Shows / The Daily Dad
The Daily Dad
The audio companion to DailyDad.com’s daily email meditations on fatherhood, read by Ryan Holiday. Each daily reading will help you find the wisdom, inner strength, and good humor you need in order to be a great dad. Learn from historical figures and contemporary fathers how to do your most important job. Find more at dailydad.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
- The Daily Dad
They Learn From Home
"You tell them to be good. To be honest. To follow the law. To care about other people. That safety comes first. You say these things, but what do you…
- The Daily Dad
What If You Didn’t Think You Knew?
"You’re a dad, so you know a lot. You’ve been alive a while. You’ve read a thing or two and heard a thing or two. So when your kids ask you questions—about…
- The Daily Dad
They Don’t Need to Worry About Anything But This
"F Scott Fitzgerald wasn’t always the best father, but as one of the most brilliant writers and thinkers of his time, he certainly knew how to express fatherly…
- The Daily Dad
Let Them Hear It From You
"You can’t wait until you’re on your deathbed to let them know how you feel about them. You can’t wait until you’re dead and gone and they go through your…
- The Daily Dad
There’s a Reason You’re So Raw
"While there are certainly people out there for whom the pandemic or our political environment have brought out their worst, the rest of us have started to…
- The Daily Dad
Easier or Harder? Which Is It?
"What’s the through line to judge a good parent through the early days to the glory days through the golden years? It’s simple: Do you make their life easier…
- The Daily Dad
They Are Always Your Child
"We have to remember that while we’re on this journey. They’re going to get older. Someday, perhaps some day soon, they’ll stop being a little boy or a little…
- The Daily Dad
When Is Their Time?
"Of course, you’re busy. You have work. You have your spouse. You have your kids. You have all the obligations of adulthood. All these things are important…
- The Daily Dad
Teach Them to Notice
"When Robert Lovett, the future State Department official and Secretary of Defense, was a kid, it happened that both father and son took similar routes in the…
- The Daily Dad
If It Works, Do It Again
"We parents are like field goal kickers. Just like if a certain shirt or a pair of socks brings them luck, we’re always looking for something, anything that…
- The Daily Dad
You Have to Be Proud
"Imagine you’re in the middle of the biggest moment of your career. Suddenly, someone starts attacking and criticizing your son. They’re not completely wrong…
- The Daily Dad
What Are You Leaving Them?
"Someone once remarked to the famed Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn, that his father hadn’t left him much when he had died. Rayburn was quick to correct this…
- The Daily Dad
You Can’t Be a Hypocrite
"A few years ago, the Emmy-winning actor William H. Macy was asked for the best piece of advice he was ever given. 'Never lie,' he answered. 'It’s the cheapest…
- The Daily Dad
Protect This Impulse
"We have to remember that our job as parents, as educators, is not to keep our kids in line. It’s not to crush their initiative because it’s disruptive or…
- The Daily Dad
Where Did You See That?
"Your daughter gets mad, so she slams the door and screams. Your son makes himself a snack and leaves the kitchen a disaster for someone else to clean up. You…
- The Daily Dad
Don’t Make Them Wait for It
"When you’re gone, when they go through your stuff or when they talk to your friends at your funeral, it will be undeniable clearly: God, your dad just loved…
- The Daily Dad
When You Get Them to Listen...
"We all say things to our kids, just as our parents did. Little bits and bobs of wisdom that we picked up places. We hope they hear us. We hope it gets…
- The Daily Dad
Here’s How to Have Lasting Impact
"There’s a lot going on in the world, a lot going wrong. There’s so much we’d like to change, so much we’d like to be better.Where do we start? How about with…
- The Daily Dad
Why You Have to Be Good to Your Kids
"Sure, it’s important that you keep up with your friends. You wouldn’t want to be one of those people that just disappears once they have kids. You and your…
- The Daily Dad
There’s Always an Excuse
"There’s always an excuse for why you’re not being the parent you’d like to be, just as there’s always an excuse why you’re not being the person you know…
- The Daily Dad
This Is the Highest Praise
"There is one way to judge, in the end, whether you’ve done this thing right. It’s not based on how rich your kids get. It’s not whether they make it into…
- The Daily Dad
We All Need to Hear This
Ryan further discusses the letters that author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote to his daughter, and what they say about him and his character as a parent, on today's…
- The Daily Dad
We Are All in This Together
"It’s easy to forget this. It’s easy to give into dissension and conflict and zero-sumness. Especially now. Especially when things are so dark. Isn’t that the…
- The Daily Dad
You Don’t Have to Be So Serious
"It’s exhausting to be a kid. Because they’re clever and creative and you’re not. Because they’re pure and idealistic and you’ve been hardened by the world…
- The Daily Dad
Who Are You Studying for Their Sake?
"What kinds of books do dads like? Well, according to the displays at Barnes & Noble and Costco, it’s almost exclusively books about war and history. Have you…
- The Daily Dad
Nourish This Wonderful Trait
"Sometimes, when parents fall down on the job, it falls to someone else to do the job. The primary and most important influence on Queen Victoria, for…
- The Daily Dad
Teach Them to Believe in This
"In August 1933, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a letter to his young daughter Frances who was away at camp. It's a beautiful, personal letter from a man who was…
- The Daily Dad
What Story Are You Telling Your Kids?
"There are a few versions of history you can tell your kids. You can tell them the propaganda version—the fables, the self-serving myths, the lies that…
- The Daily Dad
Your Feelings Don't Count
"Parenting just demands so much more of you, just more than you ever even thought yourself capable of giving. You do it because you want to, because you love…
- The Daily Dad
You Have to Do This. We Need It.
"There is a reason that this metaphor keeps popping up. Cormac McCarthy talked about 'carrying the fire' in his haunting novel The Road, which he wrote for his…
- The Daily Dad
Don’t Be Like These People
"We’ve come to call them 'Karens,' but the truth is that being an entitled, obnoxious ass transcends gender. It has nothing to do with the haircut, and…
- The Daily Dad
Keep the Little Promises
"We tell our kids a lot of things. We tell them that we love them. That we’ll support them no matter what. That they can come to us with anything. We also tell…
- The Daily Dad
You Must Love the Kid You Have
"Maybe you’re an introvert and your daughter turned out to be an extrovert. Maybe you always hoped for a daughter and ended up with three sons. Maybe you…
- The Daily Dad
What Can You Do? You Can Do This.
"Especially in the early days, it can seem like being a dad is to assume the role of perpetual third wheel. You can’t nurse. You can’t magically comfort your…
- The Daily Dad
Send Them a Postcard
"Maybe you have to travel a lot for work. Maybe you take an occasional vacation. Or you’re on the road a lot with one of your older kids for sports or school…
- The Daily Dad
You Don’t Have to Have the Words
"How do you tell your kids how you feel? How do you say what needs to be said? There are so many moments where words escape us. Because we’re stunned. Because…
- The Daily Dad
Tell ‘Em More Than Once
"Do you remember the best piece of advice you got from your dad? Are there sayings from childhood that have stuck with you? That time you were getting teased…
- The Daily Dad
Show Them How to Do This
"In 1952, Margaret Thatcher’s father was driven out of office when a rival political party won a majority in the election. His position wasn’t a particularly…
- The Daily Dad
You’ve Got to Live Up to Your Standards
"It’s a touching scene. The father in The Road is giving the last of the hot chocolate they had found to his son. He pretends to make a little for himself, but…
- The Daily Dad
Don't Judge Them Too Harshly... Or Quickly
"In the spring of 1921, a young ballplayer named Louis Gehrig had a tryout for the great John McGraw at the Polo Grounds. McGraw was the manager of the New…
- The Daily Dad
It's OK to Be Ambitious
"You have things you want to do in this life. Maybe you want to write a book or you’re in the middle of starting a company. Maybe you’re trying to win a…
- The Daily Dad
This Is How You Teach Them
"There is so much you want to teach them. When they’re little. When they’re teenagers. When they are out of the house and about to get married. When they are…
- The Daily Dad
Make Them Do Their Own Stuff
"For some of us, it could be easily deduced that our kids have no hands. And no brains. We put on their clothes for them. We make their decisions. We clear the…
- The Daily Dad
It’s the Thousandth Time That Counts
"C’mon, Dad, again! One more time! Can we keep going a little longer? Let’s start over! I don’t want to stop!You’ve heard all these things more times than you…
- The Daily Dad
You Can’t Stop. No Matter What.
"Nothing about Marcus Aurelius’ reign was fair. Fate tested him with one catastrophe after another. The Parthians invaded and triggered a war that would last…
- The Daily Dad
It’s Not About the Stuff
"You work very hard and are able to provide. Not just the basic necessities, but all sorts of extras. Because of you, your kids have a swimming pool. They have…
- The Daily Dad
It’s About Being There… A Lot
"How do you get through to your kids? How do you show them what’s right? How can you make sure they know how much you care about them? That you’re there for…
- The Daily Dad
You Will Have to Take the Lead On This
"It feels elitist to say this, but it’s true: Public education is built for the lowest common denominator. It has to be. One of the beautiful and powerful…
- The Daily Dad
Teach Them That They Decide the End of Every Story
"As dads, one of the hardest things to think about is our kids experiencing hardship. So maybe we teach them to turn away from the things that are hard, to…
- The Daily Dad
Be So Good They’ll Think This Later
"The writer Ambrose Bierce was a notorious cynic and curmudgeon. He was also fearless and hilarious and a father. At some point in his life—we’re not clear on…
- The Daily Dad
It’s About the Right Moment
"There are so many books you want your kids to read. The books that influenced you. The ones that changed your life. The ones you have so many fond memories…
- The Daily Dad
How Are You Embodying Your Values?
"We talk to our kids about doing what’s right. We talk to them about thinking for themselves. We talk to them about being kind, we talk to them about so many…
- The Daily Dad
A Dad Provides for His Family
"You remember the famous scene from Breaking Bad. Walter has messed up his life. He is struggling. He meets Gus Fring, who is all the things he is not: Secure…
- The Daily Dad
You'll Always Worry
"What is being a father but worry? We talked about that great image from Obama a while back. Being a parent, he said, is a little like taking your heart…
- The Daily Dad
You Must Be Unreachable
"You work hard. You have so many responsibilities. So many people depend on you. Which is precisely why you must work to become unreachable."Ryan tells us why…
- The Daily Dad
You Have to Help Them Do This
"We love our kids, that’s why we hate to see them struggle. But maybe that’s precisely the wrong way to think about it? Because we love our kids, we have to…
- The Daily Dad
Teach Them to Ask Questions
"Too often, as parents, we focus on the results. We care about their grades. We care about whether they’re turning in their homework. We care whether they know…
- The Daily Dad
This Must Come First
"Trevor Ariza chose family over basketball. He chose his son—a month with him—over $1.8 million dollars in salary. He made the right choice, although it…
- The Daily Dad
They Can’t Tell You This
“Your kids can’t tell you they’re having a hard time. They don’t know that they are. They don’t understand what’s happening in the world. They don’t appreciate…
- The Daily Dad
Look for These Moments
In the 2008 American presidential campaign, Barack Obama famously used the Reverend Wright scandal as what he later called a “teachable moment”—a chance to…