The Ultimate Gift

The Ulitmate Gift is a must read book. It is a book that focuses on what is truly important in life. The Ultimate Gift make a great gift to give as a gift.

The Ultimate Gift is a story about a self-made billionaire, Red Stevens, who gave his family everything and in doing so robbed them of everything that is wonderful in life. After his death, his self-serving and greedy relatives wait in anticipation to find how his multi-billion dollar estate will be divided amongst them. Family members gather for the reading of will. One by one they learn of their inheritance until one family member is left, Jason Stevens.

Jason, the great nephew of Red Stevens, is anxious to find out what his rich great uncle had left him. He soon finds out there is no immediate inheritance. Rather, Jason is told that each month he will be given one gift. If he can last the full year and embrace each gift, those gifts will lead to an ultimate gift. Jason reluctantly and angrily agrees to take on what he believes is an unfair challenge.

The First Gift: The Gift of Work
Jason is sent to work on a farm for a month. From sun up to sun down, Jason is forced to engage in manual labor; something he had never had to do before. Red Stevens wanted Jason to know that everything Red had earned in his life came from hard work, and if a person can work with pride and quality they can do just about anything. At the end of the month, Jason learns not only the value of a hard day’s work, but the pride that comes from it.

The Second Gift: The Gift of Money
Jason is given $1,500 and is told that he must spend it on five people that need it the most. Jason quickly learns how badly off many people are. Uncle Red wanted Jason to learn that money is nothing more than a tool; it can be a force of good or of evil. At the end of the month, Jason learns the lesson that it is in giving that you receive.

The Third Gift: The Gift of Friends
Jason is instructed that he must find the principles that underlie true friendship. Although Jason believes he has friends, none would be called a true friend. His friends are more interested in themselves than others. Jason comes to learn that a true friend is one who will do anything to help you out. More importantly, Jason learns how to be a true friend.

The Fourth Gift: The Gift of Learning
Jason is sent to a small town in Africa to learn and assist a librarian. The library was built by his Uncle Red as a gift to the village people. Jason develops a new found respect for learning as he watches how the villagers will walk for miles to get a book to read. Jason learns that desire and hunger for education is the real key to learning.

The Fifth Gift: The Gift of Problems
Jason is instructed to find four people of different ages with different problems. Jason learns that in life everybody has problems; some are a lot bigger than others. Problems are intended to be learning experiences. Jason learns that for most of his life he has been avoiding problems, and therefore never learned the valuable lessons that problems can teach us.

The Sixth Gift: The Gift of Family
Jason is sent to a home for Boys that his uncle had built. While in working in the home, he learns the importance of family and how so many people take their family for granted. At the end of a month, Jason learns that family isn’t as much about be related by blood as it is about be related by love.

The Seventh Gift: The Gift of Laughter
Jason is instructed to seek out someone who going through a hardship but still finds a way to laugh. Jason learns that one must be able to laugh at themselves, their problems and life in general. People take things far too seriously. If one can laugh in the face of adversity, the person will find happiness.

The Eighth Gift: The Gift of Dreams
Jason is instructed to make a list of his goals and dreams, and then prioritize them. Jason learns that dreams are the essence of life; not as is it is, but as it can be. Jason finds that the world’s great men and women all started off with some type of dream; seeing and believing that better things lie ahead.

The Ninth Gift: The Gift of Giving
Jason is instructed to give something of his away each day for the entire month. Jason learns that the more one gives, the more one receives. He also learns that giving is more than giving material things, it also includes a much more important type of giving; the giving of yourself.

The Tenth Gift: The Gift of Gratitude
Jason is asked to make a list of ten things he is most grateful for. The list is called the “Golden List.” Jason’s “Golden List” has the things in life that most people take for granted: health, family, friends, his home, and education to name a few. Jason learns that it’s ironic that people who have the most to be thankful for are often the least thankful, and those with the least are most thankful.

The Eleventh Gift: The Gift of a Day
Jason is asked to plan things he would do if he had one day left to live. His plan for his last day on earth is simple and ordinary. He would arise early, recite his “Golden List, spend time with family and friends, enjoy the beauty of nature, and conclude his day with a special banquet. At the special banquet he would tell his family and friends about the special gifts that his Uncle Red had left to him. Jason learns how precious life is and that each day should be lived with gratitude and to fullest.

The Twelfth Gift: The Gift of Love
Jason is instructed to relate the gift of love into the other eleven gifts he has been given. Jason learns that anything good, honorable or desirable in life is based on love. The gift of love is the goodness that comes from God. When we truly love others, our love makes each of us a better person.

The Ulitmate Gift
At the end of the twelve months, Jason is thankful for the gifts that his uncle had bestowed upon him. He admits that the gifts have forever changed his life and who he is. He is no longer an angry, greedy and selfish person. Jason figures out that the twelve gifts together become the ultimate gift. Jason is told that not only does he have the privilege of enjoying the ultimate gift; he has the responsibility to live his life to the fullest with each gift in balance. In addition, he has the responsibility to pass along the ultimate gift whenever possible.

In the end, Jason is put in charge of Red Steven’s charitable trust fund of over 1 billion dollars. He eagerly accepts the responsibility and pledges to use the funds to spread the ultimate gift around the world.
The Ultimate Gift was written by Jim Stoval and is now a major motion picture.

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It’s your life: live it, love it & celebrate it!
MJD