Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts

45% Off Discounts: Purchase Cheap Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations Review

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations

Are you looking to buy Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations Review

I've often reflected on something I experienced when I was studying in college. With a busy semester ahead of me, I decided to take "Death and Dying," an elective that had the reputation of being an exceptionally easy course (a "bird course" we called it back then). On the first day we arrived in the lecture hall, the professor handed out a reading list and what he assured us were the lecture notes for the entire course. With these in hand, we were told, there was little use in showing up for the rest of the year unless we were really and truly interested in the subject matter. It was not a difficult course, he said, and we could probably do fine if we just turned in the assignments and showed up to write the exam. Needless to say, most of us took this as an opportunity to have an evening to ourselves each week rather than actually sitting through long and boring lectures on a subject that was of little interest. Also needless to say, most of us earned very poor grades. I've contrasted this in my mind to courses where the professor challenged us on the first day that his would be an exceedingly difficult course and one that would require the best we had. With such a challenge, many students rose to the challenge. Knowing that expectations were high and knowing that we faced a long and difficult fight, we reacted by putting out more effort and ultimately by doing better.
High expectations, it seems, often results in greater performance. Tragically, we live at a time where we expect very little of teenagers. The teen years, we seem to think, are a time where we can and must expect little. If our teenagers manage to avoid dangerous drugs, manage to avoid pregnancy and manage to avoid completely derailing their lives, we consider these years a success. We maintain low expectations and are not surprised when teenagers deliver very little.
Do Hard Things is a book for teens--and a distinctly different kind of book for teens. "Check online or walk through your local bookstore. You'll find plenty of books written by fortysomethings who, like, totally understand what it's like being a teenager. You'll find a lot of cheap, throwaway books for teens, because young people today aren't supposed to care about books, or to see any reason to keep them around. And you'll find a wide selection of books where you never have to read anything twice--because the message is dumbed down. Like, just for you." But this book is a challenging book, and one written by teens and for teens. It is written by Brett and Alex Harris, whose greatest claim to fame (other than being the younger brothers of Joshua Harris) is being the minds behind The Rebelution--one of the internet's most popular sites for teens and now a series of conferences. This book continues the message they've been communicating in every other forum.
That message is simple but far too often overlooked in society today: rebel against low expectations. They cast a vision of a better way of doing the teen years in which so many teens have been "conditioned to believe what is false, to stop when things feel hard, and to miss out on God's incredible purpose for [the] teen years." They look at five kinds of hard--five different kinds of hard things that can challenge the expectations of those around them: things that are outside of your comfort zone, things that are beyond what is expected or required, things that are too big to accomplish alone, things that don't earn an immediate pay off and things that challenge the cultural norm. They describe each of these through stories and examples drawn primarily from their lives and from the lives of other "rebelutionaries" who have shared their stories with the authors.
Though this book is targeted squarely at teens, I can't deny that the message rubbed off even on this reader whose teen years are far behind. There is something inspiring in watching teens shake off the low expectations that plague their lives and there is something in it that makes me want to examine where I may also have fallen prey to low expectations. Writing as the proud older brother of these authors, Joshua Harris says truly that "Every former teen needs this book, too. I know I do. There's no age-limit on the Rebelution. It's never to late to do hard things."
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. And I pray that the teen years are only the beginning, only the foundation, of lives lived to the glory of God.

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations Overview

A generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution." A growing movement of young people is rebelling against the low expectations of today's culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God. And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, 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.Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today."Most people don't expect you to understand what we're going to tell youin this book. And even if you understand, they don't expect you tocare. And even if you care, they don't expect you to do anything aboutit. And even if you do something about it, they don't expect it to last.We do." – Alex and Brett

Want to learn more information about Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

43% Off Discounts: Buy Cheap The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens Review

The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens

Are you looking to buy The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens? here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens. check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Lowest Price Offers

The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens Review

The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens
by Sean Covey
I have always been impressed by the published works of Stephen Covey, starting with his '7 Habits for Highly Effective People' which I read in the late eighties, followed by 'First Things First' & 'Principle-Centred Leadership' around the mid-nineties. I have yet to read his 'The 8th Habit'.
The most productive assimilative experiences for me from his success philosophies are essentially the first three habits (Be Proactive, Having the End in Mind, & First Things First) plus the last one (Sharpen the Saw).
Because of my work with teens, I came to appreciate also his son (Sean Covey)'s published works, mainly '7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens'.
In my strategy consultancy work, plus creativity classes with adult professionals & training in the schools with secondary students, I often recommend '7 Habits for Highly Effective People' & '7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens' respectively as mandatory reading. The feedback I get from them is always tremendously positive.
I have come to know about Sean Covey's new book quite by chance while surfing the net. I manage to grab a copy from my local bookstore.
The book is again targetted at a teen audience. In a nut shell, the principal theme of the book is how to make smart decisions for life's journey from teeny hopper to adulthood. The book starts off with a timely refresher on the 7 Habits as well as a fun & cool experiment, The Ten Year Time Travel Experiment. It covers the six critical areas:
- school: what are you going to do about your education?;
- friends: what type of friends will you choose & what kind of friend will you be?;
- parents: are you going to get along with your parents?;
- dating & sex: who will you date & what will you do about sex?;
- addictions: - what will you do about smoking, drinking, drugs & other addictive stuff?;
- self-worth: will you choose to like yourself?;
Personally, I enjoyed digesting the following three specific chapters, which I thought have been superbly crafted by the author. They correspond to the above critical areas.
School:
Here, I find the '7 Secrets to Getting Good Grades' exposition, especially Secret #7: Developing Smart Study Habits, to be an excellent piece. I often like to recommend to students to read the author's '7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens' & Adam Robinson's 'What Smart Students Know' in conjunction with developing smart study habits.
The author goes beyond just schooling. I marvel at his graphic illustration of four important circles: each representing TALENT (what are you really good at?), PASSION (what do you love doing?), NEED (what does the world need that I can get paid to do?) & CONSCIENCE (what do I feel I should do?), overlapping each other as a process for finding your niche.
To me, finding your niche is doing what you love & loving what you do!
Parents:
The 'Getting to Know You' Questionnaire, with one for teens & one for parents, is a marvellous idea for creating the opportunity for teens to talk to their parents & vice versa.
I also like the author's 'Getting to Synergy Action Plan', which is a five step process (with a built-in 'First Seek to Understand' & Think Win-Win') for teens who want to resolve disagreements in a mature manner with their parents & vice versa. This is really good!
Self Worth:
The author makes a fine distinction between 'self esteem' & 'self worth'. He says, "self esteem is your opinion of yourself. It goes by other names, including self image, self confidence or self respect." He obviously prefers the term 'self worth' best because he thinks "it says something the other terms don't. What is your self worth? Get it?"
There is even an appropriate quote to go with the above argument:
"Although how you esteem yourself may rise & fall, what you're really worth never changes!"
The author even goes to the extent of using an inspiration from the L'Arc de Triomphe (The Arch of Triumph) in Paris to create his novel conception of 'The Self Worth Arch of Triump. Bravo! An inspirational masterpiece!
This is how it looks like: On one side, the left side, you have the foundation stones of character:
- integrity;
- service;
- faith;
On the other side, the right side, you have the foundation stones of competence:
- talents & skills;
- accomplishments;
- physical health;
At the top you have the key stone, SMART DECISIONS or CHOICES, which holds the whole structure together. Wow! What a wonderful way to summarise the principal theme of the book & put all the pieces together at the end. The author argues, the smart decisions or choices you make will boost your self worth. Putting it in another way, self worth is the result of you being smart about the five earlier decisions (school, friends, parents, dating & sex, addictions).
I want to highlight this: This entertaining & inspirational book is jam-packed with incredible stories from teens all over the world, original cartoons, inspiring quotes, fun assessments, useful checklists & probing questions.
Best of all, each chapter is prefaced with The TOP TEN things you oughta know about...(the six critical areas) & ends with Baby Steps, i.e. small, easy steps that you can do immediately to help you apply what you have just read. Frankly, I really appreciate authors who take the trouble to incorporate reader-friendly textual & graphic aids in their books, thus making life easy for readers to follow their train of thoughts & then put all the ideas to work systematically. In this case, kudos to the author!
As an avid reader, I want also to highlight what the author writes at the end of the book:
"Keep reading books. It's brain food, you know. And never forget the words of P J O'Rourke: Always read stuff that will make you look good even if you die in the middle of it."
Let me conclude this book with a great quote from the book: "You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don't make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, & then do them as well that people can't take their eyes off you. (Maya Angelou)"
This book is definitely an indispensable guide for teens, as well as as for parents or any adult who influences teens.

The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens Overview



Want to learn more information about The 6 Most Important Decisions You'll Ever Make: A Guide for Teens?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...