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Going the Extra Smile
The former heavyweight champion explains how new levels of happiness and achievement can be obtained through optimism, faith, resilience, forgiveness, and seeing the best in others, in a book with personal stories from the author.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2007
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
George Foreman
50 books12 followersGeorge Edward Foreman was an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. As a professional boxer, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1969 and 1997. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion and an Olympic gold medalist. As an entrepreneur, he was known for the George Foreman Grill.
After a troubled childhood, Foreman took up amateur boxing and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Having turned professional the next year, he won the world heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. He defended the belt twice before suffering his first professional loss, to Muhammad Ali in the iconic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Unable to secure another title opportunity, Foreman retired after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977.
Foreman had been ranked by BoxRec among the world's 10 best heavyweights 17 times, the third most in history, reaching his career-high ranking of No.2 at the conclusion of 1972, 1973 and 1974. His fights against Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in 1973 and 1974 received a 5-Star rating from BoxRec. Foreman had been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Foreman as the eighth-greatest heavyweight of all time.[8] In 2002, he was named one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring.[9] The Ring ranked him as the ninth-greatest puncher of all time. He was a ringside analyst for HBO's boxing coverage for 12 years until 2004. Outside boxing, he was a successful entrepreneur and known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which had sold more than 100 million units worldwide. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the grill for $138 million.
After a troubled childhood, Foreman took up amateur boxing and won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Having turned professional the next year, he won the world heavyweight title with a stunning second-round knockout of then-undefeated Joe Frazier in 1973. He defended the belt twice before suffering his first professional loss, to Muhammad Ali in the iconic Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Unable to secure another title opportunity, Foreman retired after a loss to Jimmy Young in 1977.
Foreman had been ranked by BoxRec among the world's 10 best heavyweights 17 times, the third most in history, reaching his career-high ranking of No.2 at the conclusion of 1972, 1973 and 1974. His fights against Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in 1973 and 1974 received a 5-Star rating from BoxRec. Foreman had been inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame. The International Boxing Research Organization rates Foreman as the eighth-greatest heavyweight of all time.[8] In 2002, he was named one of the 25 greatest fighters of the past 80 years by The Ring.[9] The Ring ranked him as the ninth-greatest puncher of all time. He was a ringside analyst for HBO's boxing coverage for 12 years until 2004. Outside boxing, he was a successful entrepreneur and known for his promotion of the George Foreman Grill, which had sold more than 100 million units worldwide. In 1999, he sold the commercial rights to the grill for $138 million.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 18, 2015
This was a pretty good inspirational Christian book. George Foreman tells through his personal experiences about how to live life positively by smiling, counting your blessings, being grateful, and more. There are quotes, and bible verses too. If you like books that inspire you, definitely check this one out.
April 9, 2009
This is a happy book. It leaves you feeling happy which in my opinion is better than a determination to be happy. I determination to be happy sounds to me to be a grit-your-teeth-and-be-happy-no-matter-what yuck. If I walk away from a book with a grin and happiness bubbling up inside, happiness is.
November 12, 2012
PROS: Quick read. Sports fans (especially boxing fans) will enjoy his comparison of life to a boxing match--you may be getting knocked out, but eventually the bell will ring and there'll be another round. Christian readers will appreciate the Bible verses quoted. And folks in neither category appreciate his quotes from non-Christian folks.
CONS: May turn off non-Christian readers.
CONS: May turn off non-Christian readers.
August 20, 2015
Prior to reading George Foreman’s book, “Going the Extra Smile”, I knew very little about his personal journey, other than the fact that he is a world champion boxer and that he is the smile behind the late-night infomercials for a cooking grill bearing his name. This is not to say that “Going the Extra Smile” is an exhaustive autobiography outlining the boxing great’s trials and tribulations, rather it is more of a light-hearted discussion that incorporates some aspects of George’s personal history with his philosophy on life: in particular, after a profoundly transformative experience one night in Puerto Rico.
In 1977, after having lost a title match to Jimmy Young and George ‘was lying in a hospital bed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, wearing the happiest smile of life.’ Definitely, not what he, or any of his entourage, would have expected because this loss meant that would be unable to challenge Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight boxing. Unbeknownst to the people around him, George had a spiritual experience after losing the match and it would prove to be the Genesis moment of an entirely new mission in life.
George’s new mission was to share his faith in God with anybody who would listen and he was so empowered and impassioned with his beliefs that he returned to his hometown of Houston where he claimed a street corner and commenced to spend many hours ministering to anyone who would lend an ear.
With the same persistence and resilience that George Foreman demonstrated in the ring, he continued to pursue his passion of street corner preaching until he eventually became an ordained minister; furthermore, during this process of personal growth, George had the opportunity to test his beliefs as numerous encounters with the people who had ‘wronged’ him–the person who bankrupted him, a former wife who had taken his children out of the country, the boxer who had defeated him in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’– came back into his life. Throughout it all, George demonstrated that he could continue to smile both inwardly and outwardly.
Incorporated into this discussion about the power of a smile, George also advocates the power of: forgiveness, ‘If you want to be healed, you have to let go of the hurt’; generosity, ‘You’ve got to give from whatever you have–your time, your talents, your personality, your heart’; resilience, ‘The people who enjoy life the most, and who succeed most often, get knocked down just as much as anyone else. The difference is that they smile and get right back up.’; gratitude, ‘If we have a grateful spirit, we begin to see a purpose in our temporary setbacks and problems’; and of course faith, ‘No trial, no matter how terrible, lasts forever. Sooner or later that problem will pass. So we might as well smile and look for the positive as it passes by!’
Of course, George doesn’t only talk about his personal thoughts about the power of a smile, he shares numerous quotes from the likes of, Emily Dickinson, Og Mandino, Phyllis Diller and Joseph Addison - who shares this belief, “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
In the end, I see the fact that a heavyweight boxing champion, a person who was one of the most capable of knocking the smiles off people’s faces, as proof that every one of us has the power to improve our world, the world, merely by making the choice to smile.
In 1977, after having lost a title match to Jimmy Young and George ‘was lying in a hospital bed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, wearing the happiest smile of life.’ Definitely, not what he, or any of his entourage, would have expected because this loss meant that would be unable to challenge Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight boxing. Unbeknownst to the people around him, George had a spiritual experience after losing the match and it would prove to be the Genesis moment of an entirely new mission in life.
George’s new mission was to share his faith in God with anybody who would listen and he was so empowered and impassioned with his beliefs that he returned to his hometown of Houston where he claimed a street corner and commenced to spend many hours ministering to anyone who would lend an ear.
With the same persistence and resilience that George Foreman demonstrated in the ring, he continued to pursue his passion of street corner preaching until he eventually became an ordained minister; furthermore, during this process of personal growth, George had the opportunity to test his beliefs as numerous encounters with the people who had ‘wronged’ him–the person who bankrupted him, a former wife who had taken his children out of the country, the boxer who had defeated him in the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’– came back into his life. Throughout it all, George demonstrated that he could continue to smile both inwardly and outwardly.
Incorporated into this discussion about the power of a smile, George also advocates the power of: forgiveness, ‘If you want to be healed, you have to let go of the hurt’; generosity, ‘You’ve got to give from whatever you have–your time, your talents, your personality, your heart’; resilience, ‘The people who enjoy life the most, and who succeed most often, get knocked down just as much as anyone else. The difference is that they smile and get right back up.’; gratitude, ‘If we have a grateful spirit, we begin to see a purpose in our temporary setbacks and problems’; and of course faith, ‘No trial, no matter how terrible, lasts forever. Sooner or later that problem will pass. So we might as well smile and look for the positive as it passes by!’
Of course, George doesn’t only talk about his personal thoughts about the power of a smile, he shares numerous quotes from the likes of, Emily Dickinson, Og Mandino, Phyllis Diller and Joseph Addison - who shares this belief, “What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.”
In the end, I see the fact that a heavyweight boxing champion, a person who was one of the most capable of knocking the smiles off people’s faces, as proof that every one of us has the power to improve our world, the world, merely by making the choice to smile.
October 19, 2014
I'm usually not into self-help or inspirational books but I enjoyed this one.
My wife had this book and asked if I was interested in reading it. Sure, I said and put it on my rather large pile of books to read where it sat, with George's smiling face looking up at me for months.
But, just this week I found out my school corporation transferred me to a different school (it was a seniority thing, not a performance thing) and I was more than a little bummed out because I like where I am at now. So, I picked up George's little book and plowed through it in about a day and a half, figuring I needed a bit of positive inspiration.
Foreman talks about his two boxing careers but, more importantly, he divides his life into two parts - Old George and New George. In other terms, pre-Christian George and Christian George. George mentions St. Paul a couple of times and I'd imagine that George identifies with him because they share a common dramatic conversion experience and a massive change in lifestyle.
The book is a little bit of biography tied in with a little bit of philosophy and a little bit of religion that, when taken all together, make an interesting and helpful book.
Very enjoyable.
My wife had this book and asked if I was interested in reading it. Sure, I said and put it on my rather large pile of books to read where it sat, with George's smiling face looking up at me for months.
But, just this week I found out my school corporation transferred me to a different school (it was a seniority thing, not a performance thing) and I was more than a little bummed out because I like where I am at now. So, I picked up George's little book and plowed through it in about a day and a half, figuring I needed a bit of positive inspiration.
Foreman talks about his two boxing careers but, more importantly, he divides his life into two parts - Old George and New George. In other terms, pre-Christian George and Christian George. George mentions St. Paul a couple of times and I'd imagine that George identifies with him because they share a common dramatic conversion experience and a massive change in lifestyle.
The book is a little bit of biography tied in with a little bit of philosophy and a little bit of religion that, when taken all together, make an interesting and helpful book.
Very enjoyable.
January 18, 2016
George Foreman has become the champ of the can-do-attitude. In his inspirational book “Going the Extra Smile” he shares his observations on how an optimistic attitude paired with faith in God can make a huge difference. George writes how he a boxer by trade who was filled with bitterness became a positive person ready to give a smile. In an easy to read format, Foreman shares helpful tips with scriptures to reinforce his points. This book should leave you smiling and ready to share your smile with the world.
June 3, 2008
Although a bit religious, I found this book to be very positive and just the title helps. What stuck with me is the phrase, " and it to shall pass" Things go on and time heals wounds. If they said it so much in the Bible, then it must be true....!
April 15, 2015
Quick read, feel good, and inspiring.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews