“Find something you love in life to do, and then dedicate yourself to it.”

When Geoff Hollister was a runner under Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, he heard the legendary coach repeat this sage advice often. While it seemed hard to grasp at the time, Hollister would look to Bowerman’s advice several years later and as Geoff recently admitted, “It paid off.”

It certainly did. After spending several post-college years serving in the Navy, Hollister passed up an enticing offer to stay enlisted so he could return to Blue Ribbon Sports and help his friend Phil Knight grow the business. And oh did they grow it. Along with the help of many talented professionals, Hollister and Knight took a tiny company and molded it into the icon known today and the world over as Nike.

As one can imagine, Geoff Hollister has lived a fascinating life, before, during and after working at Nike. Until recently though, Hollister had only shared his experiences and stories with small audiences at various engagements around the country. And despite repeated requests to write a book, Geoff never really got the push he needed to do so until he met professor Karen Collins while giving a presentation at the Lehigh University School of Business. Karen insisted that his stories needed to be told to a wider audience, and thus went about peppering Hollister with e-mails, cards and phone calls for the next two years. Finally, with a bit of reluctance and some added inspiration from author Homer Hickam, Hollister sat down to write. It was January 2004.

Writing, however, would be halted in July of the same year after Geoff was diagnosed with cancer. The diagnosis was a huge shock to Hollister. He recalls, “I really thought that cancer could happen to anybody but me. That’s very faulty thinking because I’ve learned there’s just no borders with cancer and so I had to really change my focus.”

18 months went by before Hollister even had the strength to pick up a pen and resume writing. But in early 2007, after taking a review of his earlier material and getting much-needed support and encouragement from Laura Houston, a former Nike copywriter, Hollister took to his laptop once again. Buoyed by tremendous help from a creative writing class at Portland State and writing instructors Stevan Allred and Joanna Rose, Geoff submitted the final draft of Out of Nowhere to the galley at the end of 2007. The first copy came off the presses in February and is currently available at NikeStore.com.

In a recent interview, Hollister expressed his enthusiasm about the publication of Out of Nowhere and the message he hopes readers walk away with. “Basically, to me it’s the baton pass to the next generation. It’s absolutely critical, and if we can all think in that way and do something positive for the young people, I think it makes a big, big difference.” He continued, “There’s great life that can be derived from sports and that’s what I’ve shared in the book.”

It goes without saying that Geoff Hollister has derived a great life from sport. And in the process, he has not only passed the baton, but raised the bar on what it means to dedicate your life to something you love. Hollister realizes what an impact he’s had on the sport of running, but got a big reminder last fall when he received the first ever Nike Lifetime Achievement award — a 42-pound bronze Bowerman trophy that is proudly on display in Hollister’s living room. Geoff considers this one of his top Nike moments.

Hollister’s top moments don’t end here. Amongst the pages of Out of Nowhere, he has stories galore about Bill Bowerman, Steve Prefontaine, Joan Benoit Samuelson (or, as he calls her, Joanie) and so many more. Perhaps though, what stands out most in the book is the indelible impression Hollister made on the lives of so many athletes — known and unknown. Geoff once again credits Bowerman for showing him the way. In the early days of Nike, Bowerman was questioned about what guided him to make the choices he makes. Hollister recalls Bowerman responding, “…that he always felt that if he could improve the lot of athletes then he was making the right decision.” Hollister continued, “That was his compass and I found it to be very much mine too.”

A good compass indeed that really paid off — for Nike, the sport of running and innumerable individuals around the world.