Author Fred Hartley documents a letter young Winston Churchill received from his father:  “You should be ashamed of your slovenly, happy-go-lucky, harum, scarum style of work. . . Never have I received a really good report of your conduct from any headmaster or tutor. . .Always behind, incessant complaints of a total want of application to your work. . . Do not think that I am going to take the trouble of writing you long letters after every failure you commit. . .I no longer attach the slightest weight to anything you may say. . .If you cannot prevent yourself from leading the idle, useless, unprofitable life you have had during your school days, you will become a mere social wastrel, one of the hundreds of public school failures, and you will degenerate into a shabby, unhappy and futile existence. . .You will have to bear all the blame for such misfortunes. . . Your mother sends her love.”

Gotta love the way that letter ended.  Winston Churchill, of course, became one of the greatest leaders of the 20^th century and was instrumental in preventing the whole world from plunging into darkness.  Perhaps his father would have been proud of him then.

Churchill showed what being a man was all about, even without the support of his father.  Don’t make that mistake.  Here are 10 things to teach your son about true manhood.  And if your son is older, the movie Courageous can really be a great starting point to discuss authentic masculinity.

Huddle up with your children tonight and ask them:  “What makes a great leader?  Why?”