Book Review by Jordan- Do Hard Things

Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris may sound like a scary book to most teens, but it is truly revealing. It makes you feel like our culture is plotting secretly to steal our minds and bend them to it's purpose. While you may think this sounds crazy, bear in mind that that may be exactly what the world wants you to think.

So, the reason they wrote this book was to bring to light this underhanded conspiracy to turn us all into lazy, incompetent, unsuccessful, irresponsible adults? Maybe. But it goes further than that. The Harris brothers encourage teens to not fear doing hard things or tackling challenges.

Early on in the book, the Harris twins give the illustration of an elephant who was taken as a baby and trained to stay in one place by having a chain tied around it's leg and staked into the ground. The elephant learned that no matter how hard it pulled, it would never be able to move. Then, the elephant's owner would take it and tie it by a piece of yarn attached to a stick buried an inch in the ground. The elephant would attempt to move, but as soon as it felt resistance, even a small amount, it would give up because it was so used to the chain.

What does an elephant have to do with teens? The world tells us that we shouldn't have to do hard things, that the teen years are for partying and having fun. This lie is like the chain that held the elephant in one place, and it is because of this lie that most teens today avoid all work, and grow up without a good job, and either still live with mom and dad or move back in. The Harris brothers call these people "kidults".

The Harris brothers give many examples from the past of teens who did "hard things", but just in case you think "Yeah, but those were the old days" they give several other examples of teens who did hard things, who they knew personally.

After reading this, you'll come away thinking, "Why not? What's so bad about doing hard things?". This is a short, easy to read book with a scary title. Read it, and then do something hard and productive. And cleaning your room does not count.