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.

Teach them to believe in this.

In August 1933, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a letter to his young daughter, Francis, who was away at camp.

It's a beautiful, personal letter from a man who was flawed, failed by his own parents, but tried, especially at the end of his short life, to step up and do the right thing.

Hearing that his daughter was happy at

camp, he replied that he was happy to hear this. But sounding a bit like a stoic Fitzgerald

writes that he doesn't believe much in happiness for its own sake. He doesn't believe in misery either.

These things, he said, are creations for fictions, not for life.

I feel very strongly about you doing your duty, he said.

All I believe in in life, he tells her, are the rewards for virtue, according to your talents,

and the punishments for not fulfilling your duties, which are doubly costly.

We want our kids to be successful to have fun, to achieve

great things, but we should remember that Fitzgerald did all these things, and where did it get him?

A life that is about chasing external things might make you famous, but it will cost you in the

end. It will crack you up as it did for Fitzgerald, which is why we must teach our kids to

believe in something greater than just happiness and pleasure. They have to believe in duty,

to the common good, to their own talents and potential, to their family, to those four virtues

of stoicism, courage, moderation, justice, and wisdom. If you're going to believe in anything

in this life,

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