rMag

Book Review - Do Hard Things

Andrew Randazzo

Do Hard Things is one of the most inspirational books I have ever read. Once I started this read, it was hard to put the book down, and I finished it in only a few days. Though I am not part of the targeted teenager/high school audience because of my age, I benefited greatly from this book.

Do Hard Things begins with the story that started it all. Two young boys, Alex and Brett Harris, who were only sixteen, believed that age ought not be a limitation to what they could do. The brothers started not a movement but a counterculture called The Rebelution, which combines two words – rebellion and revolution. This counterculture quickly developed from two separate blogs into a full-blown website, The Rebelution.com.

Now nineteen years old, the Harris brothers have written a book. Their premise is that teenagers must rebel against the low expectations that the world has set on them. They expel the “myth of adolescence,” which they say is “holding our younger generation back.” “Being a rebelutionary is all about changing the way the world views the teen years.” Teen years are not what they used to be. Did you know that the word “teenager” didn’t even exist until 1941 when it appeared in a Readers Digest article?

This book is full of stories from many other teens who have risen to the challenge to take on hard things, as well as testimonies from adults who reportedly regret having wasted their teen years. Some of the stories you will read include teens who were in charge of political campaigns, started a clothing line of modest apparel, campaigned against modern-day slavery, and produced Christian music CDs.

The Harris brothers introduce a phrase called a “holy ambition” that originated from John Piper. “A holy ambition is something you really want to do – that God wants you to do also.” Once a person has found that holy ambition, the next step is to pursue it with no reservations.

The Harris brother help you take this next step by outlining five kinds of hard things that they say are “God-given opportunities powered by God-given principles that work for everybody.” Though teens are given steps to take towards tackling these big hard things, the foundational pillars emphasized are character, competence, and collaboration.

Not only are teens encouraged to do big hard things, but also to do the little hard things that are common in everyday life. This could be anything from doing the chores around the house to not procrastinating on homework. Alex and Brett challenge teens to do everything, both big and small, unto excellence and ultimately to the glory of God.

Whether you’re a teen or an adult, this book can apply to you. It outlines what God expects of us as Christians. We are not suppose to settle for the comfortable, regular old life. In everything, we are to excel and stand out from the cultural norm of this world.

This book is going on my list of books to read annually because it is an important reminder that God is not limited by our age or anything else if we are willing to do hard things. It challenged me to live a life that glorifies God by not allowing the world to fit their culturally low expectations on around me.