October was an excellent reading month. I finished five incredible books in my October reading list—all tied together by a single theme: entrepreneurship.
The first book was Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike. Phil Knight’s story is a masterclass in grit and vision—how a scrappy shoe startup became one of the most recognizable brands on earth.
Next came Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. Zappos founder Tony Hsieh argues that true success comes from happiness—both within your team and in the customers you serve.
The third book was Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX. Like Knight at Nike, Elon Musk faced failure after failure—but refused to quit. It’s a gripping look at how SpaceX nearly died before its first successful launch.
I then read Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul. Howard Schultz recounts how he returned as CEO during the 2008 financial crisis and rebuilt Starbucks without sacrificing its values.
Finally, Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc—an unlikely tale of a 52-year-old statesman who transformed a small burger stand into a global empire. Like Schultz, Kroc’s story shows how reinvention drives growth.
With that, let’s dive into the takeaways from each book in my October reading list. You can check out all of the books I’ve read, including the ones in my October reading list, in my monthly reading lists.
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
In Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, Phil Knight tells how, fresh out of business school, he borrowed $50 from his dad to import affordable, high-quality running shoes from Japan.
Shoe Dog is the inside story of how a group of ragtag misfits turned a $50 loan into one of the world’s most iconic brands.
Knight begins the Nike story on a trip around the world, where he wrestles with life’s big questions.
On this trip, he decides the conventional path isn’t for him.
Rather than follow the traditional corporate path, Knight decides to build something on his own—something that reflects him.
He shares it all—the ups, the downs, the highs, and the lows.
It’s the story of how a group of how an unlikely team built Nike into an enduring global brand.
Takeaway: Grit beats glamour—Knight’s honesty about failure makes Shoe Dog one of the human business memoirs ever written.
For more on the story of Nike, check out the book below:
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
In Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose, Tony Hsieh shows how personal growth and company culture can fuel one another.
Hsieh believed you could build a business that prioritizes culture, makes money, and changes the world—all at once.
Delivering Happiness shares the lessons he learned in business and life—from starting a worm farm to running a pizza shop to building Zappos.
The book is fast-paced. It’s down to earth.
Hsieh shows how a unique kind of corporate culture can be a powerful model for success.
His message: focus on the happiness of others, and your success will follow.
Takeaway: Prioritize people over profit, and profit often follows.
For more on Zappos, its sale to Amazon, and building a business, check out the book below:
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX by Eric Berger tells the story of a company that refused to die.
Before SpaceX became a powerhouse, it was a fragile startup on the brink. Liftoff captures the desperation, ingenuity, and near-misses that defined its first four rocket launches.
Liftoff takes you inside the wild early days of SpaceX—it focuses on the first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket.
The story travels from SpaceX’s headquarters in El Segundo to desolate Texas ranchland where engines were tested, and finally to the remote atoll of Kwajalein in the Pacific, where the Falcon 1 took flight.
It’s impossible to finish the book without deep respect for the SpaceX team—and for Musk’s willingness to bet everything on their success.
Takeaway: Persistence under pressure creates breakthroughs.
For more on the early days of SpaceX, check out the book below:
Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz and Joanne Gordon is the story of Schultz’s return as CEO during the financial crisis.
Starbucks, like most businesses during the crisis, was getting crushed—and Schultz had to find a way back to profitability.
One of the keys to the turnaround was how Schutlz reinvented the brand—not just to win, but to win the right way.
The book is a narrative showing the maturation of Starbucks and Schultz. No matter how dark it got, Schultz saw light at the end of the tunnel.
Takeaway: Growth means nothing if you lose your soul along the way.
For more on Schultz and the dark days of Starbucks, check out:
Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul
Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s
Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc profiles a man who reshaped how the world eats.
He revolutionized fast food through systems, franchising, and marketing.
What’s fascinating is that Kroc began franchising McDonald’s at 52—proof that ambition doesn’t expire.
That’s right—he was an “overnight success” more than 30 years in the making, as he recounts in Grinding It Out.
Takeaway: It’s never too late to start—or to think big.
For more on Kroc’s story, his impact on fast food, and his approach to business building, check out the book below:
Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s
These five books in my October reading list—spanning sportswear, tech, coffee, and fast food—share the same entrepreneurial DNA: relentless drive. Each story reinforces a truth worth remembering: success favors those who keep swinging, even when the odds look impossible.
