Why the President of Microsoft Signed My Air Jordans My favorite shoes -- Nike Air Jordan 11s -- have an important signature on them, but it's not their namesake's. It's from someone who inspires me to move forward as an entrepreneur.

When someone enters my company's El Paso, Texas, headquarters, they're certain to see a bright-red pair of Nike Air Jordan 11 shoes. I have them displayed in my office. And if they look closely, they'll notice the shoes are signed. "Is that Michael Jordan's signature?" they'll ask.

The answer is no. Those shoes are signed by somebody even more inspirational to me, even though he doesn't have a pair of shoes with his name. The signature is from Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft.

Why? Because he signed those shoes just after my company survived.