Theodore Roosevelt loved sports. He loved the outdoors. He loved martial arts. He loved boxing. He loved football and rowing and wrestling.

He also loved books, so it’s fitting that one of his best pieces of advice—featuring a sports metaphor—was inscribed on a book he was signing for someone. “Don’t flinch,” he wrote, “don’t foul, hit the line hard.”

What wonderful advice for both sports and life. If you think about it, it’s got three of the four Stoic virtues in it right there. Don’t flinch—that’s courage. Don’t cheat—that’s justice. Get after it with all you’ve got—that’s discipline.

Theodore Roosevelt grew up a sickly young boy. It was his father who got him active, got him lifting weights, helped him ‘make his body’ and got him into sports. He didn’t push Teddy to be someone else. He supported him in becoming himself, a stronger, braver, more confident version of the boy he already was. And in doing so, his father didn’t just give him strength—he gave him a philosophy for life.

P.S. As parents, our job isn’t just to raise kids—it’s to raise good and virtuous humans.

Ryan Holiday’s four-book Stoic Virtues Series, now available for the first time as a signed box set, will show you how to instill courage in your kids for when life gets tough, discipline for when effort is required, justice for when decisions matter, and wisdom for lifelong learning.

Get the signed Stoic Virtues Series Box Set.