Magness was a columnist for Running Times magazine and is now the co-host of two podcasts: The Growth Equation podcast, with Brad Stulberg, and On Coaching with Magness and Marcus, with Jon Marcus. His writing has also appeared in Runner’s World and Sports Illustrated. In addition, Steve's expertise on elite sport and performance has been featured in The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Men’s Health, The Guardian, Business Insider, and ESPN The Magazine. Finally, they give a very brief explanation of the 'Good News of Jesus Christ' and what it means to accept Jesus as your saviour and repent and believe in him, and to try to live accordingly. Alex and Brett capture the passion and potential of our generation perfectly in this book. In Do Hard Thingsthey encourage us to go above and beyond the status quo in everything from schoolwork to serving the poor. This is a truly unique and sorely needed book." While we’re on the topic of listening to your body, let’s talk about the voice in your head – the one that sometimes says you’re not good enough, or you should have one last drink, or it’s raining so you should skip that jog. Should you listen to that voice?

Steve delivers a critical message for our current age of posing and performance: real toughness is not about callous bravado, but instead about the ability to navigate difficulty with grace and an unwavering focus on what matters." This is a fabulous book not only for teens but adults as well. Do Hard Things is so well written, I'm amazed (not to mention impressed) that it was penned by two eloquent young adults. It's clear to me that the authors have a great amount of insight and wisdom from personal experience that they have brought to the table with this book. Everyone wants their teens to do great things. So why not get a copy of this book for your church's youth group and start a rebelution at your church? Research consistently shows that tougher individuals are able to perceive stressful situations as challenges instead of threats. – Steve Magness Malcolm Gladwell. Author of Outliers and Talking to Strangers and host of the Revisionist History podcast. Alex and Brett capture the passion and potential of our generation perfectly in this book. In Do Hard Thingsthey encourage us to go above and beyond the status quo in everything from schoolwork to serving the poor. This is a truly unique and sorely needed book.”

Customer reviews

I'm not exactly a teenager anymore. But as I was reading I began to see how this can apply to anyone. It's never too late to start. I absolutely cannot wait to suggest this book to the 'kidults' in my life." As well as simply finding many of the scientific studies really interesting, the main ideas I'll take away are: pls read this. but also a fair warning: it's not an entertainment read like dude these guys expect you TO ACT once you're done. Adult expectations for youth are too low. And these twins are out to raise them. Don't adapt to the low cultural expectations for youth. Set high ones. Youth can become examples for adults. Think that way. Dream that way. Or as the Harris brothers would say, 'Rebel against low expectations.'"

In Do Hard Things, Steve Magness beautifully and persuasively reimagines our understanding of toughness. This is a must-read for parents and coaches and anyone else looking to prepare for life's biggest challenges."Steve Magness possesses an incredible range of wisdom and knowledge about the science, psychology and practical sides of sport performance. REAL TOUGHNESS is a master class in how to develop resilience, persistence and confidence under pressure.” Alex and Brett think that it's time for teens - specifically Christian teens - to get with it. Together, this gifted brother and brother-duo challenges us to transform the way we think about the teen years through Scripture, statistics, engaging real-life stories, examples from history, and scenarios from modern day teens who are choosing to do hard things...for the glory of God. there's this book I once read (another favorite) in which the guy is like - so you're a christian young person who's grown up in church and got 'saved' and you don't do any of the 'bad stuff'. what do you do? and he says as a young person he was somewhat lost bc he'd been taught full what christians believe but no one had shown him what they do. Do Hard Things is the textbook for anyone who works with teens; it’s a philosophical and foundational must-read.” However, surrounded as we are by a culture that expects teens to be irresponsible, disrespectful, and lazy, we've fallen prey to those misconceptions. We've lost a true understanding of what the teen years are all about, and we fit like perfect puzzle pieces into the picture of modern teen apathy.

They don't shy away from the less popular aspects of living as a Christian, such as having unpopular opinions on pre-marital sex, homosexuality, abortion and R-rated movies. The rest of us are responding not only to the actual stressor but also to the anticipation and lingering reverberations of it……a triple dose of pain (before, during, and after) We celebrate stories of coaches and leaders who practice the ‘weed-out’ school of toughness, but research shows that is precisely the wrong way to cultivate fortitude. It is past time to bring the stories in line with the science, and that's what Steve Magness does in Do Hard Things." Do Hard Things is an extraordinary book. In fact, I believe it will prove to be one of the most life-changing, family-changing, church-changing and culture-changing books of this generation. 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.

Do Hard Things was an excellent book. To be honest, I was not quite sure what to expect from this one going in. I am happy to report that it exceeded any expectations I may have had. This is my first from the author, but likely not my last... Old school toughness is all about projecting a facade – creating an image of toughness that depends on overstating your endurance levels and capabilities. The problem? It’s demotivating when our expectations don’t match up, at least partly, with reality. So if you’ve said that learning Icelandic will take you six months max, but it’s six months in and you’re still struggling with basic grammar, you’re likely to give up. And giving up isn’t exactly “tough,” is it? Steve Magness is a world-renowned expert on performance, coauthor of Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success and The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life, and the author of The Science of Running: How to Find Your Limit and Train to Maximize Your Performance. Collectively his books have sold more than a quarter-million copies in print, ebook, and audio formats.