Alex Harris (1) (1988–)

I opened this book with a lot of reservation. Being the jaded, read-it-all, know-it-all college student who just left what seemed to be the Harris' overly focused audience (by turning 20), I wasn't sure how much I could get out of this book.
While I still think their focus might have been somewhat limiting, this apathy of low expectation seems to be infecting our entire populace, I can also see why the deliberate focus on teens shines an even stronger light on an even darker blind spot for a show more lot of people.
I also felt a little more removed from a percent of the content, especially early on, because of how politically involved the twins have been and how they used that for a lot of their examples. They balanced out a lot of their political examples, however, in the end; over all, I would have to admit that in the end their examples are even fairly gender balanced, which is another point that they could have missed.
Finally, the best point of this book is that YES I have been feeling exactly what they say in this book for the past few years of my life, and instead of finding this book ridiculously boring, I devoured it in two or three days! Not only was it enormously encouraging to me (I am not alone), but it also inspired me in a lot of ways to challenge myself and others around me who are not fulfilling our full potential. show less

Today, a teenager is considered a “good kid” if he gets good grades, gets into a good college, and stays out of trouble. In a culture where the perceived norm for high school students is drugs and detentions, making the honor roll is an accomplishment worthy of a bumper sticker. But the sad reality is that at many schools even the honors classes are so dumbed down that merely showing up and turning in all the work gets you an A. So if a student gets straight A’s, plays a sport and show more joins a club he is considered top-notch. And if he regularly attends church, well…that is even better.
Alex and Brett Harris (yes, the younger brothers of Joshua Harris, and yes, that Joshua Harris) have noticed this trend. They have noticed that teenagers are consumed by low expectations, and by and large have bought the myth that reaching a bar knee-high is something to be proud of.
The Harris brothers point out that this expectation of worthlessness has produced years of wasted potential. In their book, Do Hard Things, they expose this culture of mediocrity as the teenager’s enemy. They make it clear that the victims in this are teens who squander their first opportunities in life to excel—to do things that count for eternity.
Where did this culture come from? They blame the myth of adolescence (a term Al Mohler and Rick Holland have been using for years). They assault the idea that there should a be a time period between being a kid and being an adult, and that in that fictional time period it is acceptable to squander your years staying out of trouble, instead of seizing them to serve God. The first way the myth gets teens to waste their life is by convincing them that being above average is actually something to be proud of. Excellence is defined by getting good grades in easy classes, and if the grades are to hard, at least trying to get good grades should be sufficient. The second way, the Harris brothers say, is by getting teens to be known for what they don’t do, rather than what they do. “Tim doesn’t do drugs or get in trouble at school—what a good boy he is!”
This book is refreshing because it is unlike most other books written for teens; it challenges them with real challenges. It challenges the both the myth and the culture of mediocrity the myth creates. And it encourages teens to try things at which they might very well fail. In this vei it reminds me of John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life.
The Harris brothers are 19, and they write for a teenage audience. I heard someone say that this book would be suitable for adults to read, but I’m not sure how the Harris brothers would take that. After all, the point of the book is that teenagers need to grow up and act like adults. If culture has set the bar too low for adults too, well that almost misses the point of what the Harris brothers are trying to say. They are not calling teens to rise to the level of the average adult—they are calling teens to excellence.
The most helpful part of the book for me was the examples of hard things the authors give. There are five categories of hard things given, and while I won’t give you the list here, I will tell you that they range from making your bed and working out consistently to ending childhood poverty in Africa. The most common example the book gives, and some might find this the book’s most obvious weakness, is political activism. The Harris brothers themselves worked on a campaign for a state supreme court candidate, and the longest example in the book is about a girl who ran a county-wide election in Colorado.
The appendix of the book is an explanation of how the Gospel fits into this call to do hard things, and it is very evangelistic. I would have liked to see the Gospel at the front end, and I would have liked to see them show in each section how the call to follow Christ fits in with the overall message to teens. But this is a minor concern, and the book is replete with Scripture passages and allusions, so it is not as if they were trying to obscure the Christian message. I just wish it would have been more integrated to the theme.
I would recommend this book be given high school students, and the younger the better. It could be a good graduation gift, but at that point the thrust of the book would already be in a person’s rear-view mirror. It is more suited for freshman. Those who read it will be challenged to escape the trappings of modern-American adolescent-mediocrity.
Finally, the Harris brothers have a website, www.therebelution.com, which is an excellent source of information and forums for Christian teens. It is worth exploring, and youth pastors especially will mind much that is helpful there.
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Alex and Brett Harris have hit upon a real need in the world today - a rethinking of the teen years. In their book they encourage teens to rise above the low expectations society has placed on this age group. They encourage teens to do things that seem beyond their reach and to grow from those experiences.

Adults will also find inspiration in this book. Not only will they too be inspired to do hard things, adults will also be inspired to rethink the way they view teens in today's society. show more

This book in highly readable for teens and adults alike. While much of the material in the book talks about taking a stand for Christ, the basic premise is applicable to anyone no matter what their beliefs. I recommend it to teens, parents, and people who work with teens - especially those who need reenergizing. show less

All right, all right, I know most teens love it but I can't say I loved it and I quickly lost interest since it felt repetitive... Please don't be upset.