Read or subscribe at michaelwmchugh.com No. 314 | January 2, 2026 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start the weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week Rebirth Brass Band, a New Orleans group, was founded in the early 1980s by Phillip Frazier, his brother Keith, […]
What a rewarding and fulfilling reading year this has been. I hit my goal of reading at least 50 pages a day, and along the way, I also permitted myself to stop reading books that didn’t hold my attention. The result is a 2025 reading list I’m proud of—one that spans history, business, philosophy, sports,
2025 Reading List: My 52 Best Books of 2025 Read More »
December gave me space to look back at what I’ve read over the past year and where that reading is leading me next. My December reading list includes Land’s Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It, Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations, Hetty: The Fascinating Story of America’s Richest Woman,
December Reading List: 4 Best Books I Read in December 2025 Read More »
The Thanksgiving holiday, like Christmas, gives me a natural pause to reflect on what I’ve read this year and where I want my reading to take me next. My November reading list includes Sam Walton: Made In America, The Red Bull Story: The Unbelievable Success of Dietrich Mateschitz and His Energy Drink Empire, It’s How
November Reading List: 4 Best Books I Read in November 2025 Read More »
Read or subscribe at michaelwmchugh.com No. 313 | December 26, 2025 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start the weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week Paul Simon is an American singer and songwriter, best known both as a solo artist and as one-half of
Friday Five — Turn Words Into Actions, Waste No Time, We Must Do Read More »
Finding work that feels like play is the holy grail of a career. Phil Knight returns to this idea again and again in Shoe Dog. To him, building something meaningful shouldn’t feel like a burden; it should feel alive. When work feels playful, it can feel like bliss. But at the same time, immersion can
Read or subscribe at michaelwmchugh.com No. 312 | December 19, 2025 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start the weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band was founded in 2010 by trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Igmar Thomas. The band has
Friday Five — Stake Your Claim, Choose the Path, Do the Work Read More »
Phil Knight packs Shoe Dog with leadership and entrepreneurial lessons—most of them learned along the way. The themes I keep coming back to are simple: don’t micromanage, manufacture motivation, obsess over craft, tell the truth, contribute, and find your calling. For Knight, leadership starts with a counterintuitive discipline: don’t tell people how—tell them what, then
How Nike Was Built: Truth-Telling, Shoe Dogs, and Phil Knight’s Calling Read More »
Read or subscribe at michaelwmchugh.com No. 311 | December 12, 2025 Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start your weekend with clarity and focus. Music of the Week James Andrews is from New Orleans, the older brother of Troy Andrews, better known as Trombone Shorty, and carries
Friday Five — Keep the Rhythm, Consistency Beats Speed, Do Not Stop Read More »
Legendary Nike founder Phil Knight has a simple mantra in Shoe Dog: just don’t stop. You’ll want to quit—everyone does—but you can’t let the urge win. The book circles a handful of themes: doubt, momentum, growth versus safety, fear of failure, and stubborn refusal to lose. Long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine captured it perfectly: “Somebody may
Just Don’t Stop: What Nike’s Phil Knight Learned About Winning Read More »