Teenage twins Alex and Brett Harris founded TheRebelution.com in 2005 to encourage young people to “rebel” against the low expectations of our culture by “doing hard things.” According to the Harris brothers, our society’s idea that adolescence should be considered a “vacation from responsibility” really underestimates what teenagers are capable of accomplishing and does them a disservice. Their message strongly resonated with teenagers, and soon millions of adolescents around the world were tuning in to this call for revolution.

In their book, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change. . . Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action.” The five kinds of hard things that teens are encouraged to do are:

That First Scary Step: How to do hard things that take you outside your comfort zone

Raising the Bar: How to do hard things that go beyond what’s expected or required

The Power of Collaboration: How to do hard things that are too big for you to do alone

Small Hard Things: How to do hard things that don’t pay off immediately

Taking a Stand: How to do hard things that go against the crowd

As the mother of two teenagers, I was extremely impressed with Do Hard Things. Every preteen and teenager should be required to read this book. I was especially inspired by the way the Harris twins really “walk the talk.” Now nineteen, they have already dared to push themselves to go the distance in making a difference in the world, especially in the lives of teens. Get this book for all the teenagers in your life.