The key to giving your kids an advantage isn't forcing them into a single track — it's exposing them to the full menu of what the world offers, because most people never even find out what they love.
Sam clarifies that his goal as a parent isn't to be a 'tiger dad' forcing intense training, but to provide exposure so his kids can sample different activities and discover what naturally pulls them — since the default school-to-job pipeline never gives people that chance. ✦ AI generated
Sam · My First Million · 2026-07-31 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 23:01
I'm not saying I'm going to hypertrain them for greatness... What I meant was really I'm going to give them exposure cuz I think most people the problem isn't that you found what you love and then you didn't keep doing it. Cuz when you really love something, it has a great amount of pull. You just do it anyways. I think what most people don't do is they don't really get to walk around Costco and sample the things... how do you get somebody exposure because I would say the vast majority of people never even find out if they really love something cuz by the time you like school is such a regimented track... And so, the thing I want to make sure I do for my kids is get you to at least feel and see what different what the world is. What are what's even on the menu of options so that you have some exposure in life cuz I don't think the world by default does a good job of giving you exposure.
verbatim transcript · starts at 23:01
22:42way where they would run and his father would be in the car with a stopwatch timing every interval. >> Behind every great man is a great woman. It's like, "And an abusive father." >> Yeah. >> [laughter] >> I do think that there's a way that you can do this where you can like balance like being a good a good nurturer and also a pusher. >> clarify one thing. I'm not saying I'm
23:01going to like hypertrain them for greatness on like, you know, hey, get up, we're running sprints every morning. Like, you know, whatever up the hills. What I meant was really I'm going to give them exposure cuz I think most people the problem isn't that you found what you love and then you didn't keep doing it. Cuz when you really love something, it has a great amount of pull. You just do it
23:20anyways. I think what most people don't do is they don't really get to walk around Costco and sample the things. And I think that's actually the more interesting thing is like, how do you get somebody exposure because I would say the vast majority of people never even find out if they really love something cuz by the time you like school is such a regimented track, right? You're spending 8 hours a day
23:40doing the same exact things as every other kid. Did you happen to love photosynthesis? Did you happen to love trigonometry? Like, probably not. And so, by the and then and then it's all just funneling you to get into a college. When you get into a college, it's about getting a job. By the time you have a job, now you're working and you're trying to like pay for life. And by the time you're 30,
23:58you're like, well, I didn't really get that one that that opportunity to go figure out that actually it was podcasting that I really had an affinity to. I actually really loved that. Or it was, you know, whatever it is. Like, baking. It was this. It was that. It doesn't really it's hard to even know. And I think most people never even know. And so, the thing I want to make sure I
24:12do for my kids is get you to at least feel and see what different what the world is. What are what's even on the menu of options so that you have some exposure in life cuz I don't think the world by default does a good job of giving you exposure. >> You and I have a great friend, Ramon. So, Ramon van van Meer. And um he Ramon had a difficult situation where
24:34he became a single dad when his son was only 2 years old. And I met Victor when he was, I think, 3. Now, he's actually a sophomore or junior in college. And um he Ramon was crazy. Um partly he did this out of necessity, partly because he's a really amazing dad. And he would bring Victor, starting at the age of maybe seven, to these really big business