Explore Quotes by Phil Knight

Up until the time I was 14 years old, I was sure that I was going to be a big-league baseball player. But that dream came to a rude awakening when I got cut from my high school baseball team.

Obviously, the bulk of my Nike shares have been set up in a trust.

I've said many times that I might as well have webs between my toes.

I didn't say I'm walking away. I said I was stepping down as chairman. I won't walk away. I'll be carried away.

No parent should have their child die before he or she does.

I don't consider myself enigmatic, but I don't spend a lot of time thinking about my public persona.

We could see that he was a charismatic guy who jumps over the moon and is very competitive, but nobody could have predicted what he would become to our culture.

I'm Phil Knight, and I don't believe in advertising.

We took advantage of the running boom, which became the jogging boom, which became the fitness boom... and we've benefited from all of that.

If there was no Bill Bowerman, there would have been no me. He had about as much of an impact on my life as any one person could have. He taught me about competition and ingrained it in me. He taught me not to praise ordinary performances.

I think everyone born in Oregon is an environmentalist by birth.

There is no drama like the drama on the athletic field.

The thing that got us going early was the running boom. And then, I think, we rode the Jordan bit, which then kind of crossed us over into the pop culture.

I think I'm not a natural-born salesman, for sure, but If I have a product I really believe in, I can overcome some of the shyness and get through the things that aren't natural to me.

Running is a basic ingredient for your health, just as much as eating and sleeping, but going out for a run by yourself and taking a moment to think also creates a certain peace.

If there's one thing, I've been pretty good at evaluating people.

Any entrepreneur has to prepare for a lot of dark days, and they've got to really like what they are doing, and they have to have a reason for it to succeed.

At first, we couldn't be establishment, because we didn't have any money. We were guerrilla marketers, and we still are, a little bit. But, as we became No. 1 in our industry, we've had to modify our culture and become a bit more planned.

I've been fortunate to be around good people.

If you're trying to get into the sports business, you really have to find a niche.

In running, the only equipment that really matters - at least the mentality was in those days - were the pair of shoes that you wore.