Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast, where we provide one lesson every single day to help you with your most important job, being a parent.

I'm Ryan Holiday, and I draw these lessons from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, practical wisdom, and insights from parents just

like you all over the world.

Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

July 4th, don't tie down your eagle. When a young Florence Nightingale began making moves towards

volunteering in hospitals, her aristocratic parents were horrified. It had been difficult

enough raising a precocious child. Now she wanted to debase herself with work below her station.

They were embarrassed. What would their friends think? How would

it look? Like a lot of parents with determined independent children, they felt rejected. They thought

her choices rebuked theirs. We are ducks who have hatched a wild swan, her mother once lamented.

But a biographer responded perfectly.

It was an eagle. It was not a swan they had hatched, she wrote. It was an eagle. You can't hold

your children back. You can't resent that they're different. You can't hold them back with

antiquated notions about gender or class. Their choices say nothing about your choices. They are their

own people. They deserve their own lives. They deserve your support and encouragement in whatever

direction that takes them or you.

That's what we're here for, and we can't forget it.

Hey, you're listening to the Daily Dad podcast, one meditation a day inspired to help you do your most important job,

which is be a great father.

These are meditations inspired by ancient wisdom, psychological research,

and just great strategies from normal dads just like you.

Thanks for listening.

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