The greatest day of my life was the day my daughter was born.

I actually created a person!

But I was also intent on making sure she would not be like me.

She was not going to have my struggles, my pain.

Instead, when she was born, she was perfect.

But as time has passed and she is older, the thing is, she is a lot like me.

The difference is now I get to help mold her and help her be the best at whatever she tries and wants to be.

At 12 years of age, she has her share of challenges. As a father, it’s hard to watch.

My instinct is to always fix whatever problem she has – no struggles for my little girl!

But the reality is that the greatest gift I can give both of my kids is struggle. They must learn on their own how to overcome those challenges.

Humans are built for struggle. We are built to deal with adversity and pain.

Without struggle, we cannot enjoy the life that we create, the life that we want and work so hard to have.

It’s difficult watching her go through these things. My son, too.

But at the end of the day, I believe we have given them the skills to succeed.

After all, that is all we can do.

Give them what they need to be the best they can be.

-J.D.