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 theThese 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!-Reading for Your Success
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.
What do You think about The Ultimate Gift (2001)?
The title page reads "What would you be willing to do in order to inherit one billion dollars? Jason Stevens is about to find out" - An inspirational story of how a wealthy man redeems his nephew and allows him to learn twelve life lessons after his death. The author has the following statement on Amazon: "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."This was given to me as a gift, and is one of those books that I wish there was a sequel so I could follow Jason's use of the gifts. I highly recommend.
—L
Read your freebies 2014, contemporary fiction with Christian ethics Read 12/27 ebook format 5 starsRed 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.
—Andrea Stoeckel
The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall is a novel that is not so much focused around the character development than it is the big idea, which is the meaning of life, behind the book. Basically, this kid named Jason has a great uncle that died, and makes him go through a series of tests to get his bequest. His family is a ragged assortment of greedy people, and he is no different. However, his great uncle takes it upon himself to fix at least a bit of damage that he did while spoiling the family with his large coffers.The characters are quite predictable- it's always basically Jason learning his lesson, repeated over the chapters as different gifts. However, I believe that the story line at least partly compensates for the lackluster character development. I believe this book was meant as a primarily instructive novel, and it accomplishes very efficiently that purpose. However, as a story, I was not impressed. Overall, Stovall tends to use the same script in a different context over the book, such as "Jason seemed a bit nervous and unsure of himself (Stovall 46)." He keeps doing this, albeit in different themes of the book, like love, problems, laughter, and other things that he deemed essential to the Ultimate Life.I would rate this book 5 stars if the character development would be somewhat more interesting. If the theme was not so impactful on real life, this would basically be a drab 170 pages. However, I believe the author had the right thing in mind. Despite the flaw in the predictability of the characters, I was in fact captivated by such a novel, and for that reason, it's a 4 star from me. All in all, this book is an instructive, concise book, and will captivate readers of all ages.
—Andrew Liang
