What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO Audiobook by Mike Lindell

I’ll never forget listening to What Are the Odds? From Crack Addict to CEO while walking through Portland’s gray, drizzly streets one afternoon—a fitting backdrop for Mike Lindell’s stormy journey. There was something about hearing his story in his own voice that lent every moment an unvarnished immediacy; it felt like he was talking directly to me over coffee, sharing secrets and scars most of us would hide away.

From the first chapter, I was struck by Lindell’s raw honesty. This isn’t your polished, “overnight success” tale—it’s a collection of jagged memories: small-town barrooms thick with cigarette smoke and heartbreak, desperate scrambles in Las Vegas casinos where fortunes flicker out as quickly as they’re won, and moments so low you almost want to look away. Yet Lindell doesn’t shy from these dark corners. Instead, he leads us straight through them—through addiction-fueled chaos and loss—never once glossing over the ugly truths or making excuses.

As someone who values memoirs that don’t sugarcoat pain or redemption, I found this approach deeply compelling. The scenes where Lindell recounts failed rehabs and the unraveling of his long marriage are heart-wrenching—not just because of their tragedy but because of their quiet hope that things might change. His self-deprecating humor (even in stories about jail-cell brawls or drug deals gone sideways) softens some truly difficult subject matter without trivializing it.

One aspect I connected with profoundly is how he explores faith—not as a simple answer but as something hard-won through suffering and doubt. Hearing him speak about being relentlessly pursued by God resonated with my own questions about purpose during tough times; even if your spiritual perspective differs from his evangelical certainty, there’s something universally moving in watching a person claw their way back from oblivion into hope.

The business angle is fascinating too—I admit I’m not usually drawn to entrepreneur memoirs filled with bravado or corporate jargon. But here, those moments are filtered through grit rather than glamour; lessons learned at rock bottom feel all the more real when compared to victories in boardrooms later on.

Mike Lindell narrates his own story—a choice that pays off handsomely. He brings an earnestness you can’t fake; every tremor of regret or spark of triumph comes across authentically because he lived it all firsthand. Some passages bear rough edges (he sometimes rushes or lingers oddly on certain words), but overall this only adds to the sense that you’re sitting down for an unfiltered confession rather than a rehearsed performance.

What didn’t work for me? At times, Lindell’s retelling leans heavily on religious conviction—the message can verge into preaching territory near the end—which may not appeal equally to everyone seeking a universal redemption arc rather than explicitly Christian inspiration. And since the book is so personal (sometimes focusing less on broad takeaways), listeners hoping for detailed business playbooks might walk away wanting more practical guidance.

But none of this detracts much from what makes What Are the Odds? so powerful: its unwavering vulnerability and deep belief in transformation—even against impossible odds. For anyone facing their own struggles (or searching for proof that comebacks are possible no matter how dire things get), this audiobook will leave you changed—and quietly cheering along each step toward hope.