doesn’t matter if you run into bad people or bad things that happened to you in life. What matters is that you don’t put it in the past and let it define who you are. So please take responsibility for your actions and take a stand in life no matter how hard it is.
11. “But even if I can’t make my business the biggest in the world, that’s not failure. That’s just a chink in my armour.”
Even if you fail at your business or other work, it doesn’t define who you are as a person. It is just a small event in the grand scheme of things and nothing else. So don’t let it bother you too much, and take every opportunity that comes your way because only then will you grow as a person.
12. “You tell me that it’s unfair that some kid in Harlem has the same shot as this kid right here in the suburbs. That is … one of the ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.”
The only thing you can control is your destiny, not other people’s. You can’t waste time worrying about other people because you won’t have any time to spare for yourself. This quote also tells us not to worry too much about what other people are saying or doing because every person has their own life choices.
13. “If I hadn’t started with nothing, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”
We understand that this quote is not strictly referring to the business world. Instead, it means that you have to work hard and be prepared to fight for your dreams if you want them to come true in life.
14. “In this country, entrepreneurship is probably one of the greatest things you can do.”
There’s no better feeling than having your own business in this country. We all have the American Dream in our heads that one day, we will create something that is uniquely ours and just like Steve Jobs said, you don’t necessarily need to start small because anything can become huge.
15. “Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works.”
Beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. It doesn’t matter what other people think about your business plan or new product because at the end of the day, before they can judge anything else, they have to understand it first. Apple hasn’t gotten this far because of their looks. They have gotten this far because of how they work.
16. “There’s a phrase in Buddhism, ‘Beginner’s mind.’ It’s wonderful to have a beginner’s mind.”
The best way to begin something new is by putting all your past experiences and knowledge aside. Only then can you truly see things with your own eyes and not through other people’s perspectives. Don’t tie yourself down to one particular way of thinking because it will only hinder your decision-making process in the future.
17. “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”
At any time, you can die. So make sure that when you are doing something big in your life that it’s not just for yourself but also your family and loved ones. Know that everything is a bonus no matter what you do because all we have is memories to take with us.
18. “My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products.”
It’s easy to get things done when you work with friends and family. All that matters is that whatever you’re doing makes a difference in this world because in 100 years from now when we are all gone, what will remain are the things we have built and accomplished.
Conclusion: Phil Knight
Like in almost all of his quotes, Phil Knight manages to put life into perspective. He talks about the real issues we face every day, not just what is happening in our little bubbles. His words can be applied to every aspect of your life, no matter what you do for a living or who you are as an individual, because at the end of the day, life is short, and nothing lasts forever.