This newsletter focuses on two profound aspects of life design: avoiding critical parenting mistakes to raise independent children, and planning for the eventual transition away from your career (the “end of the game”) to ensure long-term fulfillment and health.

9 Common Mistakes Fathers Make

The author highlights nine frequent parenting pitfalls and offers strategies for avoiding them:

• Delegating education to schools: Essential life skills, such as financial literacy and healthy eating, must be taught at home.
• Talking instead of showing: Children naturally emulate their parents’ actions rather than listening to verbal instructions.
• Doing everything yourself: While doing tasks for your children is faster, it robs them of the chance to develop independence.
• Neglecting your health: Using family obligations as an excuse to ignore physical and mental well-being creates a future burden for your children.
• Withholding “adult” responsibilities: Letting children order their own food, track transit stops, or help pump gas builds confidence and agency.
• Choosing work over quality time: Your children are the only ones who will remember that you worked late; prioritize being present.
• Comparing children to others: Constant comparison undermines a child’s self-esteem and unique development pace.
• Assuming they know your feelings: Fathers must explicitly and regularly verbalize their love and pride.
• Prioritizing being a friend over a parent: Setting boundaries and enforcing rules is a parent’s primary duty, even when it is difficult.

Designing Your “End of Game” Box

Drawing on the Italian proverb, “When the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box,” the author encourages readers to define their career exit strategy. Instead of focusing on death, think of this “end of the game” as the moment you step away from your career, business, or primary hustle. Ask yourself what your daily life will look like, where you will live, and who you will spend your time with. Crucially, many fulfilling activities—like reading, hiking, and enjoying a coffee—are equally accessible to everyone regardless of wealth, proving that a simpler, less stressful path to your goal might be the best option.

Leaving a Legacy: The Lesson of Antoni Gaudí

The newsletter concludes with a reflection on Antoni Gaudí and the Sagrada Familia, which took 144 years to finish. Despite Gaudí’s humble and tragic death, his architectural vision survived him by a century, demonstrating the power of dedicating yourself to projects that outlast your lifetime and continue to inspire future generations.

Mentoring question

If you were to step away from your career or business today, what would your daily “end of the game” look like, and are you currently nurturing the health and relationships necessary to enjoy it?

Source: https://52notatki.substack.com/p/9-bedow-ktore-popeniaja-ojcowie-i