The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Elizabeth D. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Reading - Book Report on Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
'Do Hard Things' by Alex and Brett Harris is a book about making the right choices. Written for today’s youth, the Harris brothers challenge us to make choices that aren’t entirely in our comfort zone.
In the last 100 years, the term 'teen' evolved, often meaning lazy and disrespectful, which in no way describes a teenager who is prepared to be an effective, hardworking adult. The Harrises give examples of young people who were anything but lazy: George Washington was a surveyor by the age of 16, and Clara Barton was a schoolteacher by the age of 17! What happened to the high expectations of that era? They were lost with the discovery of the 'teens' living amongst us! It is very sad to see where low expectations have taken our culture.
The Harrises spoke of youth who have ignored the moment of opportunity to 'do the hard thing,' but instead chose to keep to the much trodden trail of ease. Two examples were Betsy, who didn't talk to a lonely girl at school and consequently felt awful afterward, and Sarah, who was doing well academically, while at the same time lazy and not really learning. It is easy to fall into the "underachieving" trap.
Youth were also mentioned who took the narrow path of 'doing the right thing,' often pushing past their own fear of horribly failing. A girl witnessed to a group of workers, even while she was afraid. A young man made a music CD on his own, learning all throughout the process.
With God’s help, according to 'Do Hard Things', stretching ourselves is for the better, and will get us out of the 'rut' of the comfortable, easy and repetitive lifestyle. We need to give our fear of failure over to God, and trust Him to hold us up when we don’t know what to do.
Brett and Alex Harris, throughout their book, are calling today's youth to live by higher expectations than those which saturate our culture: simply making their bed, cleaning their room, and doing a daily chore! God wants young people to work hard and be a constant witness for Him. Reading 'Do Hard Things' challenged me to trust God, be creative and to have the courage to set my expectations high.
The Harris brother's book and website has now become a movement called 'The ‘Rebelution.' The following quote sums The Rebelution up very well: "Most people don't expect you to understand what we are 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." ('Do Hard Things', p.3, Harris)
