Love Is In The Air For Mike Lindell
As the use of opioids is raging across the United States - running 2 million strong and growing according to the CDC and CNN - no one is more aware of how savage this addiction can be than Mike Lindell, the Founder and CEO of MyPillow.com. For years, Mike Lindell’s veritable existence was consumed by his many addictions and the powerful demons that kept him chained to them for far too long.
It wasn’t until he came close to losing everything (beginning with his own life), that Mike Lindell finally broke free from the chokehold that had hijacked his soul -- finding a new faith and Jesus Christ along the way. Now a devout
Born Again Christian who is using his MyPillow.com platform to not only sell pillows but to help others overcome their own addictions, Mike Lindell’s renewed purpose is promising and propagating multiple avenues of hope for those who may never find it elsewhere.
His passion for his work is obvious and his seriousness about the matter, equally so. In fact, the Mike Lindell I spoke with on the phone during our interview was not the same enthusiastic, jubilant guy most of us know from his many commercials. The "Mike" I spoke with showed me a serious side I had not expected -- equally as delightful but serious nonetheless. And why not, "addiction" to any degree is no laughing matter, but especially in light of how quickly this epidemic is devouring our nation.
Suffice-it-to-say, after speaking with him, I am even more impressed and admiring of Mike Lindell than ever before. No doubt, you will be too upon reading his interview below.
Share your personal mantra.
It is less of a mantra and more of a practice. I pray about all the decisions I make.
Describe your upbringing...siblings, mom, dad.
My parents were divorced when I was seven years-old. I was the oldest child. My mom remarried, which invited a large family into my life. We lived in a trailer park. As a shy kid, I would show off in school for attention. My shy nature, I believe, resulted from feeling unworthy inside. I feared rejection. I’ve since gotten over that -- the side of me that I show in my MyPillow.com commercials. As I once thought that MyPillow.com was “my purpose,” I now know that MyPillow.com is merely the vehicle in which to carry forth my true purpose -- a much larger one than I could ever have anticipated when I began the company. I have been charged with helping others overcome addictions and find their places in the world.
You are a devout Christian and Believer in Jesus. Why do you believe Jesus let you fall during such a hard-won meteoric rise to success?
We all have choices in life. I wasn’t walking with Jesus. I think a lot of addictions come from childhood….trauma and divorce in my case. Harboring pain caused my downfall. I don’t think Jesus had anything to do with it..
Why 20 year marriage and 20 day marriage failed.
The first one fell apart because of my cocaine addiction. Plus the pillow company began placing too much stress on my marriage. Ultimately, it failed.
The second marriage? My wife did not know how to handle unconditional love. I was a recovering addict and she was still using. End of story.
Share about the Lindell Foundation.
I’ve been working on the technology for the foundation for a couple of years now. It is a platform of absolute trust and transparency, where 100% of the donations go to the needs, themselves. You can see where your money is helping. We will launch this foundation fully in about a month.
I am also part of a new venture/app called "The Recovery Network." This venture will pair addicts with mentors, once similar in nature. Stories of success and inspiration will be shared from mentor to addict in an effort to create a
buddy-type system, ultimately paving the way for another addict to become a mentor.
I’m working on another program to help those in prison.
And then I’m working with HUD Secretary Ben Carson on the Envision Center Initiative, which will help recovered addicts find their direction and future.
I am also working closely with The Salvation Army and Adult & Teen Challenge, both of whom’s total bed count is at 50% occupancy. With such an aggressive opioid epidemic, I said to myself “What’s wrong with this picture?” We are now righting that wrong.
When will the biography come out "What Are The Odds?" Whose writing it?
I’ve been writing it for the last few years -- a story of hope, i.e. 'crack addict turns CEO', which includes fourteen near death experiences. Throughout my lifetime, I spent many years trying to convince myself to quit while I was preaching the same to others. We are now working hard on meeting the projected release date of July/August 2018. A lot of the funds from the book will be dedicated the projects I am involved.
What does Mike Lindell's legacy look like?
I just hope I’ve inspired people to realize what Jesus Christ can do in their lives. A story of hope and understanding that reminds people that “with God, all things are possible.”
Frankly, knowing that MyPillow.com is much more than a pillow site and company, I am now going to add to my existing MyPillow collection with a few more. Might I recommend you do the same. The notion that "with every new pillow my children and I rest our heads upon, another person might one day sleep soundly too" equates with 'money well spent' in my book -- and I don't mean the one that has me in the news and appearing on talk shows lately but the one that has been helping countless folks sleep soundly ever since it first made its way down the mountain long ago. That's the one of which I speak and the one that makes grabbing a few more of these pillows an easy decision for me...lest I surely never find peace in my slumber again. Just sayin'.
Many thanks to Mike Lindell for making this interview possible