Boom! This is Books & Biceps #379!

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If you’re a new subscriber you’ll love this profile that the New Yorker ran on us.

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight

Phil Knight’s autobiography, Shoe Dog, is a memoir of his life and of Nike (both one and the same) and is a must-read for so many different types of people it’s almost hard to keep track. Sneaker heads…. Track fans… Hoops fans… Autobiography fans… Pretty much anyone who follows sports would have some interest on some level… But this book is so much more than that. It also has amazing advice for entrepreneurs and managers, for businessmen and investors… For motivators and self-help gurus… For people who love strong storytelling and powerful writing… For people who believe in the American Dream…

There are so many anecdotes and tales and moments that are all the more riveting along the way because you know that despite all of the obstacles, somehow this little idea Phil Knight started by selling shoes out of his car would somehow, some way, become Nike.

Even the story of how the name Nike came to be is improbable.

But most of all, Shoe Dog reaffirms the idea that hard work, when applied with purpose and vision and drive and a willingness to continue to take risks, learn from mistakes and shore up weaknesses, will lead to success. This book, above all else, is aspirational.

I would ruin the book for you if I posted all of my notes, but this is one of my favorite passages below.

I won’t go into details because they’re too good and too important, but the below is from a speech Knight gave at possibly the darkest hour in Nike’s history, when he was leveraged to the hilt and there was a real possibility the entire company would end the next day. No more paychecks. No more shoes. Done. Knight’s main supplier, Onitsuka, cut them off. They could not fill any shoe orders that they had already borrowed money for and spent.

It seemed like the end of times. Everyone in the room had already been worrying about how they were going to make the rent, pay the light bill. Now this. Then Knight said:

“We’ve come, folks, to a crossroads. Yesterday, our main supplier cut us off.”

I let that sink in. I watched everyone’s jaw drop. I cleared my throat.

“So… In other words… What I’m trying to say is… We’ve got them right where we want them.”

Everyone around the table lifted their eyes. They sat up straighter.

“This is the moment,” I said. “This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. Our moment. No more selling someone else’s brand. No more working for someone else… If we’re going to succeed, or fail, we should do so on our own terms, with our own ideas – our own brand. Let’s look at this as our liberation. As our Independence Day… Yes, it’s going to be rough. I won’t lie to you. We’re definitely going to war, people. But we know the terrain. We know our way around. And that’s one reason I feel in my heart that this is a war we can win. And if we win it, when we win it, I see great things for us on the other side of victory. We are still alive, people. We are still. Alive.”

I love this. Should be a major speech in a movie. Get your copy here.

You’re Allowed to Try: A Coach’s Playbook on Discipline, Adversity and Personal Excellence by Lawrence (Jake) Sweeney

I have a bonus book rec for you this week and it’s a special one because it was written by one of us, a member of the Books & Biceps crew, Jake Sweeney.

One of the coolest things about writing this newsletter for so long is when readers let me know about the dope projects they’re working on and I get to share them here.

In this case, Jake’s book is a great addition to any Sophisticated Meathead’s library if you’re a parent, coach or leader in general. Jake played football at Michigan, won two Big Ten titles and played in 48 straight games under the legendary Bo Schembechler. After that, he served in law enforcement and has worked as a performance coach. The book is quick, to the point, and blends life lessons with anecdotes from his own life. The pages are also filled with great quotes by everyone from Amy Pohler to Pele. I cruised through it and now have a few tips I can use to make my 4th straight playoff appearance coaching my son’s flag football team haha!

Check it out and support a fellow member of the B&B crew here.

Over the years of writing Books & Biceps you’ve seen me lament the lack of hotels with quality gyms. Even today, with more people training when they travel than ever, everywhere from high end resorts to your favorite business traveler spot often has a bare bones workout facility. You’ve seen it a million times: a universal machine, a rack of dumbbells going up to 30 pounds, a few treadmills and Stairmasters and that’s it.

Occasionally, you’ll get some bad ass gyms that will surprise you, but more often than not, you can either do a quick circuit, a bodyweight lift, make something up with some treadmill sprints and dumbbells, or, if it’s a great city or location, go for a run and do a bunch of push-ups along the way (my preferred option).

HOWEVER, if you ever get a chance to stay at the hotel with this gym, you might as well cancel all your other plans and just workout 8 hours every day. Look at this place. Four floors of awesomeness:

If you’re a guy over 40 and you’ve been looking for a new digital magazine that’s written for midlife men, by midlife men, on the topics that actually matter to us: family, fitness, fashion, finance, food & fun, then join us at Midlife Male.

I write a column every Tuesday called The Manologue. This week, I tapped into one of the best monologues from one of my favorite literary characters of all time: Sherlock Holmes. If you’ve been dealing with information overload, read this and you’re free. You’re welcome:

Remember, this is the only book in history to turn a classic N64 game cartridge into an actual book cover:

I haven’t actually been to the Louvre, but many say this cover belongs there and I can’t disagree.

If you still wear your hat backward like Griffey, think all the Prime flavors are dumb because Gatorade Citrus Cooler is the greatest sports drink ever, miss Blockbuster and Tower Records, destroyed your friends in Street Fighter, GoldenEye, and NBA Jam, can quote Tommy Boy and Billy Madison, and never missed Stu Scott on SportsCenter —this book, Generation Griffey, is for you.

Ever wanted to start freelance writing as a side hustle? I got your back right here with this proven, unbeatable system that will have you pitching and selling in 30 days. I used this to write for GQ, Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, the New York Times and more:

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Try our “Read More, Lift More” Challenge, the world’s only one-month training program that pairs an awesome book with 30 proven workouts. Ten pages of reading a day with one workout based on your reading.

THE BOOKS & BICEPS 30-DAY “READ MORE, LIFT MORE” CHALLENGE

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