Customer Reviews

Building a Life of Value: Timeless Wisdom to Inspire and Empower Us (Values of the Wise, Vol. 1)

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Building A Life Of Value was definately a great addition to my collection of life inspiring works. In recent times, I had been faced with some difficult challanges to my belief system. In taking a few personal improvement days, I reviewed Merchey's guide to values, and Steven Covey's work on maintaining Focus, and slowly but effectively developed a clear understanding of the values that where guiding me. I am back on track now and owe much to this body of inspiration. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking at their life's journey and taking ownership of it's direction.

Building a Life of Value by Jason Merchey is a wonderful compilation of "words of wisdom" regarding values. As a philosopher, a lover of wisdom, I've always sought wisdom anywhere I could find it, regardless of who it came from or the time and place in which it which it can be located. The reader may, as I did, feel compelled to mark his or her favorite quotations, in order to more easily return to them at appropriate moments. Most of the quotes can provide food for deeper reflection, providing the opportunity for people to sort out the values they hold most dear and perhaps think of additional values important in their lives. Readers may also want to keep the book nearby so that in times of stress or other moments when a better perspective is needed, they will have that help readily available. Finally, the book may help people recognize that there are a wider array of values than the ones the "values voter" focused on in the 2004 presidential election. I highly recommend the book to everyone concerned with leading a better life.

Quotes are like springboards that launch us into awareness of our own thoughts, feelings, and experience. When we read a quote, we know instantly if it resonates with our own wisdom or not. When we highlight something in a book, we do it with a sense of delight that the author has said something true in a unique and understandable way. Jason Merchey has highlighted some of the best quotes of the times that are relevant to some of the biggest issues of our times--values, integrity, justice. Each quote is a launchpad for deeper thinking on the subject, a great starting point for conversation and reflection on what really matters to us as individuals, citizens and co-creators of our culture. I highly recommend his beautiful book! Jan Phillips

I love this book. I'm not a quotation junkie, but there have been several quotations that have changed my life. Perhaps I heard them at the right time, but they made such an impact on my life that they have been integrated into the very fabric of my being. "Be the change you wish to see in the world," by Gandhi, is a quote that I live by. Quotations are bits of wisdom that have been synthesized and distilled into a manageable size to remember and recall.

I love the way this book has been thoughtfully and painstakingly put into values or groups. All I have to do is pick a value and begin reading. It doesn't take long before I'm uplifted and back on track.

Jason, you have tapped into the best of our human existance.l Thank you! Ruth Westreich, California

I'm a junkie for a good quote--and Building a Life of Value doesn't disappoint! There are some classic, traditional quotes and some new ones from some of my favorite authors (such as Anna Quindlen).

As a person with liberal beliefs, I appreciated that this book reclaimed "values" for those of us outside of the Religious Right. Somehow, our society has come to believe that values are only for conservatives, but that is far from the truth! Altruism, Magnanimity, Self-Awareness and others are all values defined by this book that the Left embraces proudly. I'm thrilled to find a book that inspires without the insipid assumption that one must be a Christian to be moral.

This book would make a great gift for yourself or a friend! I highly recommend it!

This book gave me the opportunity to really take a new look at my values, and values in general. The author's essays before and after each chapter and the wide range of quotations selected made me think in new directions about what I value and why --- and on so many topics!

I like that fact that Merchey categorized the quotations into 14 different
"value sets". I'm also impressed with the index. It's arranged by author and topics. This is usually not the case with books of quotations, but then, this is not your average book of quotations. It's a distillation of centuries of great wisdom and philosophical thinking. It's really a
one-stop shop for wisdom.

Building a Life of Value is a keeper. It's a great source for inspiration and would be a wonderful reference book for anyone's personal or educational library. A must have!

On the days when I find myself reflecting on what is happening locally and globally,I pick up Building a Life of Value. This book is a thoughtfully planned treasure that allows me to connect my thoughts with those of the great thinkers and to appreciate timeless wisdom.

There is comfort and a sense of connection between the covers. Humankind has been struggling with integrity and justice and tolerance for thousands of years. Inside this book are 14 chapters filled with words that uplift, inspire and make me smile.

I keep Building a Life of Value beside my computer, so that I can open its pages frequetnly, and reflect on life and my connection to the past. I urge you to buy a copy and do the same!

Reading this book reminds you that your values are always a work in progress, that there is always room for development. I really like the way it is organized, with the author's thoughtful reflections at the beginning and end of each chapter and the values put into complimentary sets. It's hard not to find inspiration here, as there are many wonderful quotations as well as many good questions. The best thing about this book for me is that you can pick it up at any time and find something meaningful in it depending on your mood or need at the time. It has challenged me to think about what values are at the core of my belief system, which foster other values and what I need to work on.

I've never been a big fan of quotations until I listened to a dear friend say the words to the one that changed her life, and I adopted it as my own too. Now, whenever I need a dose of inspiration or wisdom, I simply pick up the book and start thumbing through the chapters until one catches my interest and captures what I'm feeling or needing to hear at that moment in time.

I'm hooked!