The Golden Gems of Life: Timeless Wisdom for a New Generation

The Golden Gems of Life endeavors to awaken in all the realization that life is a gift to be prized and not wasted. It is a book full of wise counsel (gems) about how to live life to the fullest and with few regrets. The advice is useful for every generation and every season of life.

This is an abridged version of the original book that was written in the 1880s. Repetition has been eliminated and the book has been made more reader friendly by updating some words and phrases while still retaining much of the beautiful language of the original book. The topics have been organized/combined under the following sections:
 
* The Gift of Life
* The Aim of Life
* Family Life
* Virtues to Acquire
* Vices to Avoid
* Trials of Life
* Spiritual Life
* The Evening of Life

The content of the above sections is that of the original authors. There are a couple of inspirational stories added at the end of the book that illustrate many of the principles contained in the original book.

Perhaps the greatest regret is felt by the person who has misspent the gift of life and nearing the end of life's journey, looks back on wasted years and missed opportunities. In the guiding light of the present, mistakes of the past are plainly seen and a person may wish to turn back the hands of time and chart a different course. But this is not possible. Regrets are useless except when they awaken a desire to avoid the errors of the past.

The best legacy you can leave those who follow you is a life well lived - an example they can follow. Regardless of your past, you can decide that from this day forward you will gather only the true "jewels of life" that can make your hopes of success and happiness a reality. Begin now to apply the "gems" inside this book and live a life that can be recommended to all those who follow you.

I read the original "The Golden Gems of Life" several years ago and was amazed at the relevance of the information even though it was written in 1880. The language was beautiful, but I admit that I had to look up the meaning of some words that aren't commonly used today. However, I quickly realized that this book contained much advice that I could apply to my own life today. Indeed, our generation can benefit from the "gems" of wisdom in this book just as much as the generation of the late 19th century.

At the time that I decided to republish this book in an abridged and updated edition, it was out of print. Since then, several publishing companies have republished a scanned version of the original book. The original book contains over 600 pages.

In this updated version, my role is that of an editor of the original text. I tried to maintain the original beautiful language except when needed to make a sentence or phrase more up to date and understandable. I combined and renamed related topics, thereby eliminating repetition and effectively shortening the book. I arranged the topics into applicable sections vs. being arranged randomly in the original book. It took several years (in my spare time) and numerous rewrites to come up with the finished version. 

My favorite section is Family Life. The topics Courtship, Married Life, Advice to Husbands and Advice to Wives will go a long way toward helping couples marry wisely and have a marriage that will last. This alone makes the book worth reading. It also gives great parenting advice. Another favorite topic is The Trained Mind.

Even though this is an updated version of the original book, I wanted the cover to look like an old book - one that hasn't sat on the shelf over the years, but is worn and used - one that has been read and referred to often. The book has wide margins so that the reader can jot down thoughts as they read and meditate on these "gems" of wisdom. I call these "personal application" thoughts. Those who browse through or read the book after you - perhaps your children or grandchildren - will benefit not only from the words of the authors but your words (gems) also.