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.

How to convince them. In 1941, Mary Churchill accepted the marriage proposal of a young man.

She was young and inexperienced.

They barely knew each other.

The world seemed like it was ending.

It was almost certainly not the right fit for her.

And so naturally, her parents, the heads of a political dynasty in a time

of rigid aristocratic marriages, was concerned. And so they were thrust in a situation which so

many of us dread and so often screw up. They needed to convince their daughter she was making a

mistake without driving her deeper into that very mistake. And it's pretty remarkable how well these two parents

used to almost always getting their way, managed to artfully dissuade their daughter. As Eric Larson

details in his book The Splendid and the Vile, instead of condemning her daughter, Clementine Churchill

simply asked her if she was certain it was the right choice.

She didn't disapprove outright, but she did let her daughter know that she had some doubts.

And then understanding that no daughter wants to be told who to marry by their parents,

Clementine searched for someone her daughter trusted and respected and asked them to weigh in,

independently and casually. And she landed on Avril

Harriman, one of Churchill's advisors who was dating Mary's sister-in-law.

Harriman took the young and impulsive girl aside. He said all the things I should have told

myself, Mary later reflected. He told her that her whole life was before her. He told her that she should not

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