Scott Hamilton - The great eight: how to be happy (even when you have every reason to be miserable)

Praise forThe Great Eight

For the past twenty-seven years, Scott Hamilton has been a mentor and good friend. Ive seen firsthand the struggles he has had to endure and how he has continued to persevere with a confident attitude. He lives his life as a champion. Everyone needs the positive message of this greatly inspiring book.

Kristi Yamaguchi
Olympic Gold Medalist

I know and love Scotty Hamilton. You will, too, after you read this book.

William Shatner

Scott Hamilton is a champion in more ways than one. In addition to being one of the worlds greatest ice skaters, he has mastered adversity and a multitude of challenges. The Great Eight is an inspiration to us all.

Donald J. Trump

Scotts outlook on life continues to influence me in a very positive way, encouraging me to look at challenges in a larger context. Within the metaphors of his skating career, the wisdom in this book is not only very inspiring and easy to grasp but also surrounded by great storytelling. Im so glad he recorded it for the rest of us.

Brad Paisley
Grammy Award-winning artist

Its like my bud Scott says: You cant just skate through life and expect to be happy! So anyone choosing not to buy this book is choosing not to be happy. Shame on you.

Kevin Nealon
Actor, comedian, Saturday Night Live alum

In each successive chapter and challenge in his remarkable life, Scott Hamilton has forged ahead with unquenchable spirit and uncommon joy, always emerging wiser than before. This warm and insightful book will allow its readers to experience the blessing Ive been privileged to enjoy in person: a delightful, practical, bracingly honest conversation with one of our national treasures.

Ken Durham, PhD
Senior Minister, The University Church of Christ
at Pepperdine University

A gold medal literary performance from a true Olympic star.

Richard D. Lamm
Governor of Colorado

The Great Eight intertwines penetrating honesty with lighthearted practical insight, drawing common-sense analogies from the sport Scott lovesand that saved his life. This primer for building the thrill of victory and immortal gladness is written for everyone, regardless of age.

Janet Lynn
Five-time US Champion, Ladies Figure Skating
Olympic Bronze Medalist, 1972

Through a lifetime of facing incredible odds, Scott Hamilton has learned the secrets to maintaining a positive attitude and can-do spirit. Spend time in the pages of this book, and you will walk away truly inspired.

Bob Kain
Former CEO, IMG
Current vice chairman, Cleveland Browns

After a myriad of setbacks, Scott speaks eloquently about survival in the face of adversity. This book deserves a ten and a Personal Best too! Bravo!

Dick Button
Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist
Emmy Award-winning skating analyst

THE
GREAT
EIGHT

How to Be Happy
(even when you have every reason to be miserable)

SCOTT HAMILTON
with KENBAKER

2008 Scott Hamilton

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Thomas Nelson, Inc. titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

Optimists Introduction: Scott Hamilton, Landing It : My Life On and Off the Ice (New York: Kensington Books, 1999). Used with permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from Holy Bible: New International Version . 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The English Standard Version. 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.

ISBN 978-0-7852-3090-8 (tradepaper)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hamilton, Scott, 1958
The great eight : how to be happy (even when you have every reason to be miserable) / Scott Hamilton.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-7852-2894-3 (hardcover)
1. Happiness. I. Title.

BF575.H27h36 2009
158dc22 2008035945

Printed in the United States of America
09 10 11 12 13 RRD 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is dedicated to my wife, Tracie,
who has taught me so much and given me more than
I could ever express in words.
I love you.

And also to Helen McLoraine.
Without you, I wouldnt be me.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: Fall, Get Up, and Land Your
First Jumps

N othing has brought me more happiness in life than skating. So when I retired from performing in 2004 at age forty-six, I faced the challenge of learning how to be happy without my life revolving around spins, jumps, and standing ovations. What I soon realized was that even though I was no longer on the ice on a daily basis, I was finding fulfillment by applying all the lessons I had learned from my thirty-six years of competitive skating. Those lessons form the principles in The Great Eight.

When this book was first released, the feedback from readers was extraordinary and humbling. People who never had stepped foot in an ice rink told me that my skating-informed life strategy was helping them through tough times. But still, something was missing in my life. At first I didnt know what the void was. I appeared to have it all: stable health, a wonderful wife, two beautiful children, a strong faith in God, an incredible network of friends and family, and an active professional life as a speaker and television commentator.

One day I looked in the mirror and simply didnt like what I saw. I had gained weight, didnt look healthy, and felt too lethargic (even for a fifty-year old.) In short, I didnt like the way I was aging. I had a good excuse: eight months after retiring from skating I was diagnosed with a pituitary brain tumor, and the radiation treatment and drug regimen sapped my energy. My physical activity was limited to walking to and from my car, along with the occasional golf game. That medical crisis was indeed a very good reason to be miserable, but it was time to make a changeor, as I write in chapter seven, Learn a New Routine.

I began eating a healthier diet, I hit the gym regularly, and I even began skating every now and then. Things turned around. Throughout my life the rink was always the place where I got back to health. From the time I was a sickly child to my recovery from cancer, skating had invigorated and inspired me to improve my physical well-being. I am happiest when I feel good. I feel best when I am skating.

Encouraged (and surprised) by my still strong skating skills, I decided to mount a comeback and began training for my first live performance in nearly six years. I hired a coach, a choreographer, a trainerall the elements that in the past had always brought me success. This time, however, I had another tool: this book. Through- out my comeback I have often picked up The Great Eight to find strength and remind myself how to walk my own talk.

Ive been told that this book has made a positive difference in peoples lives. It makes me proud that others have found it to be a useful instrument for change. It is gratifying to have someone come up to me and say, I feel like you wrote this book for me. But, to be honest, I have also come to the conclusion that perhaps God also had me write this book for myself, since it has been a vital reference guide as Ive worked to get back to being my healthiest, best self.