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. Their needs are so modest. Your kids are

not keeping score on your career.

They just want a parent who's emotionally present and supportive of them.

Ben Stiller.

David Letterman was the king of late night.

His shows ran for 33 seasons, making him the longest serving late night talk show in the history of American television.

At its peak, he was making something

like 30 million a year, watched by an audience of many millions every week. As the show went on

through the years, though, it started to become a drag. It's not that Letterman didn't enjoy it,

but the grind of it wore on him. He had other priorities. He wasn't living and dying for the audience,

so he hung it up. On the day he made the decision, Letterman went to his young son, who he'd had

later in life, with the news. I'm quitting, I'm retiring, he told Harry. I won't be at work every day.

My life is changing. Our lives will change. Who knows what Letterman expected his son to say, but as he explained to

Judd Apatow in the book Sicker in the Head, he thought it would get more than a nod.

Will I still be able to watch Cartoon Network, his son said? I think so. Let me check, was all Letterman

could say in amazement. There he was, walking away from millions of dollars

in one of the most coveted slots in all of television, and his son's main concern was whether

he could still watch TV. Kids will humble us like that. We think we're so important. We think

our work is so important. In fact, that's what we tell ourselves when we work those long hours to make the money

to provide them a certain kind of life. But in fact, our kids' needs are so humble. Mostly what they

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