A． Life isn‘t a competition．
B． Fight for a better life with determination．
C． Love should be your rule．
D． Be grateful and feel hopeful about life．
E． Life can be cruel at times．
F． Be open to life anyway．
Dear Seth,
You‘re only three years old, and at this point in your life you can‘t read, much less understand what I‘m going to try to tell you in this letter． But I‘ve been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I‘ve learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you for the trials that you will face in the coming years． As with my advice, take it with a grain of salt． What works for me might not work for you． But someday when you‘re ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you．
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You are young, and life has yet to take its toll on you, to throw disappointments and heartaches and loneliness and struggles and pain into your path． You have not been worn down yet by longs hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life． For this, be thankful． You are at a wonderful stage of life． You have many wonderful stages of life still to come even if they are not without their costs and great dangers．
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There will be people in your life who won‘t be very nice because you‘re different, or for no good reason． There‘s not much you can do except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, actually care about you, and make you feel good about yourself． There will be times when you are met with disappointment rather than success． Life won‘t always turn out the way you want． But instead of letting these things get you down, push on． Learn to turn negatives into positives． You‘ll also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love． I hope you don‘t have to face this too much, but it happens． Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life and learn to use them to make you stronger．
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Yes, you‘ll find suffering in your journey through life, but don‘t let that close you to new things or wall yourself off． Be open to new things, experiences and people． You might get your heart broken ten times but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time． You might get teased and hurt by people you meet． If you close yourself off to new people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life． You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments．
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You will meet many people who will try to outdo you in school, in college, at work． They‘ll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, cooler gadgets． To them, life is a competition — they have to do better than their peers to be happy． Here‘s a secret: Life isn‘t a competition． It‘s a journey． If you spend that journey always trying to impress other, to outdo others, you‘re wasting it． Instead, learn to enjoy the journey． Make it a journey of happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love． Find your passion, and pursue it doggedly． Life is too short to settle for a job that pays the bills．
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If there‘s a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: Love． It, I know, might sound corny, but trust me, there‘s no better rule in life． Some would live by the rule of success． Their lives will be stressful, unhappy and shallow． Others would live by the rule of selfishness． They will live lonely and unhappy lives． Live your life by the rule of love． Love your spouse, children, parents, friends, with all of your heart． Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbours, coworkers, strangers, even your enemy． And most of all, love yourself． While others criticize you, learn not to be so hard on yourself, to think that you‘re ugly or dumb or unworthy of love． Instead, learn to love yourself for who you are．
Finally, know that I love you and always will． You are starting out on a weird, scary, daunting, but ultimately incredibly wonderful journey． And I will be there for you when I can．
Love, Your Dad