Winning Odds

Stuart Wheeler went to Eton and Oxford. He was an officer in the Welsh Guards, a barrister, an investment banker, and a major donor to the Conservative Party. You might think that he has led a life of impeccably conformist upper-class respectability. You’d be wrong. For Wheeler is also an illegitimate child adopted at the age of two and a devoted gambler who has been thrown out of more than one Las Vegas casino. He gave William Hague’s Conservatives £5 million (still the biggest political donation in British history) before being expelled from the Tories and joining UKIP.

Every time I visit Meg’s Meadows, I don’t want to leave, and it’s not just the horses and the people, though I do love them with all my heart. It’s their simple way of living, their down-homeness, the way they revere the elderly and delight in the children. They embrace their differences. If just one of them is in peril or need, it affects everyone. That includes the animals. And isn’t that the way the good Lord intended?

If you were given a second chance at life, what would you do with it? Kevin Parker got that chance when he nearly died from a drug overdose, losing his leg in the ordeal. He made the decision to fight back against addiction, beginning a spiritual journey of self-development. Along the way, he became a coach and a public speaker to inspire others to overcome their own struggles.

Frank Compton is glad he's finally back on his home planet of Earth—galaxy-hopping aboard the Quadrail on his continuing mission to prevent the Modhri group mind from ruling the universe is exhausting business—but hadn't expected to find a young woman waiting for him in his New York apartment with a loaded gun in her hand. Ignoring her demands that he rescue her ten-year-old sister, the former Western Alliance Intelligence agent sends his unwelcome guest packing—only to find himself under arrest the following day for her brutal murder.

Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather. But most of all, she knew how to talk to people, how to convince them of her vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her, in 1916, to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives. As her first act, Rankin introduced the legislation that would become the 19th Amendment. Throughout her two terms in 1916 and 1940, she continued to introduce and pass legislation benefiting unions, protecting workers, and increasing aid for children in poverty.

In the ever-changing world we live in today, where challenges and adversity seem to be around every corner, one thing remains certain: the power of mindset. The way we think, approach life, and react to setbacks is a driving force behind everything we achieve. It shapes our future, influences our success, and helps us conquer obstacles that would otherwise seem insurmountable.