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Review: Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris

By Patti Gibbons on February 07 2010

Alex and Brett Harris have called for a REBELUTION!  In Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, they write:  "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!"
 
After years of school activities, Alex and Brett's parents decided that it was time to move on with their lives. So at 16 and with a summer of nothing, their dad put the twin brothers on an "intense reading program." The books covered a variety of topics designed to fill their minds "with exciting -- and at the same time troubling -- thoughts about [their] rapidly changing world and [their] generation's place in it." This was the beginning of a life-changing journey that took them to the Alabama Supreme Court, founding TheRebelution.com, speaking in Japan, the writing of this book, and starting a nation wide conference tour.
 
This book shatters our cultural idea of "adolescence" and challenges teenagers with doing 5 kinds of hard things:
 
1. Things that are outside your comfort zone.
"These actions can challenge us because they are unfamiliar or even scary, but they usually become some of our greatest memories."
 
2. Things that go beyond what is expected or required.
"These actions are hard because they rest entirely on our own initiative."
 
3. Things that are too big to accomplish alone.
"We're passionate about these because God has placed them on our hearts."
 
4. Things that don't earn an immediate payoff.
"They're hard because you won't see much progress from one day to the next and because, especially at the time, it can seem like you'd be happier if your didn't do them."
 
5. Things that challenge the cultural norm.
"These choices are hard because they can cost your popularity and friendships...But the payoff is huge: if we do them, we can change the course of history."
 
Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations is a book that will not only challenge teenagers but also adults who work with teens, like myself. It challenges my own ideas about teenagers and how I can encourage doing "hard things" in their lives whether at church, school, or home. "Doing hard things is not just for people who believe the Bible," Alex writes, "but we would never have written this book or encouraged you to do hard things if we didn't have a Bible-Shaped, gospel-driven view of life." Front to back, you will be challenged to encourage your small group, leadership team, or family with doing hard things, all while glorifying God with your life!
 

 

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From Becky Foster on February 14, 2010

I have been using this book for our youth group all year. We have a few more chapters to talk about then we are going to talk about the hard things that God is calling us to do, both individually and as a group. From there I want to be a facilitator for the things that they come up with.

At first some of the students really struggled because these two guys who had a lot of time and flexibility in their lives were telling them they never did anything hard. But as we got through the first 5 chapters they became more at ease with the idea that Alex and Brett were not saying everyone had to intern at the supreme court. We have had some great conversations. I’m looking forward to seeing how this year wraps up!

Picture of DONNA

From DONNA on August 19, 2011

THIS BOOK WAS ON REQUIRED READING LIST OF BOOKS TO BE CHOSEN. I PICKED IT FOR MY SON AND SOON FOUND MYSELF UNABLE TO READ IT ALONG WITH MY SON ....THIS BOOK SHATTERED MY SOUL AND I CRIED ALMOST ALL THE WAY THROUGH IT DUT TO LOW EXPECTATIONS SET NOT ONLY BY MYSELF OF MYSELF BUT THOSE OF PARENTS WHILE GROWING UP!  I HAD/HAVE ADD GROWING UP AND MY SON HAS ADHD AND ALL I HEARD WHILE GROWING UP WAS “JUST PICK OR DO SOMETHING EASY SO YOU CAN MAKE IT!! BLAH!! MY SON SAW THAT GOD CONVICTED MY HEART AND HE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM THIS BOOK. SO DID I. LIFE IS VERY HARD WHEN YOU HAVE LEARNING DISABILITY AND THEN TEACHERS AND OTHERS GIVE UP TO EASILY ON US. I WAS DOING THE SAME THINGS TO MY SON “JUST TAKE WHATS EASY AND WE WILL GET YOU THROUGH IT”...THANK-YOU FOR HELPING ME BREAK GENERATIONAL AND STEREOTYPICAL ATTITUDES…EVERYONE IS WORTH OUR TIME AND EFFORT NO MATTER HOW GREAT OR HARD THE JOB. THIS BOOK HELPED ME TO BREAKOUT OF MY COMFORT ZONES AND LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR MY SON AND ME…...I DON’T KNOW IF BRET AND ALEX WILL EVER READ THIS…BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP

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