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.

They already doubt themselves enough.

It's not that you don't think they're great or talented. You're a big

fan. You always have been. You know they can do it. You just worry. You just want them to be safe.

You just want them to find what is actually best for them. That's why you try to discourage them from

chasing those crazy dreams of being a musician or an entrepreneur dropping out of school.

Of any one of those risky endeavors that we've been told for so long are unlikely to succeed

or alternatively is likely to lead to a painful future. You're a good writer, Adam Hockshield's

father told him in his early days.

That last article was really good, he said, but there are some things I think you'd still be better at.

And I'm concerned that you may be wasting your real talent by avoiding them.

His father thought he was helping.

He thought he was looking out for his son.

He definitely wasn't trying to be mean.

Yet his Hock shield would detail in his touching memoir half the way home, a must read for fathers.

Just how heavily these kind words fell on him.

He already doubted himself enough.

He was already questioning what his real talents were.

What he needed in that moment was support,

or just interest, or patience. We talked recently about Joan Didion's line about how hard it is

...