Scott Hamilton gives great advice for living whether you’re a figure skater, an athlete of any kind, or just a person trying to have a happy life. I loved hearing his tales about figure skating. I knew nothing about it before reading this book and found the descriptions on the par with reading a good novel.

Scott’s eight principles for a happy life resonated with me. I particularly liked the discussion of how much work and practice it takes to maintain happiness. We are all blessed whether we realize it or not. The trick is finding the things that make you happy and concentrating on them. It’s true, even proved by research, that happy people draw others to them. They raise the happiness quotient of everyone around them.

I particularly loved the chapter “Think Positive, Laugh, and Smile like Kristi Yamaguchi.” When you go down hard on the ice, or take any kind of fall physical or mental, it’s great advice to get up smiling. Just the fact of forcing your face into a smile takes some of the pain away. (I’ve fallen off horses, so I know from experience.)

All in all “The Great Eight” is a terrific read. I literally couldn’t put it down.

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