The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Kelcey W. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Read - Book Report on Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Alex and Brett Harris have a message for teens: Meeting low expectations is not an option. Instead, teenagers should rise over and above them, aiming their mark toward God's standard. This is the goal of a rebelutionary. Written in a straight, forthright manner, Do Hard Things is the spark my generation needs. Naturally, a message about doing something hard should come from someone who has accomplished several challenging tasks himself. Brett and Alex Harris's list of accomplishments is nothing to wink at. At age sixteen, the brothers launched a blog that would go on to be the hottest Christan teen blog of the year. At age seventeen, they applied and were accepted to an internship program at the Alabama Supreme Court – a position usually reserved for college students. Later that year they served as grassroots directors for four campaigns involving the Alabama Supreme Court. At age nineteen, they wrote Do Hard Things. These two teens have accomplished more than a lot of adults twice their age, but they humbly title themselves as "ordinary."
"Rebelling against rebellion" is no simple task. When teens dare to do more than the minimum requirement, they are often met with opposition from teachers, friends, people at church, and even members of their family. The brothers go on to share the ways one becomes a teen daring to do hard things – a rebelutionary. They share an illustration to demonstrate why modern teenagers are afraid to do hard things. In India, elephant trainers can put a small, simple rope around a fully-grown elephant's leg and peg the rope to the ground, and the elephant will not run away. Why? It thinks the rope it could easily break is holding it down. Alex and Brett go on to say that this is because when the elephant was young, the trainer chained it to a tree and left it there for a few days. The elephant tried and tried to break away, but it could not. Eventually, it stopped trying to escape. When it is fully grown, the elephant's mind still thinks adult elephant strength is no match for a simple rope. The Harris brothers say that though teenagers have strength and potential to exceed expectations, we do not try because lies ensnare our minds just like the small rope that holds an adult elephant to a peg.
Through this book I realized I do not try very hard to do my best in little things. Chapter eight discussed small hard things, and for me, this is the area in which I struggle the most. Right now it does not seem as if any big plans like starting an organization or running a political campaign are in my immediate future , but I can start a rebelution in my heart, and in my family, by striving for excellence in setting the table, putting away my clothes, or cleaning the bathroom. Even when these tasks do not seem important, these repetitious, mundane chores will create the endurance for other not-so-"important" tasks upcoming in my life, like studying for a college class or (in the very distant future) caring for a husband, family, and house.
Another point that struck me was made in chapter five. Brett and Alex talked about taking the scary – I would say petrifying – first step. Once a project gets rolling, it is a lot easier to see it through than motivating yourself to leap out of your comfort zone and take the first step. However, if a person never makes this leap, he will never grow beyond where he is now. Failure to grow is failure to reach God's goal for us as Christians, because He wants us to be like Jesus Christ more and more every day. Every "first step" leaves behind a little more character.
Thirdly, Alex and Brett made a statement in chapter five about fear: "Slavery to fear is much worse than the bruises and scrapes of a few falls." This quote encouraged me to believe that it is better to try and end up failing because even if the attempt to do something hard is not successful, something is always learned from the experience. When Thomas Edison finally succeeded in inventing the light bulb, he concluded that his previous 10,000 attempts had not been in vain. "I have not failed," he said, "I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work." This is what Alex and Brett Harris are saying; no matter how badly one fails, the muscle built from the experience alone is a valuable treasure. Forward motion is ultimately more beneficial than being so trapped in fear one can not dare to move. The brothers encourage teenagers to believe that though their efforts could result in failure, the only true failure would be to never try at all.
Though this book was great, there was one part I did not completely agree with. It seemed that by the end of the book, the authors were pushing for an enormous, world-changing response. While it is true their book may inspire some people to do huge hard things, some of the readers, like me, were not convicted or challenged to go start a world mission or organization. I and the girls with whom I studied this book felt that while God was calling us to be faithful in little tasks and attempt the things that were hard for us, we didn't see God telling us to do the same kinds of things the brothers highlighted. It seemed almost as if Alex and Brett were expecting their readers to become super-teens by the end of the book.
That aside, I would highly recommend this book. It was a great read and any teenager can relate to the method in which the brothers made their points, though people of all ages could gain things from the Harris's insight. This is a book to come back to over and over for encouragement. Though it will be more readily accepted by those frustrated with low expectations, Alex and Brett Harris's message is one everyone needs to hear. For those who are complacent, it is time to wake up. We can be the generation that defied expectations – it all starts with one person deciding to go against the crowd and do hard things.
