“The 1960s were just under way, the age of rebellion, and I was the only person in America who hadn’t yet rebelled. I couldn’t think of one time I’d done the unexpected.”

Here, Knight highlights the cultural context of the 1960s that frames his story. Knight has just returned home after completing his undergraduate studies at Oregon, completing his graduate studies at Stanford, and serving a year in the US Army, but he still feels like he is not living his own life. The Civil Rights Movement and the cultural revolution, in which young people broke away from the conservative values of the 1950s, inspire Knight to take risks and make his life meaningful, purposeful, and creative. 

“Like it or not, life is a game. Whoever denies that truth, whoever simply refuses to play, gets left on the sidelines, and I didn’t want that.”

Knight is referring to his “crazy idea” of playing as a way of life or finding a career that he loves and seems like play. He acknowledges that he has considered various careers at times, but his ultimate dream is athletics. The metaphor of competition in sports and business runs throughout the memoir, and Knight often uses phrases like getting “left on the sidelines” to describe key moments in his journey.

“I wanted to experience what the Chinese call Tao, what the Greeks call Logos, the Hindus call Jnana, the Buddhists call Dharma, What the Christians call spirit.”

When Knight approaches his father about following through with his idea to visit Japan and try to break into the running shoe business, he also expresses his interest in traveling the world while he is young.