What are the odds? It’s a favorite expression. You will find it in my previous columns. My youngest daughter gave me a copy of Mike Lindell’s new book for Father’s Day. A fabulous gift. The book is hard to put down.
I prefer biographies, stories about ordinary people who have done extraordinary things. Novels are not my cup of tea. Most autobiographies are written by fairly famous people who want to set the record straight about their lives and their actions. Attempting to rewrite history, they tend to downplay their failures and accentuate their accomplishments. Mike Lindell turns that model on its head. He bares his soul, telling his life story with brutal honesty.
This autobiography reads like an improbable novel. As you read Mike’s amazing journey, you will find yourself saying, “that couldn’t really happen.” No way. Just as quickly you will say, “but he couldn’t make this up!”
It’s an easy read, written in a conversational style. He jumps from one tight spot into another. Almost all of his failures and the messes he gets into are products of his own doing. Somehow, he miraculously gets out of them. There can be no logical explanation for his escapes.
He lays his life out there for all to see. No excuses. He takes full responsibility. A man who recognizes that he lost almost everything thanks to thirty years of foolish, self-destructive behavior. It is impossible to calculate the odds that he would come out on the other side both successful and respected. Somehow, by the grace of God, he does.
Mike Lindell has become larger than life. He comes into our living rooms several times a day. He is a natural salesman. Americans love a great pitchman and he is one of the best. People don’t really buy his pillows as much as they buy him. They may not believe it actually is the world’s greatest pillow. But they believe that he believes it. Sophisticated ad execs on Madison Avenue must wrinkle their noses at his rather hokey commercials. Those ads sell millions of pillows. Viewers see a small town guy who only owns two suits. He is real. Mike believes in his patented fill. He believes Made in the U.S.A. still means something. He projects an energy and an honesty that cannot be faked. That same energy and honesty radiate from the pages of his book. Through all of his tribulations, Mike never loses his God-given sense of optimism.
So what will Mike Lindell do next? With his full-throated support for President Trump, many would like him to consider a run for governor here in Minnesota. He would bring considerable assets. He has universal name ID. He could certainly raise the funds required. Lord knows, Minnesota could certainly use a strong hand at the rudder right now. Mike has the experience and a moral compass to chart a course out of the insanity we find ourselves in.
He also has that one indispensable quality, empathy. He can relate to folks who are struggling to scrape together the mortgage payment. He’s had houses repossessed. Unlike so many Republican blue bloods, he can look into the eyes of average folks and say, “I know how you feel” and really mean it. Mike Lindell has all the tools to Make Minnesota Great Again. Of course, it would come at great sacrifice to him and the company and the causes he loves.
All of us confront similar haunting questions. Can there really be a loving God who watches over us? One who created this magnificent garden that has everything we need? A God who loves us so much that He gave us the freedom to believe or not? To be able make our own stupid, sometimes self-destructive mistakes? A God who is there to catch us when we fall?
Mike Lindell believes there is. He offers a lifetime of examples to prove his point.
Mike dedicates his book to all those in need of hope. Readers will surely receive it. It’s an offer you shouldn’t refuse. Like his pillows, it comes with a sixty-day, money-back guarantee. Get yours today.
Gil Gutknecht served six terms in both the Minnesota and the U.S. House. He loves his MyPillow. Gil has never met Mike Lindell and received no commercial consideration for promoting his book.