Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast where we provide one lesson every day to help you

with your most important job being a dad. These are lessons inspired by ancient philosophy,

by practical wisdom, and insights from dads all over the world.

Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

Are you telling them this?

As a young novelist, Susan Strait was told by her mentor, the great James Baldwin,

you must continue to write. It is imperative, he said.

Imagine how different that was from the example she got from her own mother,

who, as we explained, believed her own creative life was over the day she had kids.

The question we have to ask ourselves is this, which path are we choosing?

Are we telling them that they must continue to fulfill their potential, that it is imperative,

or through our actions or inactions, are we telling them the opposite? Have we unknowingly become

dream killers, or are we actively dream builders? That's the question.

And it is definitely imperative. Because there is no benefit to quitting on yourself. Sure, someone

might have to face the facts and choose one career path over another, but that is not the same thing

as stopping. Making money from the thing

you love to do is not as important as getting better at it, as maximizing your potential.

As parents, it's imperative that we root for our kids, that we're fans. We have to encourage them.

We have to tell them to keep going, that there are more, better things ahead. The world is going

to put up stop signs,

erect real obstacles, deliver enough heartbreak. We don't need to add to that. We need to do

the opposite. We need to believe in them. Hey, thanks for listening to the Daily Dad podcast.

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