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.

Encourage them to be the best.

There's the parents who just want their kids to have fun, and then there's the parents who push their kids to be winners.

The one side believes that competition doesn't matter.

The other side believes that competition is the only thing that matters.

And like so many two-sided debates, there's a third option that both sides miss.

It's actually far superior to far more nuanced. The great John Wooden, a real winner, said that he

learned it from his father. Dad's message about basketball and life, he said, was this.

Johnny, don't try to be better than somebody else, but never cease trying to be

the best that you can be. You have control over that, the other you don't. With simple advice,

work hard, very hard, and at those things I control, don't lose sleep over the rest of it.

As you put your kid out there in soccer or on the debate team, as you talk to them

about their class rank or their mild time, make sure that you are letting them know that how they

compare to other people is far less important than how they measure up against their own potential.

Somebody who gives their best effort at everything they do is going to go much further in life

and have a happier one than somebody who is obsessed with coming in first place or who never

earnestly tries.

So tell your kid to be the best that they can be.

Tell them to measure themselves against their own potential and their own progress.

Not only does that usually lead to winning, it's also what winners do.

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