The things you must do with your son

Wrestle with him. Teach him to know the boundaries of his own body early. So he wields the power to use it but is confident not to hurt anyone by accident.

Teach him to juggle. Mastery of coordination matters for physical activity. And physical activity matters a lot for young boys to make friends.

Be there. It doesn’t matter if you work 80 hours a week. You don’t have an excuse. Be there. Otherwise, you will regret not being there for him for the rest of your life.

Focus. Your focus determines your reality. You can bend time and space to get 10x what other people do in the same time. Remove all distractions and work for extended periods of time. This is how you get your time back and keep food on the table.

Share your interests. Whether it’s movies, shows, or reading, share the things that make you happy. As long as they’re not obviously harmful. They’ll absorb the things you love and it will become a treasured thing you can share. 

Keep your relationship with your partner strong. Do the little things that say “I love you”. Spell it out. They matter.

Teach him to swim. Start early so he becomes a fish. The same is true of the other things that life will throw at him.

Tell stories at night. Start with stories involving toys as the main characters every night. Then move on to reading him short stories. Read more advanced materials as they gain reading comprehension.

Pass on the stories of your family. This is one of the ways that your family lives through you, other than their genes. Knowledge belonged to them and was part of them.

The lessons you must teach to your son

Defend the weak. Defend those physically weaker than you, and protect those who can’t defend themselves by other means (lack of resources, disability, other circumstances).

Evil is real, and you must fight it. The debates about whether evil is “real” belong to people in ivory towers that haven’t read about the Holocaust or the Gulags. There is suffering for the sake of it that people put on others, and your job is to fight it.

You can achieve your dreams, but it will take great sacrifice. There is no free cake. Carefully understand what you’re trading in your life when you embark on becoming successful in your career.

Do the right thing, especially when the odds aren’t in your favour. When other people won’t solve the problems

Actions, not words. Deeds, not words. Do not brag, let your actions do the bragging so that others do it for you.

You must be the student before you become the master. Don’t mistake potential for current abilities. The way to really understand where you stand in a business or organization is not to advise, but to be in the mix. Start in an entry-level role and work your way up. That way, you’ll speak with the authority of someone who has proven they can do things well at important levels.

Treat people kindly. People won’t remember what you did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.

Everyone is a friend. It’s easy to make friends if you see them that way. Assume everyone is good-natured unless they show you otherwise.

Be persistent. Keep trying, because you’ll be ready when it counts.