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 shape yourself and your kids.

Tim Duncan is likely the greatest power forward in the history of the NBA.

Five titles, three NBA finals MVP's 15 all-star appearances, 15 all-NBA team selections,

15 NBA all defensive team selections.

The most devastating turnaround jumper off the glass

that basketball has ever seen. And he did it with a selflessness and a poise that is almost

unmatched. Almost is the operative word, of course, because Duncan was helped along on this

journey to greatness by his predecessor and teammate, David Robinson. How did these two superstars connect?

How did one mentor the other? In his basketball Hall of Fame induction speech, Duncan explained,

people always ask, what did he tell you? What did he show you? I don't remember one thing we sat down

and talked about specifically, he said. But what he did was that he was a

consummate pro. He was an incredible father. He was an incredible person and he showed me how to be a good

teammate, a great person to the community, all those things, not by sitting there and telling me how to do it,

but by being that. The famous screenwriter's Maximus show, don't tell. Marcus Aurelius said it's a

waste of time to speculate or argue about what makes a good man, good athlete, a good teammate, a good

parent. Our job, he said, was to be one. And similarly, Eleanor Roosevelt said that one's philosophy

is not best expressed in words, it is

expressed in the choices one makes.

In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.

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