Start Here - Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are

Start Here
Written by Alex & Brett Harris
Published at Waterbrook

About the book
You want to do hard things.

But you don’t know where to start.

You are changing the world around you.

But you are tired and burned out.

You feel called to do the extraordinary for God.

But you feel stuck in the ordinary.

Do Hard Things inspired thousands of young people around the world to make the most of the teen years. Now Alex and Brett Harris are back and ready to tackle the questions that Do Hard Things inspired: How do I get started? What do I do when I get discouraged? What’s the best way to inspire others? Filled with stories and insights from Alex, Brett, and other real-life rebelutionaries, Start Here is a powerful and practical guide to doing hard things, right where you are.

Are you ready to take the next step and blast past mediocrity for the glory of God?

START HERE.

Who are Alex & Brett Harris?
Alex and Brett Harris are the coauthors of the best-selling book Do Hard Things, which they wrote when they were eighteen. Today, the twins speak regularly to audiences of thousands on The Rebelution Tour; maintain a large online community through their blog, TheRebelution.com; and have been featured on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and in the New York Times. Raised in Portland, Oregon, the brothers currently attend Patrick Henry College in Virginia.

My Thoughts
I first heard about Alex and Brett Harris while listening to Focus On The Family. They were talking about their book Do Hard Things and it was quite interesting. This year, we will have a tween and I want him to be able to stand strong and do hard things. So I was quite interested in the book Do Hard Things but haven’t read it yet. Imagine my delight when I received an invitation to review their new book Start Here.

From what I can see, this is the companion book of Do Hard Things as the Harris brothers take the time to answer a variety of questions that teenagers might have after reading their previous book.

Mind you the questions can easily be applied to adults as well. I know that it speaks to me. It made me realize that recognition is not necessary and that doing hard things might not be BIG things but little things every day.

My hard thing to do these days is to follow where God will lead us as a family. We don’t know where we will be or what we will do in the future. It is as thought there is a big cloud over our life and we can’t see beyond our feet. So we have to trust God and follow His light at our feet. And sometimes it’s hard to do.

Actually the chapter that spoke the most to me is When The Doing Gets Tough – Keeping on in the middle of hard things. We are currently experiencing the door being close on us on something we felt that God asked us to do. Actually, for me this is the first time as for my husband it is the 2nd time in the matter of 15 years or so. But reading that chapter gave me hope. The following paragraph particularly hit the spot for me.

"Just because a giant obstacle stands in your path, that doesn’t mean the door has closed. Just because your plans fell through doesn’t mean your hard thing has failed. Either of these circumstances could mean that God wants to grow your faith by giving you the strength to overcome – or simply to see Him at work in a different way that you expected."

We do feel that God wants us to grow our faith – to trust Him with everything. We do feel that God is preparing for something but we don’t know what it is. So every day now, we trust Him to guide us, to open doors of opportunity and to bring us where He wants us to be.

In Start Here, the reader will discover what a first step looks like, get insights on how to make your idea work, learn how to handle the changes that come with doing hard things, be encourage in keeping God in focus every step of the way, learn how to keep on in the middle of hard things, be challenged in moving against the crowd, and learn how to wrap up when you are done. There is also a list of 100 hard things that a youth can do as well as a section for study groups that is packed with discussion questions.

My son, Alexandre, is currently getting prepared for a hard thing. He will be participating to the Awana Quizzing Competition at the end of March. It will be his first ever competition but he wants to do it. So we are encouraging him to spread his wings slowly and be ready to whatever God wants him to do in the future.

If your teen has read Do Hard Things and is wondering how and where to start, Start Here is the book for him or her. It will answer any questions she or he might have on doing hard thing. 

This review was possible because I received a copy of Start Here from Waterbrook.

Start Here is available everywhere even at amazon.ca and indigo.ca