Sunday, August 24, 2008

Book Review Brief: Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris

Just finished reading most of this book, written by twin teenaged brothers, entitled Do Hard Things.  To me, this should be required reading for every teenager out there.  I have to tell you, it's written by Christian authors for a Christian audience, but the ideas are somewhat universal.  The basic idea is that teenagers have been shackled by low expectations, placed on them by others and themselves, for a long time.  

They give five different hard things that teens can do to go beyond those low expectations.  In a nutshell they are
  1. Do things that are outside your comfort zone.
  2. Do things that go beyond what is expected or required.
  3. Do things that are too big to accomplish alone (making a film, organizing a rally, etc).
  4. Do things that don't earn an immediate payoff.
  5. Do things that challenge the cultural norm.
The book was inspiring even for me.  It gave me some new ideas on how I want to approach the new school year.  It will push you to become unsatisfied with the status quo and inspire you to attempt new and bigger things with your life.  And come on, at the end of your life when you're on your death bed, are you going to be content with the fact that the only big thing you've done with your life is master Guitar Hero?

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