Do Hard Things is an extraordinary book. In fact, I believe it will prove to be one of the most life-changing, family-changing, church-changing and culture-changing books of this generation.
Alex and Brett are the real deal, Christ-centered young men of character and vision, committed to serving Jesus with humility and excellence.
I read countless books but this is one of the most unique, defining and important ones I've ever seen. It is paradigm-shifting, revolutionary, liberating and hope-instilling. While I'd love for every teenager to read Do Hard Things, I'm just as eager for every parent, church leader and educator to read it.
God spoke to me and encouraged and challenged me through Do Hard Things. If you do the hard thing of saying no to distractions and yes to this remarkable book, I guarantee you'll be richly rewarded.
Randy Alcorn
Best-selling author of Heaven and The Treasure Principle
Do Hard Things is so important. It is challenging teenagers to rebel against the low expectations placed on them, not the least of which are low spiritual expectations. And the voices that are asking teens to rise to meet this challenge are voices from their own generation. That thrills me.
If you've got a teenager -- or if you have a grandson or granddaughter -- I want to encourage you to pick up a copy of Do Hard Things. It would make a great graduation present or summer reading.
And don't just give them the book; make a point to ramp up your interaction with the teens God has put in your life. Become a spiritual mentor and help them rebel against low expectations. Help them become rebels with a good cause, seeking more out of life than mindless channel-surfing.
Chuck Colson
Founder of Prison Fellowship
Best-selling author of How Now Shall We Live?
Adult expectations for youth are too low. And these twins are out to raise them. Don't adapt to the low cultural expectations for youth. Set high ones. Youth can become examples for adults. Think that way. Dream that way. Or as the Harris brothers would say, "Rebel against low expectations."
May God give us a vision for the next generation that glorifies the gospel of Christ, and leads thousands of young people to the cross where they find forgiveness of sins, and broken-hearted humility, and Christ-exalting courage to rebel against low expectations and "do hard things."
John Piper
Desiring God
Best-selling author of Don't Waste Your Life
When someone tells you that his younger brothers wrote an incredible book he's either just being nice because they're family, or he really means it. Well, I am not just being nice, I mean it. This book is excellent. And I can commend it to you because my brothers' love for Christ and personal example back up the message.
Do Hard Things is easy to read, but it will challenge you to the core. It is inspiring, insightful and practical. Alex and Brett show that the teenage years are not a season to endure but a time to excel and to grow. Then they show you how.
Parents, this book won't keep your teenagers out of trouble. It will get them into the right kind of trouble -- the kind that comes when they dream, take risks for God and dare to flout the status quo. Put it in their hands. Read it yourself. Every former teen needs this book, too. I know I do. There's no age-limit on the Rebelution. It's never too late to do hard things.
Joshua Harris
Pastor, author and older brother
The simple title -- Do Hard Things -- in one sense summarizes the high-energy, cheerleader-like optimism of the book's 240 pages. Just do it! Do it! Do it! The argument is buttressed with stories and anecdotes to encourage the faint-hearted. But this book's foundations are much, much deeper. By their words and by their example, the Harris twins are provoking Christian teenagers to raise their sights.
If I have any reservations about Alex and Brett's new book, such doubts are less about them and more about the readiness of the evangelical culture to hear and respond to such a heady, serious challenge. But that, of course, is exactly what this is all about -- a couple of 19-year-olds, wise beyond their years, asking the rest of us to Do Hard Things.
Joel Belz
Founder, World Magazine
This book is a refreshing wake up call to our generation. We CAN do hard things; and give ourselves to something huge for the Kingdom of God!
Leeland Mooring
Grammy-nominated recording artist, 19
Alex and Brett Harris are two extraordinary young men with a revolutionary message. Their book Do Hard Things is a clarion call for Christian young people not to be seduced by the world's low expectations for the adolescent years. Instead, Alex and Brett call their generation to spend those years acting boldly for the glory of God.
In a culture where laziness and ease is often the order of the day for teenagers, Do Hard Things presents a radical and provocative alternative. I heartily recommend this book.
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Alex and Brett capture the passion and potential of our generation perfectly in this book. In Do Hard Things they encourage us to go above and beyond the status quo in everything from schoolwork to serving the poor. This is a truly unique and sorely needed book.
Zach Hunter
Abolitionist, author of Be the Change, 16
As an aging pastor now playing the back nine, I long most of all to see the gospel passed on to the next generation. That's why it brings me great joy to see Alex and Brett challenging their generation to refuse to be seduced by the siren call of this world and instead Do Hard Things for the glory of God. This book will create a distinct distaste in your soul for living an easy and comfortable life - conforming to modern culture. I pray that God will use this book to inspire many young people (and old alike!) to Do Hard Things by God's grace for the glory of His name.
C.J. Mahaney
Sovereign Grace Ministries
Author of Living the Cross-Centered Life and Humility: True Greatness
Do Hard Things is exactly the message our generation needs to hear. This book challenged us to stop and recall the things God has put in our hearts to do and take time to do them now. Let's address the low expectations of our generation and call them to rise up and see what the Lord can do when we obey and do hard things.
BarlowGirl
Recording Artist
I have been seeking to provoke teens all across America to take a stand for their faith, taking action against the negative things society is throwing at them instead of sitting back and allowing the onslaught to continue to occur on their generation. Alex & Brett Harris are leading the way for the fight to save their generation and in their book, Do Hard Things, they are beckoning others to join them. I pray that teenagers will listen to their cry and join them on the frontlines.
Ron Luce
Founder of Teen Mania Ministries
Author of Battle Cry for A Generation
If you want strength, lift something heavy. If you want maturity, develop it through experiences. If you want stretching experiences, step out now. And if you are a young person who wants to affect this world for Jesus Christ, read this book!
I have watched Alex and Brett take on new and daunting endeavors with resolve and determination and, as a result, mature and develop into leaders for this generation and an example for all generations of reaching to fulfill your full potential in and for Christ. Read, and go and do ye likewise.
Justice Tom Parker
Alabama Supreme Court
This is an important book. And not just for those wanting to launch successfully into adulthood, but also for discontent 20- and 30-somethings who long to be catapulted into significance.
The propositions in this book are neither wishful thinking about what could be nor a wistful reflection on how things used to be. The Harris brothers demonstrate with their lives and through the examples of countercultural, "dream-big" teens around the world who are making a difference, that young adults can achieve great things and live rich, intentional, excellent, meaningful lives.
May we be inspired to resist the culture of low expectation and embrace the adventurous life of the rebelutionary.
Ted Slater
Editor, Boundless Webzine
Focus on the Family
Add years to your life! This book is a 'how to' guide for recovering the years 13 to 19. It's a good read - the trap of low expectations, the danger of leisure, surprising stories - this is stirring stuff! Alex and Brett call their generation to ask for responsibility, not shirk it.
A winning combination of optimism and challenge, Do Hard Things is an important message both for teenagers and about teenagers. And this stuff is true for more than just teenagers! I'm in my forties and you think I can't learn from this book?
Mark Dever
Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Founder, 9Marks.org
This generation wants to take America back for Christ. I hear it in their praise, and I hear it in their cry. It's an awesome sentiment, but will it become more than that? In Do Hard Things, Alex and Brett Harris put the fuel and wheels to this generation's heart cry, and for the first time I can see how it could actually happen. Read the book and join the Rebelution. Find yourself and your "future" now!
Fred Stoeker
Best-selling author of Every Young Man's Battle and Tactics
Alex and Brett are the real deal, and Do Hard Things is a real wake up call, not just for young people, but for all God's people. I can't recommend it highly enough.
Shannon Ethridge
Best-selling author of Every Young Woman's Battle and Completely His
In writing this wise and compelling book, the Harris brothers model their very message: a competent, Christlike, collaborative effort that casts a vision for rebelling against the culture of "teenage" low expectations. Along the way, readers are introduced to a growing group of ordinary rebelutionaries who are doing hard and extraordinary kingdom work. I thank God for this book, and I warmly recommend it to teenagers and parents alike.
Justin Taylor
ESV Study Bible, Project Director
Blogger, Between Two Worlds
Do Hard Things is the textbook for anyone who works with young people; it is a philosophical and foundational must-read.
Timothy Eldred
Executive Director of Christian Endeavor International
For too long our expectations of teens, and their expectations of themselves, have been far too low. In Do Hard Things Alex and Brett Harris rebel against low expectations and encourage their peers to meet the challenge of doing tough things for God's sake and for God's glory.
I wish I could have read this book when I was a teen. I'm glad that my children will have the opportunity. I pray it will stir them and stir a whole generation of young people, to use their teen years to do the hard things God calls them to do.
Tim Challies
Author of The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment
Blogger of Challies.com
I've been looking forward to this book from Alex and Brett for some time now and am so glad it is finally here. Do Hard Things is a Gospel-centered and profoundly practical battle cry for teenagers to live against the world for the world.
The twins make a thorough and compelling case that teenaged Christians make a difference by being different; they don't make a difference by being the same. So if you want your life to count for something big and everlasting, read this book. You'll be glad you did.
Tullian Tchividjian
Pastor of New City Church in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and author of Do I Know God?
The Harris brothers' message is important not only for readers who have yet to excel, but also for those who are praised for being the "best and brightest." It will help them to avoid complacency so that their talents may reach full flower.
I wish I had read Do Hard Things before entering college. It would have inspired me to challenge myself to grow as a writer instead of being satisfied with the positive reinforcement I received from teachers, family, and friends.
This is a very important and much-needed book for intelligent, thoughtful teens who want to channel their natural desire for rebellion into actions that will positively transform their lives and their world.
Dawn Eden
Author of The Thrill of the Chaste
In a culture of low expectations, non-stop entertainment and short attention spans, teenagers Alex and Brett Harris provide a voice of reason and a stirring exhortation to productive action in the name of Christ. As a university professor, I am not unaware of the Gen Y propensity to demand more recognition for less effort and to associate self-esteem with mere being rather than for actual accomplishment. Do Hard Things is a clarion call to teenagers everywhere to put away childishness and the fruit of immaturity and channel the energy of youth, in small ways and big ways, into world-changing activity with eternal significance. I highly recommend it.
Dr. Alex Chediak
Associate Professor of Engineering, California Baptist University
Author of With One Voice and general editor of Five Paths to the Love of Your Life
As a 16-year-old, I remember thinking that it would be a lot easier to do the hard things God calls us to when I had the wisdom, confidence and experience of an adult. Sixteen years later, I've come to realize that it only gets harder. In fact, the longer we wait to follow God into some "impossible" kingdom venture, the more we content ourselves with the pursuit of lesser things.
Brett and Alex Harris recognize that young people have a God-given desire to lead lives of significance and have provided a valuable tool for rescuing godly ambition from laziness and self-absorption. Do Hard Things is a worthy mantra and a worthy read. It has renewed my vigor to attack the obstacles in front of me as I pursue my joy in doing hard things.
Mike Spielman
Founder and Director of Abort73.com
God is raising up masses of young people - people like Alex and Brett Harris - for an amazing world change on every continent. He's not looking for super-qualified or talented people - just willing people. If you'll decide to do the hard things, and risk a bit of crazy adventure, He'll use you in ways you never dreamed possible.
In this groundbreaking book, lies are exposed about the ways we've allowed ourselves to be cheated. Satan can no longer rob us of our biggest untapped resource - our youth.
This is a must read for teens who want to escape the prison of low expectations they've been trapped within, so they can experience God's amazing, exciting purpose for their lives.
This message isn't just for youth, it's for everyone who is tired of ignoring choices, futile thinking, and meaningless living. Simply put, it's a launching pad for change.
Julie Ferwerda
Speaker, writer, and author
Do Hard Things is an excellent book you will want every teen in your life to read! Alex and Brett Harris have followed God's call on their life to bring this convicting message to their generation.
I believe this book has the power to impact an entire generation for God's kingdom. To radically shift the landscape of our culture, by challenging teens to rise to the call of doing hard things for God!
As I read Do Hard Things, I found myself asking: Am I really doing hard things for God? When you read this book you will be challenged, convicted, encouraged, and excited to do hard things.
Heather Paulsen
Author of Emotional Purity: An Affair of the Heart
Young Americans: set down the Xbox controller, take off the iPod headset, and cast the TV out the window. Read this book by the Harris twins, then stand up and join the Rebelution.
Our generation is filled with apathetic, complacent, and immature wimps. Chances are, they're not going to be the leaders of our generation. Brett and Alex are leaders in our generation, and their message is that you can be too.
If your goal in life is to fit in, to be normal, to be comfortable, to be average, do not read this book. If you want to do great things for God, you must read this book.
Hans Zeiger
Author of Reagan's Children and Get Off My Honor
After finishing Do Hard Things all I could think was that I wanted to read it again. Do Hard Things tells true stories of ordinary teens doing extraordinary things and invites you to join them. It offers practical help and heady inspiration. It's unstoppable.
Karen Emanuel, MA
Learning Handicap Specialist
