Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Brett Harris (Author), Chuck Norris (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Do Hard Things

“Do Hard Things is an extraordinary book. In fact, I believe it will prove to be one of the most life-changing, family-changing, church-changing, and culture-changing books of this generation. I'd love for every teenager to read this book, but I'm just as eager for every parent, church leader, and educator to read it.”
– Randy Alcorn, best-selling author of Heaven and The Treasure Principle

“This book is one I would recommend to any of my friends, teen or not. If it doesn't help you, you are lying.”
– Carter B., age 14, North Carolina

“Do Hard Things is so important. It is challenging teenagers to rebel against the low expectations placed on them. And the voices that are asking teens to rise to meet this challenge are voices from their own generation. That thrills me.”
– Chuck Colson, best-selling author of How Now Shall We Live?

“I love the way it is written. It is crystal clear, to the point, interesting, funny, challenging, encouraging, and an easy read.”
– Lisa R., age 15, Australia

“Adult expectations for youth are too low. And these twins are out to raise them. Don't adapt to the low cultural expectations for youth. Set high ones. Youth can become examples for adults. Think that way. Dream that way. Or as the Harris brothers would say, ‘Rebel against low expectations.’”
– John Piper, best-selling author of Don’t Waste Your Life

“The message of Do Hard Things is going to awaken the dreams and passions of thousands of young people all over the world. How do I know this? This radical, yet relatively simple idea, has changed my life.”
– Erika H., age 18, Michigan

“In a culture where laziness and ease is often the order of the day for teenagers, Do Hard Things presents a radical and provocative alternative. I heartily recommend this book.”
– R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“This book has totally changed the way I think. I recommend it to any and every teen who has a desire to turn their life around and make a difference.”
– Ashley W., age 13, Georgia

“Alex and Brett capture the passion and potential of our generation perfectly in this book. In Do Hard Things they encourage us to go above and beyond the status quo in everything from schoolwork to serving the poor. This is a truly unique and sorely needed book.”
– Zach Hunter, author of Be the Change and Generation Change

“This book is amazing. It changes your whole way of thinking. I believe that every single teen needs to buy a copy of this book. Thanks, Alex and Brett for challenging us!”
– Stacie L., age 15, Kentucky

“This is an important book. And not just for those wanting to launch successfully into adulthood, but also for discontent twenty- and thirty-somethings who long to be catapulted into significance.”
– Ted Slater, editor of Boundless, Focus on the Family

“I'm not exactly a teenager anymore. But as I was reading I began to see how this can apply to anyone. It's never too late to start. I absolutely cannot wait to suggest this book to the 'kidults' in my life.”
– Matt R., age 26, Georgia

“Alex and Brett are the real deal and Do Hard Things is a real wake up call, not just for young people, but for all God's people. I can't recommend it highly enough.”
– Shannon Ethridge, best-selling author of the Every Woman's Battle series

“This book is a wake up call to a generation that is down in the dumps. It's like a coach screaming from the sidelines, ‘You can do it!!!’. I'd recommend it to anyone, young or old.”
– Douglas A., age 17, England

“Do Hard Things is the textbook for anyone who works with teens; it’s a philosophical and foundational must-read.”
– Timothy Eldred, executive director of Christian Endeavor International

Product Description

Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell you in this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you to care. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything about it. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last. We do. – Alex and Brett

A generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."
 
A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today's culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.  And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.
Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life.  Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.
Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 242 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601421125
• ISBN-13: 978-1601421128
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (127 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #794 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #1 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Ministry & Church Leadership > Youth Ministry
  #2 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Marriage & Family
  #3 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Teenagers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

318 of 334 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a "Christian"? Read THIS review, May 26, 2008

By	Book Gal - See all my reviews

I am NOT a fundamentalist Christian- I am a liberal, ultra-progressive Roman Catholic and a democrat. I am writing this because, although I have different political and spiritual views from the authors of this book (and nearly all of the reviewers) I thought this book had a lot of ideas worthy of thought.

I didn't always agree with certain ideas (though a modest dresser myself, I wasn't happy with parts of their modesty survey). Nor do I agree with some of the authors' religious statements and conclusions. But after deciding to "agree to disagree" with those parts, I can honestly say that the overall thesis and message of the book I completely agreed with. Moreover, this book was very well written and inspiring, even for me, an adult well past the teen years.

I'm not going to waste space on Amazon talking about the good points of the book- plenty of reviewers have, and you can read what they wrote. All I'm saying is, you can disagree with certain political and religious views of the authors and still get a lot out of this book.

Update October 2009- With this many people reading this review, I decided to plug in a couple of complementary reads to "Do Hard Things"
If you are looking to do something big try Zach Hunter's "Generation Change (Christian book)" or Barbara A Lewis' "The Kid's Guide to Social Action (somewhat liberal bias)." If you can "agree to disagree" with examples you may not like, the content in both books is superb.
If you are looking to straighten out your life try Peter Benson's "What Teens Need to Succeed" and Sean Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens."
Thanks for all the positive feedback, and congratulations to the Harris brothers on writing such a successful book.

155 of 165 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocking A World of Low Expectations, April 22, 2008

By	Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book -- great graduation gift!, April 15, 2008

By	Cara Putman (Lafayette, IN) - See all my reviews

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.