What would you do to inherit a million dollars? Would you be willing to change your life? Jason Stevens is about to find out in Jim Stovall's The Ultimate Gift. Red Stevens has died, and the older members of his family receive their millions with greedy anticipation. But a different fate awaits young Jason, whom Stevens, his great-uncle, believes may be the last vestige of hope in the family. "Although to date your life seems to be a sorry excuse for anything I would call promising, there does seem to be a spark of something in you that I hope we can fan into a flame. For that reason, I am not making you an instant millionaire." What Stevens does give Jason leads to The Ultimate Gift. Young and old will take this timeless tale to heart.
Jim Stovall has been a national champion Olympic weightlifter, the President of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought after author and platform speaker. He is the author of the best selling book, The Ultimate Gift, which is a major motion picture starring James Garner and Abigail Breslin. He is also author of The Ultimate Life and The Ultimate Journey, which have inspired another major motion picture to be released September 2013. Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes magazine, says, “Jim Stovall is one of the most extraordinary men of our era.” For his work in making television accessible to our nation’s 13 million blind and visually impaired people, The President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity selected Jim Stovall as the Entrepreneur of the Year. He was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year.
This book has the perfect title. My mother gave it to me last week and I had it finished in an hour and a half. Never before have I come across a book so powerful and profound, yet unbelievably simple that inspired me to address life in a different way. After putting it down I could not stop the thoughts going through my head about my life and the way it will affect and improve the lives of others going forward. We should all be grateful for the gift Jim Stoval has given us in these 150 odd pages. It is just as relevant to the maturing teenager as it is for a grandparent nearing the end of his life. On three separate occasions my eyes teared up. That’s difficult to do with a book.
The ultimate gift that Jim describes is one that all of us posses yet few of us take advantage of often enough. It has nothing to do with money or material things, which often carry too much emphasis, especially during the holidays. I wouldn’t dare take away the surprise from my readers since I know you would much rather hear it from Jim than me. I’d prefer to focus on what I took away from it. The gift that I received after finishing this book was that of a road map to a successful and meaningful life…meaningful describes it better than anything.
So many of us search for meaning in money, status and simply a bunch of things that most likely leave us disappointed and unfulfilled when we finally “get there”. Any of you who have tried to tell yourself that your lifes meaning can be achieved through a finite financial or material goal, have likely found that the problem is you never actually “get there”. When life is about material gifts and awards, you find that that desire to want more seems to always take over… and the emptiness continues.
This is much the case with the main character, Jason, in the Ultimate Gift. His very wealthy relative, Red, has recently passed away and left a fortune as his legacy. Unfortunately, all his heirs have turned into less than savory characters due to the unlimited access to money they have experienced in life. He saw Jason as the only hope for recovery, being just 24 years old. Instead of offering him a huge pile of money like Red does to the rest of his heirs, he offers Jason a year long journey where he’ll experience the twelve gifts of life. Since Red has passed away, his close friend will be guiding Jason via videos and letters provided in Red’s will. Jason’s inheritance, the ultimate gift, will only be received if he adequately makes it through each month.
Jason’s greedy self reluctantly accepts the offer, seeing the only redeeming thing being whatever has been left for him at the end of the year. Similar to his relatives, Jason has led a less than meaningful life up to this point. He lacks compassion for others, has never had to work for anything and has few if any real relationships. On top of that, he is grateful for nothing. Those of you who have strictly defined your success in terms of money up to this point, may have had similar experiences. The good news is it’s never too late to refocus.
Little does Jason know that he is about to embark on a subtle journey of life transformation and will come away with a reborn understanding of the true meaning of his life and those around him. The brilliant thing is the reader receives the
These monthly gifts touch on most things close to me and ReadingForYourSuccess. Here is a shortened list:
* The gift of work: Appreciation and satisfaction come from earning something. Leisure is only enjoyable when you earn it. * The gift of friends: True loyal friends are hard to find so treat them that way. You never know when a new friendship is about to begin. * The gift of learning: Have a burning desire and love for self education. * The gift of problems: These prepare us for what’s ahead in life so embrace them and enjoy the accomplishment. * The gift of family: Some are born with a wonderful family, others have to find and create one. Either way, it’s essential. * The gift of dreams: See yourself accomplishing your goals and desires before you live through them. Dream until your last day. * The gift of giving: Small gifts to you could be huge gifts for others. Give more than you take. * The gift of love: The one required ingredient in every part of life. It makes each gift and experience worth living.
It’s hard for me to provide just a partial list but I hope this will wet your pallet. Jim’s explanation of each gift through Jason’s growth and understanding will surely give you at least a chill or two and leave you thinking differently. So I will leave the rest of the inspiration to him.
Jim is able to provide us all with a reminder and road map to creating genuine happiness and meaning. That’s what makes this book so far reaching. It covers just about every core topic of ReadingForYourSuccess and it applies to every possible reader. It doesn’t matter your age or place in life, either this will be a simple reminder or a much needed introduction to true meaning. Many books touch on a few of the gifts but few hit what I consider to be them all. Most of us know the power of a smile, a true friend or perhaps a loving family, but imagine if you could live all that Jim teaches each day of your life. I challenge you to incorporate these gifts in your ever-refining definition of success. You will find that the small speed bumps you come across, be it a job missed, not having quite enough money or an opportunity passed by, will be just that–small and manageable. They will not build up and pull your life down but instead will be diluted by a life whose core is based on the principles of love, giving and gratitude. A core so powerful that nothing will ever really be able to stand in its way.
Every one of these gifts is in our control and it is up to us to choose to make them our focus. Doing so makes the unconrollables much less significant. We often let these uncontrollables control our lives which leaves us with nothing to show for but added stress and disappointment. A simple refocus may be all you need to remove what’s keeping happiness out of you life. That refocus may be needed every day or maybe just every year. Either way, be sure it happens.
I am incredibly grateful that I have a family and friends that have brought me up living and believing these principles. But despite having learned them in the past, I felt reborn as I read through each gift and realized where I should be better spending my time and my thoughts. With how focused and busy we all get on our life’s success, it is so easy for us to forget what matters most. In running my investment fund I find myself consumed in things that I can’t do anything about and as a result, at times my stress levels rise and my enjoyment fades. So this was a much needed refocus that changed my state immediately to pure excitement and energy. It was an amazing feeling as I finished each chapter. What a powerful gift. After all, without things like dreams, love and relationships, nothing about your business, career or finances would make a difference. When in doubt, simply thinking outside of yourself is often all it takes to put your mind in the right place. That was all Red wished for Jason.
All of us deserve to live a meaningful and happy life so we must be sure to spend our time and focus our mind, time and energy in the right way to do so. As we move into the holiday seasons, or any season for that matter, keep close in mind that at the end of the day (and at the end of your life), your success, meaning and fulfillment will be measured much more by the number of lives you truly made better, than by anything you accumulate or consume. I encourage you to live accordingly and treat this as a gift to those you wish to do the same. Make this your gift to life and to you this year. Step outside of yourself and have a look around. Others may need you more than you think. Often the best gifts don’t cost even a dime. Happy holidays!
I'll admit it: I did not like this book. It's the current selection in our Relief Society book group, which I'm in charge of, although I don't pick the books. If anyone read it and loved it (as I know many people have and do), I know you'll be quick to dismiss me as being sad and cold-hearted, but after much reflection I've decided that is not the case.
Basically, the book centers around a young man whose great uncle bequeathed him a large fortune, but before he can have access to the money he has to go learn about a series of 12 gifts (one every month for a year). The gifts include things like the gift of work, the gift of friendship, the gift of money, etc. The young man, by discovering these gifts for himself, overcomes a lifetime habit of selfishness wrought from having everything provided for him.
In principle, this is a great idea, and a lot of the gifts in the book ring true (even though the overall premise seemed a bit simplistic to me personally, since I have long since accepted and believed that there are things far more important than money). But in execution, I really found this book wanting. There is almost no character development, no real description of what the young man goes through and how it changes him. Each chapter starts with a meeting with the lawyer (through whose perspective the book is told) where the new gift is introduced; after a paragraph break, the month is over and the young man reports on what he learned. I really wanted to see more of his experiences and what happened to him--in a "show not tell" kind of narrative.
I read this at the behest of my mom who was deeply touched by it.
I thought it was poorly written sappy drivel that unconsciously displayed some of the least attractive qualities of the baby boomer generation.
The author, in an attempt at profundity, clumsily sought to inspire the reader with a moral narrative that would be insightful only to the most ethically stunted of persons. The book, while about teaching a young man to be a morally responsible and well-rounded person, seemed really to address an older audience of a generation that valued money over community, money over the environment, and money over family. There is an undertone of remorse in this story, laid on top of an exhausting sermon about living a moral life.
I suspect a great many adults read this book wishing to pass the author's set of ethics down to a generation of kids who were raised by bad examples of it.
This book was an unnecessary waste of words. I bought it because it was a Kindle $1.00 deal and I admit I like the occasional sappy inspirational book. Its only redeeming value is that I read it to my son and it held his interest ok.
The book is of the type that uses a simple narrative to communicate life values or lessons (called "gifts" in the book). In this case the story is of a millionaire who dies and makes a spoiled nephew go through a series of monthly tests in order to receive his inheritance. Each month his learns a lesson or value.
The thing is, each lesson is so dang simple. Here are the "gifts": 1. The gift of work 2. The gift of money 3. The gift of friends 4. The gift of learning 5. The gift of problems 6. The gift of family 7. The gift of laughter 8. The gift of dreams 9. The gift of giving 10. The gift of gratitude 11. The gift of a day 12. The gift of love
By reading this list you can pretty much get out of the book what you need. I expected there to be some additional insight to these gifts but in the end it just felt flat and obvious. Take the first gift, the gift of work. The point here is that work is actually a gift. Work is good. Work builds character. Ok...that is fairly self evident to me. I don't really need to read a long-winded story to get that point.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that all books in this genre are just long winded stories that try to teach principles. I guess I just hoped that at least the story telling would be interesting and that there would be one or two "a-ha" moments that helped me think about a principle in a new or fresh way. No luck here.
At least I only wasted a dollar on this book and at least I spent some quality time with my son reading it to him.
I read this for my book club. And if you are looking to get preached at by a self-righteous old man who thinks you are stupid and don't need believable characters or varied vocabulary, have I got a book for you!
Of course the message is good and the author seems like a really impressive person. He's just a horrible, horrible writer. It's beyond heavy handed; he uses the word "simply" so much it lost meaning to me; the narrator is an unlikable, holier-than-thou old man; the young man who supposedly needs so much help is really not such a bad guy, no matter how much the old guy and his secretary bemoan how little progress they are making; it is so cheesy I was uncomfortable conceding any valid points that may have been made; I could go on.
To its credit, it's short. To its detriment, it should have been much shorter. Like, email-forward-from-your-grandma-with-pictures-of-teddy-bears-eskimo-kissing shorter.
I found this book very contrived, emotionally manipulative, and lacking in any believability! After Red Stevens dies, he sends his great nephew Jason Stevens on a year long journey of self discovery. It was just too trite for me. The fact that Jason usually showed up on the last day of the month to discuss his experience then came back the next day to get his new instructions. It just bugged me - why didn't they give him the instructions the same day; the author didn't even seem to realize he kept coming two days in a row. I know it is silly but that is just one tiny reason this book is silly. I do not want to diminish the importance of the lessons Jason was being taught. I believe strongly in the importance of each lesson and I want to learn them more deeply myself and teach my children these important truths for life happiness. I just couldn't stomache the delivery!! I will admit to crying on several occassions but this was just a mark of the emotional manipulation of the story and not an indication of any realistic emotional learning experience. I was most touched by the gift on month eleven - the gift of a day. As I thought about maximizing each day; seeing it as the last time I can impact the world arround me - it strengthened my desire to use my daily moments to their fullest. Today is the only day little Andi will be this exact age. Today is the only day Craig will say these funny comments. Today is the only day Riley will want to talk about the things she wants to talk about. Every night when I go to sleep, I am saying goodbye to another day I will never get back. On the chapter heading page it says - Today is the day! That one sentence struck me with great force. Today is the day - why waste it with unimportant things, grumpiness, anger, or pettiness. Although I did feel a real prompting for me personally in that chapter and all the gifts re-inforced some important beliefs I hold - mostly, I found the book far too contrived and failed to feel genuine. I think all those lessons can be learned somewhere else - just listen to conference and you will hear all the gifts!
The concept of the book was very simple. Many of the "nitty, gritty" parts of the young man's journey to find values, goals, morals, and a purpose in life were left out. One only gets a report and not the pleasure or the involvement of the journey. As a long term educator and one whose specialties are literature and writing, there is a loftier goal here. I see this as a thought provoking book for an entitlement generation of parents to use as a guideline to help them find a way to guide their entitlement engorged off spring back toward some semblance of happiness and self-fulfillment. It's purpose is to make all of us think. It's purpose is to intrigue those whose education and abilities of understanding allow them to use their gifts of perception, intuitive thinking, and imagination to devise plans using these strong moral foundations to create parenting that produces viable, and productive and morally consciously children. For those less able to glen the deeper lessons, there is still a simple plan in the story where one cane understand how to use the techniques in even the same simple manners as the author has and change the entitlement attitudes of so many who live there in this young generation. As the author said we rob people of their God given gifts and their safety net and their joy without stepping back and allowing kids to all on their noses so the they can learn about the world and find their own joy. I found it an invaluable tool for anyone who wants an arsenal of behavior modification actions techniques or ways to help with redirecting our youth. My prayers are with young families trying to teach these things in a world which values idleness and rewards entitlement. I highly recommended it to parents raising children. It is a good guide to give children stability.
The Ultimate GIft Jim Stovall Realistic FIction 162 pg. The Ultimate Gift is a fictional story, but it teaches a lesson that is very real. It begins with the main character Jason. He is attending the reading of his great Uncle’s will. Jason is a rude, spoiled, brat. He has gotten everything he has from his millionaire uncle. The whole family leaves the reading an instant millionaire. Jason is the last one. Being the impatient brat he is, he complains but he will find out his uncle has much more for Jason. He has planned for Jason the ultimate gift. The gift will be given after Jason completes 12 tasks and receives 12 gifts, on e per month. The rules are that if Jason does not show proper attitude or does not complete the task he will not be given the ultimate gift. Over the course of the next twelve months Jason, Uncle Red’s trusted lawyer and friend Mr. Hamilton, and his secretary Mrs. Hamilton, will learn about life’s gifts. They explore friends, money, laughter, and a good person. When the time for the ultimate gift comes, Jason learns that the gift was all of the experiences. He also receives Red’s charitable trust fund of one billion dollars so he may share the gifts with everyone.
This book was fabulous! It teaches a very meaningful lesson. It is a good wholesome book wit a lesson to be learned: like the lesson that if you can look at life with laughter things get easier. The story kept me hanging. I wanted to read just to know what the ultimate gift is. In a way, I became kind of like Jason, greedy for the result. This is the kind of book where the characters are relatable and you get pulled into the story. I loved this book and give it two thumbs up!
This is a book about a young 24-year-old lad Jason who is not very enlightened about the various gifts of life and so, Red Stevens, his great-uncle is trying to enlighten him along with the help of his beloved friend Theodore Hamilton.
It is a mix of Fiction and Non-Fiction beacuse of which at a few places the story gets a little exaggerated.
This book is not just a book but an amazing journey for every reader. It has an amazing story which blends with the lessons we all need in life. It's not a lengthy book, 127 pages only. The language is simple and can be comprehended easily. A few words may seem new to you im the beginning but that becomes just fine as you go on with book. The book completely goes with the title and we as readers too, get an ultimate gift at the end of the book.
I recommend this book to literally everyone because this book has lessons that everybody needs. But specifically, if you want to get knowledge of how to live your life to the fullest in simple and fun words this book is meant for you.
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I decided to read this book because I hadn't read a book from Spirituality Shelf since a long time. This book is really good as a short, thought provoking read.
This bookmis about Jason, who has to complete 12 tasks after his uncle's death to become the legatee. Those 12 tasks center around moral values like friendship, love, work etc etc. While completing these tasks, he finds new friends, some new ideas, meanings of life and the Ultimate Gift from the will of his uncle.
I really loved this book. It was short but still conveyed the ultimate message! It's been a while and a book like this was really needed! :)
What I Liked The concept of the book is nice enough.
What I Didn't Like This book is so didactic. Every chapter is a new lesson, spoken out loud and completely explained by either the author, dead Red, or Jason. There are zero true emotions, almost zero true interactions between characters, and the stories fall flat in an attempt to teach a moral lesson. At the end, I found that the story didn't pack a punch because it was trying far too hard.
czuje, że ta książka powinna mi się bardziej spodobać..
po pierwsze autor nie rozwijał swoich myśli tylko w punkcie kulminacyjnym bardzo je spłycał, zachowania bohaterów były bardzo przerysowane (wiem że chodzi o przekaz) ale no uważam że pomysł fajny z kasetą, darami, miesiącami itp ale można było to lepiej zrobić przynajmniej w moim odczuciu no nie wiem nie porwała mnie, może to zależy od mojej osoby bo po prostu nie była dla mnie wzruszająca, taka bardzo poprawna, fajna na jeden wieczor, ale nie dla mnie🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️ myślę, ze jakbym była młodsza to bardziej by mi się spodobała i bardziej bym ją doceniła
Title: The Ultimate Gift Author : Jim Stovall Publisher: Embassy Books Pages: 128 Genre: Contemporary Fiction Price: INR 150
The story begins with a heart touching quote - " Look into the depths of another's soul and listen, not only with our ears, but with our hearts and imagination, and our silent love."
The narrator , Theodore J. Hamilton is an octogenarian lawyer. In the very first chapter, he is informed by his assistant about the decease of his bosom friend, Howard Red Stevens. He is entrusted by Stevens with the job of handing over to each of his relatives their share, as mentioned in his will.
Red Stevens was a self made man , who gave his family everything out of obligation but ultimately ruined them in the process . After his death, his possessions are to be divided among his greedy relatives , who seemed least concerned about the loss of a family member. However, one person is excluded from receiving the worldly goods as the old man had something special planned for him . The person is Jason Stevens , Red Stevens' great nephew.
'The Ultimate Gift' is amongst one of those books, which in spite of its short length, teaches a number of principles one needs to follow to lead a happy life. It shows the journey of Jason as his previously empty and meaningless life receives a meaning and purpose in the phase of twelve long months in which he inherits the bequest left by his great uncle for him.
The book also presents a strong and beautiful bond of friendship between Hamilton and Red Stevens . The character of Jason seems to have undergone the major changes and growth in the course of a year.
I would recommend this book to all age groups. It can be read at a single sitting. The narration is quite colloquial and is suitable even for a beginner . Each chapter begins with an inspirational quote and pretty little illustrations, which set up the tone for the upcoming gift which Jason is to learn about.
The simple yet motivational write up allows the readers to ponder on twelve small gifts we all have been provided with by life but somehow have failed to appreciate . Each reader will take the lessons provided by this book differently. Now its totally upto you as to what you lack in your life which can be incorporated from this decently written book.
However , a fact which made this book a less memorable read for me is that in order to wrap the book up in a few number of pages, the author has not provided in depth descriptions of the struggles faced by Jason to receive the ultimate gift. This is the major turn off for a detail oriented reader like me as relating to the main character seemed too difficult a task.
Life has many gifts to offer, however, if you do not know how to receive and use these gifts, they are useless. The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall was one of the best books I have ever read. This book highlighted the ups and downs of life. The book taught me a few of the many gifts of life and how to use these gifts throughout my life. I also enjoyed this book because it can currently relate to my life. Being a teenager, we think we know everything life has to offer. This book conveys the total opposite, young people have so much to learn from their elders. By listening to older people and opening our eyes to the world, we can learn so much, and realize that we, young people especially, truly do not know everything. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers looking for an inspirational book to read. This is an excellent book for more mature readers, such as young people and adults. I would recommend this book because it really taught me a lesson, and it kept me intrigued throughout the whole book. Another good recommendation is the sequel, The Ultimate Life by Jim Stovall, for readers who enjoyed the first book as much as I did. The plot of this story is about a young man, named Jason, whose great-uncle has recently passed away. Jason’s great-uncle, Red Stevens, was a millionaire oil tycoon. Red leaves everyone in his family money as their inheritance, except Jason. Jason must undergo and complete various tasks and tests left by Red in order to receive The Ultimate Gift. This book also contained situational irony. This irony occurred throughout the whole book. The reader expects Jason, one of the least liked and not very closely related relative to Red, to receive nothing as his inheritance. However, Jason receives the greatest gift of all the family members, The Ultimate Gift.
“Although your life to date seems to be a sorry excuse for anything I would call promising, there does seem to be some spark of something in you I am hoping we can capture and fan into a flame. For that reason, I am not making you an instant millionaire.”
/Jim Stovall, The ultimate gift
The hazard of living a soft life and missing the challenges needed to grow is described in this book. It’s a full experience, even though a small book. Also it shares the twelve lessons of life you want learn about the following:
1. Work. “An amazing transformation had taken place. Jason was browned by the sun, lean from his physical labor, and working steadily as we arrived.”
Reminds me of this quote: “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.” /book of proverbs
2. Money. “Money is nothing more than a tool. It can be a force for good, a force for evil, or simply be idle.”
3. Friends. “It is a wealthy person indeed, who calculates riches not in gold but in friends.”
4. Learning. “The only thing I can honestly say I know now that I didn’t know when we left here four weeks ago is that the desire and hunger for education is the key to real learning.”
5. Problems. “A bird must struggle in order to emerge from the eggshell. A well-meaning person might crack open the egg, releasing the baby bird. This person might walk away feeling as though he has done the bird a wonderful service when, in fact, he has left the bird in a weakened condition and unable to deal with its environment.”
6. Family. “Some people are born into wonderful families. Others have to find or create them. Being a member of a family is a priceless privilege that costs nothing but love.”
7. Laughter. “Sometimes in life, either you laugh or you cry, and I prefer to laugh.”
8. Dreams. “Dreams allow us to see life as it can be, not as it is. In that way, the gift of dreams allows us to go out and get any other gift we want out of this life.”
Reminds me of this quote: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” /book of proverbs
9. Giving. “One of the key principles in giving, however, is that the gift must be yours to give - either something you earned or created or maybe, simply, part of yourself.”
10. Gratitude. “In those times when we yearn to have more in our lives, we should dwell on the things we already have. In doing so, we will often find that our lives are already full to overflowing.”
11. Today. “I have come to realize that if I can get that picture in my mind of maximizing one day, I will have mastered the essence of living, because life is nothing more than a series of days. If we can learn how to live one day to its fullest, our lives will be rich and meaningful.”
12. Love. “Love is a treasure for which we can never pay. The only way we keep it is to give it away.”
This idea that we need thick skin in order to survive and thrive in the world is very true. And these are many of the lessons you wish you were taught early in life.
Reminds me of this quote: “When there is no struggle, there is no strength.” /Oprah Winfrey
Takeaways: • In life there is always struggle - learn and grow from it. • Wisdom takes time. Not theory but a lived life with some struggle and knowledge, practice and experience together makes for wisdom. • The courage, discipline and effort it takes to live a principled life. • Work is a reward in itself by the things only you can create whether it’s physical or mental labor.
This is the kind of book you will either hate or like. It's was like reading a fable, where you're supposed to think about the moral of the story. It came at a moment for me when I needed a feel good book, when I needed to believe that there's still redeeming qualities in humankind. It felt right for that moment in my life.
This could've been a better book if each of the chapters presented had more depth to it. I felt I just drifted through the book, gaining some knowledge, but not a grasping hand on to the stuff presented by the author. Would like to have a more detailed version of the same.
Life has many gifts to offer, however, if you do not know how to receive and use these gifts, they are useless. The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall was one of the best books I have ever read. This book highlighted the ups and downs of life. The book taught me a few of the many gifts of life and how to use these gifts throughout my life. I also enjoyed this book because it can currently relate to my life. Being a teenager, we think we know everything life has to offer. This book conveys the total opposite, young people have so much to learn from their elders. By listening to older people and opening our eyes to the world, we can learn so much, and realize that we, young people especially, truly do not know everything. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers looking for an inspirational book to read. This is an excellent book for more mature readers, such as young people and adults. I would recommend this book because it really taught me a lesson, and it kept me intrigued throughout the whole book. Another good recommendation is the sequel, The Ultimate Life by Jim Stovall, for readers who enjoyed the first book as much as I did. The plot of this story is about a young man, named Jason, whose great-uncle has recently passed away. Jason’s great-uncle, Red Stevens, was a millionaire oil tycoon. Red leaves everyone in his family money as their inheritance, except Jason. Jason must undergo and complete various tasks and tests left by Red in order to receive The Ultimate Gift. This book also contained situational irony. This irony occurred throughout the whole book. The reader expects Jason, one of the least liked and not very closely related relative to Red, to receive nothing as his inheritance. However, Jason receives the greatest gift of all the family members, The Ultimate Gift.
This is one of my favorite books of all time. They have now made a movie about it, but the book is better. I did like the movie a lot, but it was far different than the book. The great thing about the book is the lessons Jim teaches through an intriguing storyline. The character development of Jason Stevens is really a wonderful element to the story and provides us all with the belief that anyone can change their lives by incorporating the gifts and how amazing it would be to challenge ourselves to try living the ultimate gift ourselves and seeing how it would change our own lives. I had the opportunity to meet Jim Stovall through some close friends of ours and you would never know he was blind from reading his books, but how incredible it is that he has overcome this setback in his life and thrived and found an incredible amount of success. He was a wonderful speaker and I look forward to the Ultimate Life. He really has a knack for weaving an interesting story line and yet teaching us what is important in our lives at the same time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to change their life or has not thought about it. It will make you think.
Read your freebies 2014, contemporary fiction with Christian ethics Read 12/27 ebook format 5 stars
Red Stevens, a mega cattle and oil man, has died and its up to Theodore Hamilton ESQ to oversee the distribution of assets to his rather greedy family. Not able to see beyond what they "get", each inheritor is told, and then escorted out. All but his great nephew Jason, for whom Red has set up a series of Life Lessons that might prove him able to see beyond the money.
Within the past month I wrote a review of this author's Gift of a Legacy. This small book is its basis, so I knew a lot about the expectations around the inheritance of Jason Stevens from his great uncle Red Stevens. I almost think that helped me see why things were set up as they were in that book, as there is interaction of the same characters in different situations. Legacy also let's us in to see how Jason's ultimate gift has continued to change him.
This is a great book on life and the lessons you learn and pass on when you least expect them. This book was made into a movie with the late James Garner and Abigal Breslin. I'm definately going to track it down.
I picked this up earlier today and was so excited to start reading it. When I started, I did not expect to finish it in one day. The story is about a man who is set to inherit a substantial sum of money. The catch is that he must complete 12 tasks over the course of a year to show that he is not a shallow, money grubbing person.
When the story begins, the main character, Jason is young and idealistic for his own life. He does not seem to care about things around him that do not benefit him. In short, he has been handed everything from money, to an education so his Uncle decides to show him there are more important things in life with each month corresponding to a "gift" be it love, laughter, friendship, etc. If Jason completes all the tasks each month while being guided by his Uncle's best friend and lawyer, he inherits what is called "The Ultimate Gift".
I was very pleased to read this wonderful book. It gave me quite a bit to think about in my own life, and what my life has given me in the way of blessings and gifts. This is a book I will keep on my shelf for years to come and read again and again.