Dennis Prager says seek love only from close friends, a spouse, and your children. His work in radio, PragerU, and writing has never chased approval. Being a good parent often means doing what your kids dislike, not what makes them love you.
Here is my very important word of advice. You should work to be loved by your friends and by your spouse. And that's basically it. I will tell you, I don't think I've ever said this publicly. I have never worked in my, in any of my work, radio, PragerU, lectures, writings. I have never worked to be loved. I have been guided by, I have to tell the truth and hopefully it will affect people. And I get a lot of hate and I get a lot of love, and I understand that. And, and the hate doesn't ruin my day, and I don't get into a high from the love. And I'm very touched when people say a loving thing to me. It's a beautiful thing that they do. My life is not devoted to being loved by anyone but my friends and my wife. I'm thrilled to say, and I'm— I feel even lucky to say, my two sons I believe do love me. I believe it. I may be deluding myself, but I, I think so. But I have not worked to get their love. I have worked to be a good parent. That's not the same thing. In fact, they're almost mutually exclusive. If you work to be loved by your kids, you probably won't be a good parent. I used to say this before I ever had kids. I would say in speeches, listen, your kids are going to hate you anyway, so you might as well do the right thing.
Life, Legacy, and a Dangerous Mission in the Soviet Union | Sunday Fireside Chat
