Worthy Wins: Finding Clarity & Success in What Matters Most with John Olinger

On this episode of The Jon Gordon Podcast, I sit down with John Olinger—author, consultant, and former Nike marketing leader—for an honest and insightful conversation about his new book, Worthy Wins. John's journey is shaped by both professional achievement and personal loss: from a decade with Nike working alongside elite athletes and the world's most advanced technology, to navigating the unexpected death of his father and the perspective-shifting realization that time is both scarce and uncertain. In our conversation, John shares the story behind Worthy Wins, the powerful concept of getting radically clear on what matters most, and why so many of us risk "winning" at the wrong things without ever realizing it. Together, we explore John's lessons from the corporate world—where clarity and alignment can mean the difference between organization-wide momentum and wasted effort—as well as his personal life, where the true measure of success lies in relationships and intentional living. John opens up about the tensions between accomplishment and connection, the influence of mentors like Kobe Bryant, and practical strategies for identifying your own worthy wins, whether leading a team or navigating your family. About John, John Olinger spent a decade as a Brand and Digital Marketing leader for Nike and Jordan Brand, including three years captaining Global Marketing for Kobe Bryant. He reached a career inflection point after the unexpected passing of his father and left Nike in 2022 to become a consultant, author, and speaker. His first book, Worthy Wins, came out in 2025 to help individuals and organizations win in the places that matter most. John was recently tapped to become the President of Unitus, a Christian footwear and apparel brand, started by NBA player Jonathan Isaac. John is married to his AMAZING wife, Erin, and they are raising three energetic boys in Florida. Here's a few additional resources for you… Do you feel called to share your story with the world? Check out Gordon Publishing Follow me on Instagram: @JonGordon11 Check out my new revised release of my book, The Power of Positive Leadership here ! Every week, I send out a free Positive Tip newsletter via email. It's advice for your life, work and team. You can sign up now here and catch up on past newsletters. Ready to lead with greater clarity, confidence, and purpose? The Certified Positive Leader Program is for anyone who wants to grow as a leader from the inside out. It's a self-paced experience built around my most impactful leadership principles with tools you can apply right away to improve your mindset, relationships, and results. You'll discover what it really means to lead with positivity… and how to do it every day. Learn more here! Do you feel called to do more? Would you like to impact more people as a leader, writer, speaker, coach and trainer? Get Jon Gordon Certified if you want to be mentored by me and my team to teach my proven frameworks principles, and programs for businesses, sports, education, healthcare!

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Worthy Wins: Finding Clarity & Success in What Matters Most with John Olinger is an episode from Positive University Podcast by Jon Gordon.

This episode is 45:03 long.

This episode was published on Apr 24, 2026.

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