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193 of 205 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rocking A World of Low Expectations, April 22, 2008
This review is from: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations (Hardcover)
I've often reflected on something I experienced when I was studying in college. With a busy semester ahead of me, I decided to take "Death and Dying," an elective that had the reputation of being an exceptionally easy course (a "bird course" we called it back then). On the first day we arrived in the lecture hall, the professor handed out a reading list and what he assured us were the lecture notes for the entire course. With these in hand, we were told, there was little use in showing up for the rest of the year unless we were really and truly interested in the subject matter. It was not a difficult course, he said, and we could probably do fine if we just turned in the assignments and showed up to write the exam. Needless to say, most of us took this as an opportunity to have an evening to ourselves each week rather than actually sitting through long and boring lectures on a subject that was of little interest. Also needless to say, most of us earned very poor grades. I've contrasted this in my mind to courses where the professor challenged us on the first day that his would be an exceedingly difficult course and one that would require the best we had. With such a challenge, many students rose to the challenge. Knowing that expectations were high and knowing that we faced a long and difficult fight, we reacted by putting out more effort and ultimately by doing better.
High expectations, it seems, often results in greater performance. Tragically, we live at a time where we expect very little of teenagers. The teen years, we seem to think, are a time where we can and must expect little. If our teenagers manage to avoid dangerous drugs, manage to avoid pregnancy and manage to avoid completely derailing their lives, we consider these years a success. We maintain low expectations and are not surprised when teenagers deliver very little.
Do Hard Things is a book for teens--and a distinctly different kind of book for teens. "Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You'll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it's like being a teenager. You'll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren't supposed to care about books, or to see any reason to keep them around. And you'll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice--because the message is dumbed down. Like, just for you." But this book is a challenging book, and one written by teens and for teens. It is written by Brett and Alex Harris, whose greatest claim to fame (other than being the younger brothers of Joshua Harris) is being the minds behind The Rebelution--one of the internet's most popular sites for teens and now a series of conferences. This book continues the message they've been communicating in every other forum.
That message is simple but far too often overlooked in society today: rebel against low expectations. They cast a vision of a better way of doing the teen years in which so many teens have been "conditioned to believe what is false, to stop when things feel hard, and to miss out on God's incredible purpose for [the] teen years." They look at five kinds of hard--five different kinds of hard things that can challenge the expectations of those around them: things that are outside of your comfort zone, things that are beyond what is expected or required, things that are too big to accomplish alone, things that don't earn an immediate pay off and things that challenge the cultural norm. They describe each of these through stories and examples drawn primarily from their lives and from the lives of other "rebelutionaries" who have shared their stories with the authors.
Though this book is targeted squarely at teens, I can't deny that the message rubbed off even on this reader whose teen years are far behind. There is something inspiring in watching teens shake off the low expectations that plague their lives and there is something in it that makes me want to examine where I may also have fallen prey to low expectations. Writing as the proud older brother of these authors, Joshua Harris says truly that "Every former teen needs this book, too. I know I do. There's no age-limit on the Rebelution. It's never to late to do hard things."
For too long our expectations of teens, and their expectations of themselves, have been far too low. In Do Hard Things Alex and Brett Harris rebel against low expectations and encourage their peers to meet the challenge of doing tough things for God's sake and for God's glory. I wish I could have read this book when I was a teen. I'm glad that my children will have the opportunity. I pray it will stir them and stir a whole generation of young people, to use their teen years to do the hard things God calls them to do. And I pray that the teen years are only the beginning, only the foundation, of lives lived to the glory of God.
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60 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic book -- great graduation gift!, April 15, 2008
This review is from: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations (Hardcover)
This book is incredible. Many of us have seen teens, young adults, even thirty-somethings who are floundering through life. They can't seem to get any traction. Frankly, this approach to life drives my crazy, because I live on the other extreme. The Harris twins pinpoint the problem as a plague of low expectations when we're teenagers. As a result, we aren't trained to push ourselves and ask how God can use us -- especially during our teen years.
The verse that motivates their ministry is I Timothy 4:12. I smiled when I saw that as it was my life verse until I was 30 and decided I might need a different verse since I wasn't exactly a youth anymore. I've often wondered what my parents did or didn't do that made me believe anything I wanted to do/be was possible if it lined up with God's Word and will.
There was an expectation that everything was training. The teen years weren't a time to goof off. Instead, they were a time to prove myself and gain increasing independence as I proved myself faithful. Everything I've done, accomplished, am doing is a direct result of that philosophy.
In a sense this is exactly what Do Hard Things is about. It challenges teens to intentionally do 5 kinds of hard things:
1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.
4. Things that don't earn an immediate payoff.
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm.
We'd all benefit from applying those principles to our lives. But how much better if we taught them to young people. I've talked about this book since starting it. Eric is lined up to read it. I'll be giving it as graduation gifts. And it will land in my children's hands by the time they are twelve, so we can fully discuss and apply these principles in their lives.
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178 of 220 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Catholics and DO HARD THINGS, June 12, 2008
This review is from: Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations (Hardcover)
I was ironing in the laundry room when I saw 19 year olds Alex and Brett Harris, authors of the new book "Do Hard Things" on The Harvest Show, on WHME-TV. I immediately thought of how well they carried themselves. Their enthusiasm and love of God seemed genuine and impressive. I set my iron down to carefully listen to them explain the premise of their book, and was hooked. After all, I have nine children, including four teenagers, and what they were saying to teens their age rang true--Go above and beyond. Do more than expected. Challenge yourself. Love God. Do hard things. I ordered a copy of their book the next day.
Being a bona fide book lover (and God-lover too), I couldn't help but open the book and start reading it before the mailman had even left my driveway, even though at 40-something I am far older than the intended target audience. I was immediately surprised. In the opening pages the Harris brothers describe "an imaginary abbey of Dundelhoff" ... "on the outskirts of a small town in Germany" whose monastic inhabitants "eat colorless, tasteless sludge--once a day. (and) They only drink lukewarm water". The Harris brothers criticize the imaginary monks who "believe that the more miserable they are the holier they are and the happier God is." That seemed like a slam on real monks, and was also a misrepresentation of what the monks I've read about believe. Is it coincidence that these authors chose this example for an illustration of what kind of hard things not to do, or did they know that Martin Luther, who led the protestant break from the Church, was a defected German monk? Further, framed in this way, a monks' life was presented as a folly. I got what they were trying to say--God doesn't want us to be miserable when we do hard things for Him-- but the way they said it seemed like criticism of what real, holy monks do, and the Catholic Church indirectly.
As one would expect from Protestant authors, Martin Luther is presented as a hero in "Do Hard Things". Harris and Harris write, "Neither Wilburforce (a British philanthropist and politician who led a movement to abolish slave trade) nor Luther could have stood against the evils and injustices of their time if they hadn't first learned to stand against the evil in their own hearts." Implied, of course, is that slavery and the Catholic Church were similar *evils*. Catholic parents should take note of these subtleties and point them out to teen readers of this book.
Another criticism of "Do Hard Things" is the Harris brothers' advice to toss out caution when witnessing Christ to others. In the book we are introduced to Grace Mally, a nineteen year old girl who "promised God she would witness to whomever she found at a park near her house. As the story is told, she found "four burly construction workers" painting. Grace said, "I knew I couldn't allow fear to take over," and she approached the workers (who were "surprisingly friendly") to witness to them. This deviates from faith and treads upon being foolish. One young girl alone with four strong, burly strangers in a park is not smart, and it is naïve to think otherwise. Sometimes God gives us healthy fear--hesitation, to keep us safe. I hope young girls reading "Do Hard Things" don't take the Harris brothers' implied suggestion to approach strangers alone and without fear. Again, I get the authors' point--be brave and not afraid to witness Christ to others, but doing so in this instance seems foolhardy.
On the other hand, "Do Hard Things" contains excellent challenges for teens. The Harris brothers encourage their peers to go outside their comfort zones, go beyond what's required, tackle things that are too big to accomplish alone and that don't necessarily pay off immediately. Finally, they encourage teens not to be afraid to go against the crowd. These are good challenges.
The book has other fine attributes. I have to applaud the Harris brothers on their zeal and ambition. The book is well-written, and clear in ideas and examples. Particularly touching are some teens' testimonies, including that of Brittany Lewin, 18, who successfully ran the campaign of Bob Shaffer in the fourth congressional district of Colorado (incidentally a Roman Catholic who was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope John Paul II.) According to the book Brittany states, "I believe the doors God has opened for me and the lessons he has taught me through politics are only preparing me to be the wife and mother He wants me to be. Going from campaign manager to home manager sounds great to me. Being a wife and mother is a higher calling than politics." It is amazing and uplifting to read that this young woman successfully managed a political campaign. It is even more impressive that her priorities are in order and she values the important task of raising children for God. "Do Hard Things" highlights well what various outstanding teens are doing to make a difference in the world.
Overall, "Do Hard Things" has all the right heart. The authors' intent is good. While the framework of the book is distinctly protestant, Catholics can safely share this inspirational work with properly catechized teens. The message "Don't accept low expectations--strive higher" is a good one. I'd like to see Catholic youth explore this idea in the context and beauty of the authentic apostolic Faith. I'm sure we can find a few saints as examples of people who also weren't afraid to do hard things.
Theresa Thomas
Catholic writer and home schooling mom since '94
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