The Ultimate Gift (The Ultimate Gift Book #1)

By Jim Stovall

What would you do to inherit a million dollars? Would you be willing to change your life?

Jason Stevens is about to find out.

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 his great-uncle Stevens believed might 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781493421503

Jim Stovall

In spite of blindness, Jim Stovall has been a National Olympic weightlifting champion, a successful investment broker, the president of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought-after author and platform speaker. He has written forty books, including the bestseller, The Ultimate Gift, which became a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox, starring James Garner and Abigail Breslin. Jim has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, and has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, and CBS Evening News. He was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining Jimmy Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Mother Teresa as recipients of this honor.

Book preview

Cover of The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall.

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.

Joye Kanelakos

Title Page.

© 2001 Jim Stovall

Published by Revell

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Grand Rapids, Michigan

RevellBooks.com

Previously published by David C Cook

Ebook edition originally created 2011

Ebook corrections 08.28.2019, 10.09.2025

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4934-2150-3

The characters and events in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental.

Illustrations by Elise Peterson

Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and postconsumer waste whenever possible.

Table of Contents

Cover

Epigraph

Title Page

Copyright Page

One | In the Beginning

Two | A Voice from the Past

Three | The Gift of Work

Four | The Gift of Money

Five | The Gift of Friends

Six | The Gift of Learning

Seven | The Gift of Problems

Eight The Gift of Family

Nine | The Gift of Laughter

Ten | The Gift of Dreams

Eleven | The Gift of Giving

Twelve | The Gift of Gratitude

Thirteen | The Gift of a Day

Fourteen | The Gift of Love

Fifteen | The Ultimate Gift

About the Author

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Back Cover

Introduction

You and I are preparing to take a journey together within the pages of this book that you hold in your hands. I want to thank you for the investment you have made and will be making in our journey.

I believe that when you read the last page of The Ultimate Gift, you will be a different person than you are at this moment. At that point, our journey together will have ended, but your journey into the fullness of your destiny will be just beginning.

Like any other journey or trip you have ever taken, it becomes more meaningful based upon the special people in your life who share this trip with you. I am sure you can remember wonderful trips or vacations that you have been on in the past. As those pleasant memories of your travels come back to you, they are filled not only with your destination, but the special people and loved ones who shared the journey with you.

When you have concluded reading The Ultimate Gift and have begun in earnest your life’s journey, my fervent hope is that you will share The Ultimate Gift with friends, family, and the special people in your world who make your life’s journey priceless.

Thank you for sharing this part of my life’s journey and for allowing me and the The Ultimate Gift to travel with you on part of your life’s journey.

Respectfully,

Jim Stovall

One

In the Beginning

A pencil drawing of an open latched wooden box with newspaper clippings, letters, and coins inside. On the right side of the box is a closed pocket watch with a train engraved on the case.

A journey may be long or short,

but it must start at the very spot

one finds oneself.

It was in my fifty-third year of practicing law, and my eightieth year of life here on this earth, that I was to undertake an odyssey that would change my life forever.

I was seated behind my mahogany monstrosity of a desk in my top-floor, corner office of an imposing building in the most prominent section of Boston. In the marble foyer, the antique brass plate on the outer door reads Hamilton, Hamilton, & Hamilton. Of the aforementioned, I am the first Hamilton—Theodore J. Hamilton, to be accurate. My son and grandson account for the remainder of the Hamiltons in the firm.

I would not say that we are the most prestigious law firm in all of Boston, because that would not be totally circumspect. However, if someone else were to say that, I would not go out of my way to disagree.

As I was simply drinking in the ambiance in my antiquated but palatial office, I was thinking how far I had come since the lean days in law school. I enjoyed gazing upon my wall of fame, which includes photographs taken of me with the last five presidents of the United States, among other significant persons.

I glanced at the familiar sight of floor-to-ceiling shelves of leather-bound books, the massive oriental rug, and the classic leather furniture, all of which predate me. My enjoyment in simply experiencing the familiar environment was interrupted when the telephone on my desk buzzed. I heard the reliable and familiar voice of Margaret Hastings. Sir, she said, may I step in and have a word with you?

As we had been working together for more than forty years, I knew that tone was reserved for the most serious and somber of circumstances.

Come in, please, I replied immediately.

Miss Hastings entered promptly, securing the door behind her, and sat across the desk from me. She had not brought her calendar, her correspondence, or documents of any type. I was trying to remember the last time Margaret had entered my inner sanctum without some baggage, when she said without preamble or delay, Mr. Hamilton, Red Stevens just died.

When you get to be an octogenarian, you grow as accustomed as one can to losing friends and family. But some of the losses hit you harder than others. This one shook me to my core. Amid all of the emotions and memories that flooded over me, I realized that I would have to do what Red would expect of me, which was simply to do my job.

I shifted into my lawyer mode and told Miss Hastings, We will need to contact all of the family members, the various corporate boards and business interests, and be ready to control the media circus that will begin any minute.

Miss Hastings stood up and said, I’ll handle everything. She quickly walked to the door and then hesitated a moment. After an uncomfortable pause, during which I realized Margaret Hastings and I were crossing that line that divides professional and personal, she said quietly, Mr. Hamilton, I am sorry for your loss.

Miss Hastings closed the door and left me alone with my thoughts.

division break.

Two weeks later, I found myself at the head of our massive conference table with all of Red Stevens’ various relatives gathered around. The feeling of anticipation—bordering on greed—was almost a physical presence in the room.

Knowing Red’s feelings toward the majority of his relatives, I knew he would want me to prolong their misery as long as possible. Therefore, I had Margaret offer everyone coffee, tea, or soft drinks along with anything else she could think of. I scanned and rescanned the voluminous documents before me and cleared my throat multiple times. Finally, realizing that I was stretching the bounds of propriety, I rose to my feet and addressed the motley assemblage.

Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, we are here to read the last will and testament of Howard ‘Red’ Stevens. I realize that this is a difficult time for all of us and that our personal losses individually far outweigh any legal or financial concerns we might have this morning.

I knew that wherever he was, Red would enjoy the irony.

"I will dispense with the preliminaries, the boilerplate, and the legalese, and will go directly to the issues at hand. Red Stevens was a very successful man in every sense of that word. His bequests are much as Red was himself—very simple and straightforward.

"I drew up this revised will for Mr. Stevens just over a year ago on his seventy-fifth birthday. I know from our subsequent conversations that this document does, indeed, reflect his final wishes. I will read directly from his will, and you will realize as I read that while this document is totally legal and binding, some of the passages are in Red’s own words.

To my eldest son, Jack Stevens, I leave my first company, Panhandle Oil and Gas. At the writing of this will, Panhandle’s worth is somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 million.

Several gasps could be heard from around the table along with one prolonged, audible squeal of glee. I set the document down on the edge

Reviews for The Ultimate Gift (The Ultimate Gift Book #1)

[paigem-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best book I ever read! and I found it at the library book sale!

[santosh tiwari · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a unique way to teach the moral values of life through the series of gift.i found it best to teach someone the moral values .

[marinegirl91 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5

This was a quick read and a great change of pace from all my college textbooks. This is another coming-of-age type stories in which spoiled Jason must complete a year-long task composed of twelve monthly challenges, learning different "gifts" in order to receive his inheritance, the Ultimate Gift. The lessons that the book taught through the gifts (ex. The Gift of Work, The Gift of Friends) were excellent, and while Jason seemed to change a little too quickly, I found it enjoyable. The movie based on the book is different but still holds to the spirit of the book.

[wren73-89184 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a story about a rich man who died & left his money various places, not trusting any of his relatives, but decides to teach one boy the important things in life, like the value of work,love, etc.

I enjoyed the book, although I must say it didn't seem very realist. A boy born with money handed to him & with the attitude he started with would doubtfully come around so quickly & easily. It did have a good message, though, & was a very fast read. As long as you don't read with the idea that it would really happen that way, you can enjoy the message.

[jbarr5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The ultimate gift by Stovall_ Jim
Have read another book by this author and enjoy the reads.
Jason Stephens inherits from his uncle after his death. His uncle gives him many gifts through the legacy that Jason has to learn-sometimes the hard way.
They will cut him off if he tries to cut corners. The uncle has lined up places and other people he has to see to learn a lesson.
Jason didn't like getting up very early but the plane leaves early and it's not in first class.
Love first lesson of physical labor and how after a month he wants to just finish the whole length of new poles-he ends up with a vehicle in the long run.
Jason wants to know the end result and he has to follow the rules in the order they were meant...
Life lessons, priceless!
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

[blog_gal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is very good, but dry at some points. There are several amazing lessons that can be learned from this book. I do believe that this is the one instance that the movie is better than the book though.

[luispine-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This innovative way of teaching life values, cunningly devised by Mr. Red Stevens, in the Novel, clearly depicts a very interesting and valuable lesson of life, which Mr Red tries to teach his greedy grandson Jason through a series of gifts,such as the gift of the family, the gift of work, the gift of problems,money, love, etc. in order to become eligible for receiving a huge inheritance,which at that time, Jason had no exact idea of what it was about, and which is also to be learned by many of us, in connection with the different aspects of our personality and attitude toward life circumstances, which must be positively shifted in most of our lives.
After having faced harsh and tough circumstances which he had forcefully to go through and endure, he finally stuck out and prevailed. At the end, Jason became worthy of receiving his grandfather´s inheritance; with the first big amount of money which his grandfather´s attorney released for him,Jason started a huge charity project for lodging and catering families undergoing tough economical situations with a sick member of their family .

[tambrock · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An easy read with a great moral story. Great for young adults or a one-day read. Jim Stovall does a nice job of reminding us of the basics in life.

[averitasm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this and would love to read more by him, to me it was uplifting and wondrous, I enjoyed the whole story and then passed it on to a friend. Caution: you may need tissues. I just liked the simple messages to this and who knows maybe I'm an easy sell but I did love it. But strangely enough usually my "I loved it" books I would read again , but this one I really don't feel the urge , I think once you read it you have the messages and can just go from there.

[readingrat_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good premise hobbled by poor execution.

[dmorrison_98 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great morals and values, used it in my high school classroom!

[wktarin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Limited and didactic.