These lessons are conveyed through practical lessons, long contemplation, and one spectacular mystical experience. Other ideas include the related notion that at no time is 'nothing going on' and the idea that an appropriate time exists for fighting and another for abstaining from violence. The central concept of 'Soc's' philosophy is this: that one must live entirely in the present moment. Socrates, prodded by the impatient and defiant Dan, gives the boy a series of tasks and lessons. As a result of his exposure to the last, Dan seeks to learn the secret behind it. Dan is unsettled by Socrates' knowledge by the fact that Socrates had appeared in a nightmare as a faceless janitor, clad in mismatched shoes (by which he is identified in waking life), who sweeps up the pieces of Dan's shattered leg and by the old man's extraordinary speed, agility, and coordination. At a car-service station, he encounters an old man who seems to know more about Dan's problem than Dan himself knows, whom Dan later nicknames 'Socrates'. He suffers from restlessness, and on one occasion Dan attempts to compensate for the restlessness by running along streets before sunrise.
Dan Millman is a university student as well as a locally famous gymnast who dreams of winning a National Championship competition.