Here is a list of some of my favorite things that could make gifts for the holidays!

I’ve included links to all the products and services. Please note that some are affiliate links, and I’d be grateful if you used them to support the podcast unless you find a better deal elsewhere!

Every product and service on this list is something I love and use personally. None have paid to be included.

If you enjoy this guide, I’d be so grateful if you share this gift guide with a friend or family member. Enjoy!

Personal Tech

Moft MagSafe Wallet: I haven’t used a regular wallet in over two years. These hold three cards and go on the back of your iPhone. They’re so convenient!

Aura Picture Frames: We LOVE having these in our house. They are modern digital picture frames that sync with your phone. It’s a great way to keep all of your memories in front of you in your kitchen, office, or anywhere else! We’ve gifted them, and the people who got them were thrilled.

Sonos Speakers: We have these throughout our house. They are incredible speakers that sync with the Sonos app on your phone. It’s a great way to fill your home or office with music!

1 Password: I use this for all of my passwords online. It keeps them safe, allows me to autofill when I’m logging in, and generates new, safe passwords for each site.

Remarkable: Two years ago, I switched from using pen and paper for everything to the Remarkable and have not looked back! I use my Remarkable for everything: journaling, my productivity system, reading and editing PDFs, and so much more.

5 Minute Journal App – Laura and I have been using this daily for over 8 years! It’s a quick way to journal in the morning and evening and keep memories in front of you!

Grammarly: Where would I be without this? It helps me not have nearly as many grammatical errors as I would without it!

Family:

Greenlight: We use this app to teach our kids how to use money! You can pay your kids, set up chores, transfer money, and set up savings accounts and investments. It’s incredible.

Family Teams – This organization has played a huge role in the way we lead our family. I’d recommend buying their resources and diving in!

Kitchen, Food, and Drink

Paprika App—We use Paprika for all of our recipes. You can copy and paste URLs of recipes that you enjoy, and it saves them and organizes them for you all in one place! You can make grocery lists and so much more. If you like to cook, you need this app!

NutriBullet – We use this every day to make smoothies! They are fantastic!

Jura Coffee Machines – I used to spend $1,500 a year at Starbucks. When I learned about these, I told Laura that I’d quit going to Starbucks and use this. We’ve never looked back, and it’s paid for itself in just over a year. I also got this because all of the other coffee makers I’ve had broke within a short period of time. We’ve never had an issue with our Jura and we’re going on 4 years!

FlavCity Cookware – We’re trying to replace all of our cookware with healthy cookware. FalvCity has been helpful!

Fitness

Beachbody Workout Programs – I’ve been using Beachbody Programs to workout at home for 20 years now! They don’t disappoint!

Peloton – A few years ago, we got a Peloton bike. We love it. It’s a great workout, and there are an endless number of fitness classes you can take on the Peleton app!

PowerBlock Dumbells – I have two sets of these and have been using them for well over 10 years! They are fantastic!

Games

Escape the Crate—You can order a box subscription for this. Laura and I love doing these together. It’s like bringing an Escape Room into your home! I highly recommend it if you like puzzles.

NYT Games App – Laura and I do Wordle every day. There are a bunch of other fun games to play as well.

Kids

Nintendo Switch—We got one for the kids last Christmas, and we’ve had a blast playing it as a family throughout the year! I recommend starting with Mario Kart!

Learning and Books

Die with Zero is one of the best books on money I’ve read in my life! Yes, we need to save for retirement, but we also need to create memories that we will live on when we’re at retirement.

10x is Easier than 2x – It’s easier to go 10x bigger than it is 2x easier. Why? Find out in this epic book by Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy.

Traction – Our organization runs on Traction/EOS. If you need to know how to run an organization, read this! Then hire an EOS implementer!

Who, Not How – If you learn to ask who instead of how, your entire life will change. Get this book!

L3 Leadership Podcast – If you don’t tune into my leadership podcast, you should!

Credit Cards

If you can responsibly use credit cards, they can be worth using for the rewards. Here are the cards we recommend and use personally.

Amex Platinum – If you travel a lot, this can be worth it. You get 5x on all flights booked through Amex Travel, or the Airline directly. You also get access to all American Express Lounges, which are incredible.

Amex Gold—This card provides 4x points for restaurants and groceries, which are always our two largest categories of spending. The annual fee is easily paid for with these expenses.

Wells Fargo 2% Cash Back—We use this for almost all of our other purchases (other than the ones you get points from in the cards above). 2% adds up quickly.

I hope this was a helpful guide for you as you prepare to buy gifts for the holidays!

I’d love to hear what some of your favorite gifts are! Share in a comment below!

The post 🎁 2024 Holiday Gift Guide 🎁 appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

That breaks my heart.

A few weeks ago, I read an article by Jeremy Pryor entitled “How to Predict if a Christian Leader Will Fall.“

In it, he said, “I once had a Bible College professor vow to begin every class with the name of a new celebrity Christian who fell that week at every class for the entire semester…Would it surprise you that he made good on this promise?”

As I was discussing this with a few of my ministry friends, one of them said, “Does that have to be the way all of our stories end?”

I don’t believe it does, but it can sure seem like that with the amount of people whose stories turn out that way.

I also started listening to Carl and Laura Lentz’s new podcast, discussing his fall while he was at Hillsong NYC.

Regardless of what you think of their situation, listening to people working through the other side of what they’ve gone through can provide us with so much wisdom and insight if we let it.

In processing all of this, I had to write my thoughts about fallen leaders, affairs, and how we can make it to our finish lines. Here we go:

1.) Let’s Stop Worshipping People

A huge issue in our culture is putting people in positions of influence in our lives that only God should hold.

No human being is meant to be worshiped or idolized.

There is nothing wrong with having people you admire, but don’t make them a god in your life.

If we are mature, when someone we look up to falls, it shouldn’t impact our relationship with God at all.

It should give us empathy, compassion, and a heart to see that person restored.

As leaders, we also have to be careful not to get pulled into the seduction that comes with having influence. If you have influence, it is for one reason and one reason only: to serve others.

We must constantly keep our hearts on guard against buying into any form of pride or ego.

2.) Let’s Recognize that “It” Will Never be Worth It

I once had a conversation with someone that I know who had an affair. He told me, “If you ever get in a position where you think it would be worth it, it’s not.”

Carl Lentz said one of the main reasons he and Laura are doing their podcast is to prevent people from doing what he did. I admire and appreciate that.

I’ve never heard a fallen leader say that it (whatever they did) was worth it.

It’s usually the exact opposite. So many of them talk about how they lost everything they loved, and they often cause a wreckage of pain in people’s lives behind them.

I pray that as we’re all tempted in life, those words will be seared in our conscience: IT IS NEVER WORTH IT!

3.) Let’s All Stop Judging People

Jesus said, “Judge not, lest YOU be judged.”

Do you want to be judged? I don’t.

Is what they did wrong? Yes.

Are there going to be consequences for their actions? Yes.

Do you have anything to do with them or the people around them? Likely not.

Our response to someone falling should be:

• Except by the grace and mercy of God, that could be me. I’m only one or two decisions away from being in the same boat.
• I hope and pray they get the help they need and are restored one day.
• Is there anything I can learn from what happened to them in order to prevent the same thing from happening to me or those I influence?

Outside of that, unless you’re involved in the situation (as a Board Member of an organization, a family member, etc.), keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself.

This is one of the best series I’ve ever heard on not judging others. I try to listen to it once a year to keep myself in check.

4.) Let’s be about Restoration

Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness [not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness], keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

Restoring our brothers and sisters is a sign of spiritual maturity, but judging and tearing them down is not.

Why is it that so often, we abandon people in the moments when they need us the most?

Let’s do everything we can to restore those who have fallen. Wouldn’t you want them to do the same thing for you if you fall?

What does restoration look like? (This is a much bigger subject than I can cover here):

• Loving people unconditionally. That does NOT mean you love or approve of what they did.
• Help the person get the help they need. Connect them to resources that can help.
• Pray for them.
• Be there for them. Be a good friend.

5.) How the Fallen Respond Matters

While we should be all about restoration, how leaders respond to failure plays a huge role in their restoration journey.

Have they owned what they did?

Have they repented?

Have they and/or are they doing the work necessary to recover from whatever issues got them where they are in the first place?

Are they teachable?

Are they willing to sit on the sidelines for as long as restoration takes place?

If someone can’t answer these questions with a yes, they likely won’t recover and will drive the people they need most out of their lives.

When I listen to Carl Lentz talk about his work over the past four years, I am filled with joy. It sounds like he has done a lot of work (and admittedly, he still has much more to do) on himself.

How to Make It to Your Finish Line

With so many fallen leaders, must we assume our stories will somehow end up the same?

I don’t think so. There are millions of faithful leaders we never hear about who make it to their finish lines intact. The problem is that we don’t hear about them or celebrate them.

So, how can we make it to our finish lines?

1.) Determine to Make it to Your Finish Line

This is one of my major goals in life. I want to reach the finish line by doing everything that God called me to do and keeping my family, friendships, and ministries intact.

Keeping that vision as one of the main priorities in your life will help you stay the course!

2.) Judge Yourself

We should have more than a full-time job trying to judge ourselves and ensure we stay on course.

We are all one decision or moment away from being in the exact same position that those who have fallen are in.

Don’t be so prideful that you don’t think that could ever happen to you.

Let’s be vigilant about our character development.

What areas in your life need to be addressed before they become a big issue?

3.) Get Help Before You Need To

We all have issues that we need to work on. Do the hard work now! Don’t wait until you are forced to. Go to therapy. Join support groups.

4.) You need a Community in Which You are Fully Known, Loved, and Challenged.

No leader should ever do life alone but in a community. If you want to prevent yourself from falling, ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have a group of friends with whom you are fully known, fully loved, and fully challenged?
• Who do you have in your life that can tell you no that you’ll listen to?
• Who can you share anything with?

If you can’t answer yes to these questions, do everything you can in the next few months to find your community.

5.) Confess Temptation: You Don’t Have to Tell Everyone, but You Have to Tell Someone.

If you are struggling with temptation, don’t hide it! Confess it! Tell somebody!

One of my mentors, Matt Keller, once told me and a group of friends, “When you’re going through a tough time…You don’t have to tell everyone, but you do have to tell someone… and the people you should tell are right here (a group in which you are fully known, loved, and challenged).

Why? Because they couldn’t care less, but that’s because they couldn’t care more.

You need a group like that with which you can be transparent. They could save your life, your marriage, and your ministry.

6.) Let’s Celebrate the Faithful the same Way People Celebrate the Fallen

Unfortunately, when leaders fall, it gets a crazy amount of attention.

When leaders are faithful for decades, they get no attention.

Let’s start celebrating and honoring those faithful leaders who have been faithful for decades. Every single one of them is proof that it’s possible and serves as an example of how to do it!

7.) Make Character Development the Most Important Development in Your Life.

If we commit to a life of discipleship, accountability, transparency, and community, then I am convinced we can have a generation of leaders that can and will make it to our finish lines.

I’m cheering you on to yours, even if you’ve fallen. After all, the Bible is pretty clear that we have all fallen short of God’s standard. That’s why we need Him.

Don’t quit. Keep leading. The world desperately needs YOUR leadership.

The post Carl Lentz, Fallen Leaders, Worshipping People, and Making It to Your Finish Line appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

Have you ever been wounded in your leadership journey?

If so, you’re not alone. I have, too.

I’ve found that if we don’t find a healthy way to heal from our wounds and ultimately overcome them, we’ll stay stuck in the prison of woundedness for the rest of our lives and will never be able to move forward into the future God has for us.

If you’ve been wounded, here is what I want you to know:

• Your future is not over.
• You are not who other people have said that you are.
• You do not have to carry the pain that comes with your wounds with you everywhere you go for the rest of your life.
• Your wounds can be healed.
• Your wounds can become a part of your testimony.
• Once you heal, your healed wounds can help others in their woundedness.

So, how do you properly address wounds? Here are a few thoughts:

1.) Acknowledge Your Wounds

Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing. -Rick Warren

This seems basic, but you’d be surprised how many people try to mask their wounds. That is a huge mistake.

The first step to healing your wounds is acknowledging them to others. I would encourage you to start by journaling. Write down your experience. Write down your thoughts. Get to the root of the wound. What caused it? Who caused it? How is it impacting your life?

Once you’re done journaling, share what you wrote in your journal with somebody you trust.

This is why I encourage everyone to be in a Mastermind group with people who fully know you, fully love you, and can fully challenge you. If you don’t have a group like this, do everything possible to find one!

2.) Go to Therapy

Therapy and counseling are for the strong, not for the weak. My therapist has been extremely helpful in addressing my wounds. Through therapy, I discovered that the root of all of my wounds was the core belief that I was not enough.

Once we discovered that, my therapist had me do an exercise.

He had me draw a T-chart on a sheet of paper. He said to write down all the specific evidence I had that I was not enough on one side of the chart.

As I started to write things, I realized that what I wrote wasn’t evidence. They were stories I had been making up in my mind, which I’ll talk about in a moment.

On the other side of the T-chart, he had me write all the evidence I had that I was enough.

It took me a few moments and some prompting to get started, but I filled an entire page once I did.

I realized that I had all the evidence in the world to show me that I was enough.

That revelation was huge for me and helped me heal a significant wound in my life.

Go to therapy. It could change your life.

3.) Ask Yourself What Stories You are Making up in Your Head

I learned this from Brene Brown. She said always to ask yourself, “What stories am I making up in my mind?”

We often make up the worst stories imaginable, and the majority of the time, they are very far from reality.

For me, I would live in other people’s heads constantly. All I would think about was, “What does that person think of me? I bet they think this (something horrible about me that would ultimately prove that I am not enough) because of this or that.”

What I came to realize as I asked myself about the stories I made up was that there were five people in my life whom I cared WAY too much about what they thought of me, and my assumption was that they all thought poorly of me.

I let the stories I was making up about them take up an enormous amount of my energy, thoughts, and beliefs.

Once I had that realization, I scheduled a meeting with each of those five people to seek reconciliation, which I’ll talk about next.

What stories are you making up in your mind?

4.) Seek Reconciliation

Oftentimes, the people who wounded us are not even aware they wounded us, and yet we allow them to take up an enormous amount of our daily capacity.

I would encourage you to seek reconciliation with the people who have wounded you. Ask them for a meeting. Let them know what happened and how they impacted you. See where the conversation goes.

I sat down with each of the five people and said, “Listen, I’ve put you on a pedestal in my life, and I care way too much about what you think of me. I’m constantly making up stories in my head that you think of the worst of me. (If specific situations led me to that belief, I shared it with them). I need to let you know so we can discuss this because it has been torturing me.”

Everyone I met laughed at the fact that I thought they thought negatively of me. They thought the complete opposite. There were a few things that they did apologize for. They certainly didn’t mean to impact me the way they did and if they had known (and if I would have addressed it in the first place), they would have apologized then and made it right.

I can’t promise that every conversation you have will end the way mine did, but I can tell you that by not confronting your wounds with those who have wounded you, you’ll be paralyzed by making stories up in your mind for the rest of your life.

Is there anyone you need to schedule a meeting with this week?

5.) Don’t Judge. Assume the Best about People.

With the stories I was making up, I did not assume the best about people. I judged people. That wasn’t helpful at all.

With very few exceptions, most people are doing their best and have good intentions in everything they do. Good intentions don’t always lead to a good impact, but let’s give people the benefit of the doubt.

If they learn that they caused harm, most people will apologize, repent, and try to get better.

People are human and have blind spots (I have plenty. Don’t you?) Our blind spots often cause harm; unless someone makes us aware of them, they’ll continue to harm people.

Learn to have the courage to address other people’s blind spots. It could be the best thing that ever happened to them in their leadership journey.

Lastly, you have no idea what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. They could have been going through the toughest battle of their lives when they wounded you.

Let’s stop judging. Let’s assume the best. Don’t you want people to do the same for you?

6.) Forgive and Move on

After you have conversations with the people who wounded you, you have to choose to forgive them (even if they don’t apologize.) It’s the only way you can move forward.

Forgiveness isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary to heal our wounds. We’ve been forgiven greatly. Let’s forgive others in the same way.

Once you’ve forgiven, move on. Forgiveness does not mean you’ll forget what happened, but you no longer hold it against someone.

7.) Trust God for Your Future

We often get so wrapped up in how we’ve been impacted by people that we let that override how God has impacted us.

God is God. He’s WAY bigger than the people who wounded you. Trust Him for healing. Trust Him for your future. Cast your burdens on Him because He truly does care for you.

If you let Him heal you, He can bring you into a future you couldn’t have imagined. It will be better than anything you could have hoped for.

Let Him heal you. Trust Him for your next steps.

8.) Learn the Lessons You Need to Learn

There are always lessons to be learned when we’re healing from our wounds. Whatever you learn, take those lessons everywhere you go so you don’t get trapped in your woundedness again.

You may even ask the people in the last season of your life if they have any feedback on how you can grow and develop in the next season of your life. Feedback is often a gift.

9.) Share Your Journey with Others

When we get healed from our woundedness, it’s one of the most freeing experiences we can ever have.

We gain confidence that if we get wounded again, we can heal faster and not have our wounds take so much of our daily energy and capacity away.

Don’t keep your journey to yourself. There are thousands of wounded people around you who could benefit from learning how you overcame your woundedness. Help them!

I certainly hope this post helped you.

10.) Repeat this Process

Anytime you get wounded, go back through this process.

If you’ve been wounded in life or leadership, I am sorry. It is not fun, but it does not have to cripple you. You can heal and move on into a future you never dreamed of.

Be courageous. Face your wounds. Deal with them. You won’t regret it.

Thoughts? Comment below!

Don’t quit. Keep leading. The world desperately needs YOUR leadership.

The post Dear Wounded Leader: 10 Steps to Overcoming Your Wounds appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

I went for all the dreams that were in my heart.

I went for all the things I wanted to do.

I went for all the things I wanted to learn.

I became everything I was capable of becoming.

I do not want to get to the end of my life and know that I could have gone for it, but for some reason, I didn’t.

Looking back on a life filled with regrets is one of my greatest fears.

Do you want to live a life with no regrets? Here are a few tips on how you can do that:

1.) Remember that Yesterday Ended Last Night

You may be reading this and already be thinking about all of the regrets that you already have. That’s ok. We all have them. The important question to ask yourself is, “What will I do with my life now to not have regrets in the future?”

One of my favorite quotes is, “Although you cannot go back and have a brand new start, my friend, anyone can start from now and have a brand new end.”

“Although you cannot go back and have a brand new start my friend, anyone can start from now and have a brand new end.”

You can’t go back and undo your regrets, but you can determine that from this day forward, you will do your best to live a life without regrets. Make that decision now.

2.) Create a Bucket List of Experiences and Skills You Want to Develop

I recorded an entire podcast on why you should create a bucket list. You can listen to it here.

Make a list of everything you want to experience and every skill you want to develop throughout your lifetime.

• Where do you want to travel to?
• What kind of jobs do you want?
• What experiences do you want to have?
• What skills do you want to learn throughout your lifetime?

Developing this list will give you a vision of the life that you want to live. Once you are clear on that, it all comes down to execution!

3.) Do it Afraid

Throughout your life, you are going to have many dreams in your heart that you are going to want to pursue. The problem is, you are going to be afraid. That is ok.

Anyone who has ever done anything significant has learned to do things despite fear.

Every dream that I’ve ever pursued in my life, I’ve been afraid.

• Pursuing Laura Smith in hopes that she’d marry me.
• Starting a podcast.
• Launching a leadership conference.
• Taking on new leadership positions at Light of Life.

I am still doing things afraid!

Our L3 One Day Conference is a month away, and I am scared! However, I’d rather look back and know that I hosted a conference I believe I was called to create than not host one and wonder what could have happened if I did.

Are you afraid of pursuing your dreams?

What you should be afraid of is getting to the end of your life and being filled with regret that you didn’t go after the dreams in your heart.

What you should be afraid of is getting to the end of your life and being filled with regret that you didn’t go after the dreams in your heart.

4.)Start Today

Once you make your list and know what you want to do. DO IT!

When I was starting L3 Leadership, I was scared to death. Fortunately, I have an amazing wife, and she created a Facebook Event to launch the company and published it for the entire world to see. I had no choice but to go for it!

I’m so glad she did that. I was scared to attend the launch, but I did it anyway. Here is a picture of our first event where I cast a vision for what we were going to do:

Whatever you have to do to take action on your dreams, DO IT! You won’t regret it.

Conclusion: Remember that Life is the Collection of Experiences

As I close, I’ll share this brief video from Jim Rohn that I watch on a consistent basis to remind myself of the brevity of life and push myself to go all out for the life I want to live.

“Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences. –Jim Rohn

If you didn’t watch it, here is what Jim says,” “Life is not just the passing of time. Life is the collection of experiences. Their frequency and their intensity. When my friend Mark died at age 44, someone says, “That’s young to die.” But what if he lived four lifetimes in one? It might not be too young. Whatever the span of your life turns out to be, here’s what you want to fill it up with: experiences and the intensity of those experiences.”

“What if he lived four lifetimes in one?” That line always gets me.

When you are determined to live a life with no regrets, and you go after all of the dreams in your heart, I truly do believe you can live multiple lifetimes in one life.

We only get one shot at this life. But as Mae West once said, “If you do it right, once is enough.”

Let’s all committ to living lives with no regrets!

The post 4 Steps to Living a Life with No Regrets appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

I have. Let me share with you one of my all-time greatest failures!

In 2018, I became the Director of Development at Light of Life. I was 33 years old. It was my first big leadership opportunity. The organization took a risk on me, and for that, I am grateful.

Not too long after I had become Director, I was asked to present at a Board Meeting. That was something I had never done before. I, of course, wanted to do a great job and leave a great first impression on them.

I met with one of our vendors and asked if they could produce a report for me to share with the Board that will give all the data on our fundraising efforts to paint a picture of where we stood.

They produced it, and the report looked great. I knew it would impress the Board.

As I stood up to report to the Board, I passed out the report (which was 15+ pages) and told them to look through it.

My work is complete, I thought to myself.

Then, each of the Board members started asking me questions.

As they asked me questions, I realized I had a huge problem.

The problem? I did not understand the report enough to be able to answer any of their questions.

My heart sank into my stomach. All I could tell them was that I didn’t know the answer to their questions but that I would find out.

My time to report to the Board was over. I walked out of the board meeting, knowing that I had just failed miserably. I’m sure I left the entire Board questioning the organization’s decision to allow me to lead.

I questioned if I had what it takes to be a leader.

Have you been there?

In such moments, we must make one of the most important decisions that we’ll make in our lives: The decision on how we’ll handle our failures.

The question in life isn’t, “Will I fail?” Of course, you will.

The question is, “What will you do when you do fail?”

What to do when You Fail:

You have two options when you fail:

1. Bury your head in the sand, ignore it, and hope it goes away, or give up. (These are not good options).
2. Do something about it. (This should be your only option).

So, what should you do?

1.) Admit It & Apologize

When you fail, have the courage to admit it and to ask for forgiveness.

The day after my board meeting, I called every single board member and apologized to them and told them that I wouldn’t let that happen again.

2.) Get Better: Learn the Lessons You Need to Learn

I realized that I had never been a Director before and I had never presented to a board before. There was a lot I needed to learn.

I asked one of the Board Members to mentor me on leading at this level and communicating with the Board.

We spent several breakfasts together. He gave me advice and a template for how to report to the Board. I learned so much from him. I am so grateful he took the time to invest in me.

3.) Don’t Let it Happen Again

It’s been five years since my first Board meeting, and I have never repeated my failure. I learned the lessons that I needed to learn. I built trust with the Board.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” – Abraham Lincoln

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” – Abraham Lincoln

Never be content with failure!

4.) Do Not Throw Away Your Shot!

When you fail, it is humiliating, and it can cause a lot of shame and doubt in your mind. You’ll be tempted to throw in the towel and quit. Don’t!

For an entire year after that Board meeting, I listened to “My Shot” from the Hamilton soundtrack every day before I went to work.

The main line in the song is, “I am not throwing away my shot!”

That was my focus for the entire year. I was not going to allow one failure to cause me to throw away my shot at leading and growing into the person I have become today.

If you’ve failed:

• Admit it.
• Ask for forgiveness.
• Learn what you have to learn.
• Get better and grow.
• Don’t let it happen again.
• Never give up!

What have you learned about dealing with failure? Comment below!

Remember: Don’t quit. Keep leading. The world desperately needs YOUR leadership!

The post What To Do When You Fail Miserably appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

That said, here were some of the top lessons that I learned by category in 2023:

Leadership Lessons

1.) Lead with Curiosity

When I took on my new role at Light of Life, my Executive Director, Jerrel T. Gilliam, said, “Doug, as you step into this new role, lead with curiosity. Here are three beautiful words for you: “Help me understand…”

As I’ve endeavored to meet with all of our staff throughout the last year, I’ve used those three words countless times. It’s helped me learn more about our team members, their roles, their teams, and what they see in our organization.

2.) Candor and Clarity are Extremely Important

At lunch, a mentor told me, “If my manager ever thought I was in the wrong position, I wish they would tell me right away.”

As leaders, it is critically important that we are honest and direct with the people that we lead. They need clarity on where they stand, how they are doing, where we are headed as an organization, and what part they will play in our future.

As a recovering people pleaser, this has been an area of growth for me. One piece of advice that has helped me immensely is something John Maxwell told me once. He said, “Doug, you have to make the decision that you will always love people, but you won’t depend on their love.”

You have to make the decision to always love people, but to not depend on their love. -John Maxwell

Reminding myself that I’m not dependent on the love and approval of the people I’m being candid with has helped me be more direct.

The great thing is that I have learned that people prefer and are grateful when you are candid and clear with them.

3.) Be Careful Whom You Partner With

A mentor told me the importance of selecting who I partner with on different endeavors. He said, “Your values have to line up. When I think about partnering with someone, the only question I ask is, “Would I tell my kids that I want them to grow up and be like this person?

Ask, “Would I tell my kids that I want them to grow up and be like this person?”

4.) Don’t Be Surprised

As leaders, we often naively believe that if we grow enough, we will one day no longer face difficult issues in our leadership.

Wouldn’t that be nice!

A mentor challenged me this year, saying, “Do not be surprised. Something is always falling behind, someone is always leaving, there will always be systems that need to be updated, etc. The sooner you realize this, the less often you’ll find yourself surprised by the issues you have to face daily.”

I’ve found myself being surprised a lot less often after adopting this mentality.

5.) You Need an Operating System for Your Organization

This year, we hired an EOS Implementer, Tim Tannert, ACC, to help us implement EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) into our organization.

We are six months into that journey, and it’s incredible to see how much better we’ve become as a leadership team. As we roll out EOS to our organization over the next year, I expect we will go to an entirely new level.

Your organization needs one operating system to ensure everyone is on the same page and rowing in the same direction. I have yet to find a better system than EOS. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out to Tim!

6.) Structure your life in a way that allows you to be successful in the long run.

Making it to my finish line as a leader is one of my top priorities in life. To do that, I recognize that I must structure my life to enable me to get there.

That means that I need to take time off to rest, I need to pace myself, I need to prioritize my family, and.I need to prioritize my health and fitness.

Too often, as leaders, we get short-sighted and forget that leadership is an infinite game! We’ll be doing this for a long time. Let’s make sure we set ourselves up to go the distance!

Career

7.) People are Always Watching You and Will Make Decisions About You When You are not in the Room

As I got promoted last year, I recognized that for me to get that promotion, it took a lot of other people believing that putting me in the position was the right move for the organization.

What caused them to make the decision? Ultimately, it was their experience working with me and watching me do my job for days, weeks, months, and years prior.

The lesson here is that people watch you long before they follow you or allow you to lead at another level. How you lead everyday matters. Your ability to be teachable and grow at each level you are at matters immensely. Remember this!

Character

8.) Character Development is the Most Important Development

Nothing will steal our confidence more than a guilty conscience. As leaders, we have to keep our conscience clear. We are the only ones that can do that. To do that, we must make our character development our top priority for personal growth.

9.) You don’t have to tell everybody, but you have to tell somebody.

If you’re struggling with something or have made a bad decision, please don’t isolate and hold it in. That will only make things worse. You need to tell someone. I’d recommend your spouse if you have one or a close group of friends who know you, love you, and are willing to challenge you.

You’re only as sick or healthy as your secrets. Bring things into the light as soon as possible with people.

Here is a really simple three-step process that will help you with your struggles: Admit it. Quit it. Forget it!

Admit it. Quit it. Forget it!

10.) Be You

When I was preparing for meeting with someone that I was nervous to meet with, my friend, Jenni Schlieper, said, “You don’t have to be someone else. You have to be Doug.”

We must always be reminded that we just need to be who we are.

Be you. That’s always enough!

Content Creation & Platform Building

11.) Let the Ball Come to You

I finished my first draft of my first book this year. When I asked a mentor who has published several books and has a large platform for his advice, he said, “Doug, let the ball come to you. Don’t try to force it.”

That helped me immensely. In life, we tend to put so much pressure on ourselves to make things happen, and we end up stressed, frustrated, and discouraged.

Instead, we should take the pressure off and let the ball come to us. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to work hard. Of course, we do. However, we don’t have to endure all the stress, pressure, and frustration of trying to force things to happen.

12.) It’s all about the One

Mother Theresa said, “Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you.“

In a world where many of us are wrapped up in numbers and always trying to grow our platforms to reach MORE people, we often lose sight of the one person right in front of us that we can impact deeply.

I need to be reminded of this daily. Every day, there are people who are going to come across my path that I can help. I hope and pray that I’m never so focused on the masses that I miss the opportunity to make an even bigger difference with those right before me.

13.) My Voice Matters (and so does Yours)

Someone encouraged me this year by saying, “You have a lot to say, Doug. Your voice matters and will only matter more as you grow and develop. Your posts matter. Your writing matters. Your speaking matters. Your leadership matters. Everything you do matters.”

I would say the same thing to you.

We all have much to say that could make the world better, but we often shrink from sharing it because we’re insecure and afraid of what people will think or say.

I’ve made a habit of trying to post content online every single day. If something I create impacts one person, then it is worth it.

My voice matters, and so does yours. What are you doing with it?

14.) Always remember how far you’ve come and the impact you’ve made.

Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy wrote a great book called, “The Gap and the Gain”. The book’s premise is that rather than measuring our progress by comparing where we are to where we want to be, we should only measure our progress by looking back and seeing how far we’ve come.

I’ve noticed that in my life, I get the most frustrated or discouraged when I compare where I am to where I want to be.

When I think about and journal where I used to be and how far I have come, I am always filled with joy and gratitude.

If you’ve never measured your progress that way, I suggest you take some time in the next few days and do it and see what it does for you.

Conclusion

Those were some of the top lessons that I learned in 2023.

Which ones resonated the most with you?

What is one of the top lessons that you learned last year?

Remember: Don’t quit. Keep leading. The world desperately needs YOUR leadership!

The post The Top Lessons that I Learned in 2023 appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

Our keynote speakers are going to be:

• Horst Schulze, Founder of the Ritz Carlton!
• Anne Beiler, Founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
• Leon Ford, Author and Social Entrepreneur
• Doug Smith, Founder of L3 Leadership

In addition to our keynote speakers, we will have breakout sessions and several other speakers giving shorter talks. We will also have extended times of networking.

Our Vision

Our vision for the conference is to host an annual gathering of leaders to help you grow your leadership, your network, and your future.

I believe that you are one idea and one connection away from changing your destiny. That is why we believe it is so important for you to be in the room at conferences like this. When you’re not in the room, you have no idea on the ideas and connections that you missed out on.

You are one idea and one connection away from changing your destiny.

Why should you attend L3 One Day?

Reason #1: To Grow Your Leadership

We believe that everyone wins when a leader gets better and everyone loses when they don’t.

Everyone wins when a leader gets better and everyone loses when they don’t.

If you’re a leader, you’re not going to get better by accident. You have to intentionally grow. As a leader, you can grow by the mentors you have, the people you surround yourself with, the books you read and the podcasts you listen to, the experiences you have, and by putting yourself in rooms with other leaders.

You grow by putting yourself in rooms with other leaders.

Annual conferences should be part of your personal development plan.

I’ve been attending leadership conferences since I was 18 years old. They have played a significant role in my growth and development. I can point to specific talks I heard, ideas I received, and people that I met at each conference that helped shape my leadership journey. Make sure that leadership conferences are a part of your annual development plan.

It is also a way to invest in the growth of your team.

A huge part of growing your leadership is growing your team. Don’t ever have a leadership experience without your team unless it’s impossible to bring them.

Bringing your team with you will give you an opportunity to bond together outside of the office, it shows your team that you value them, and it will help them grow.

Don’t have a team? Think of a few younger leaders that you mentor that could benefit from attending and bring them with you.

Reason #2: To Grow Your Network

As I mentioned earlier, you are one relationship away from changing your destiny. Your entire ROI of getting in the room may not be from the talks but from a conversation you have or a leader that you meet.

Gerald Brooks once said, “Sometimes it’s not the lesson you need, but the life of a leader.”

If you look back over your leadership journey, I’m willing to be that the leaders you’ve met and had come into your life have helped you grow and develop more business than the content you’ve consumed.

Reason #3: To Grow Your Future

John Maxwell once said, “Growth is the only guarantee that tomorrow is going to get better.” In other words, if you want your future to be better, then you need to focus on growing yourself today.

You have no idea what will be set into motion in your life through a conference:

• It may be an idea that changes the trajectory of your life.
• It may be the connection that leads to a mentoring relationship or a business partnership.
• It may be finally getting the injection of courage you need to go after your dreams.
• It may lead to your next promotion or job.
• It could be the bonding experience that you needed with your team.

Here is what I know: When you don’t put yourself in the room, you don’t know what you missed out on. It could have been anything I just mentioned.

Will You Join us?

So, leader, will you be in the room? There are several ways to attend:

• Register for the conference! We’re currently offering a 10% off special for the new year. Use the promo code: NEWYEAR10
• Emerging Leaders: If you’re under 26, we’ve provided a substantial discount for you!
• Bring your team! We have a team discount for those bringing teams of 6 or more.
• Sponsor the conference! Here is a link to our sponsorship packet. You can sign up for sponsorships here.

I hope to see you in the room in February, leader! Let’s grow together!

The post 3 Reasons To Attend L3 One Day appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

• Listen to my podcast lesson on How to Conduct a Year-End Review
• Download my Ebook on How to Conduct a Year-End Review
• Download your year-end review template here.

My Year-End Review Process

I have been doing year-end reviews since 2004. It is one of the most meaningful practices that I have in my life.

At the end of each year, I spend two or three days going through that year’s calendar, journal, photos, and finances in order to reflect on how I used my year. As I reflect, I fill out my year-end review Word document.

At the end of my review, I’ll have a 30-40 page summary of that year. I then use that summary to extract the top lessons that I learned that year and record that as a podcast lesson to share with everyone. Once I’m done doing that, I print the review and keep a copy in my journal for me to go back and review in the future.

My goal is not to have you copy my system but to create your own. The important thing is that you conduct an annual year-end review.

My hope is that this will become an annual tradition for you that will be a bless- ing to you, your family, and everyone that you choose to share it with.

Imagine that 50 years from now you will be able to go back to each year of your life and read a high-level summary of what happened that year. What a gift! Let’s begin!

Why do a Year-End Review?

I first learned about doing a year-end review from my mentor, Larry Bettencourt. He taught us that you don’t grow just by getting another year older; you develop through reflecting, learning, and making changes as necessary.

John Maxwell said it best when he said, “Experience isn’t the best teacher, evaluated experience is.” A year-end review is an opportunity to evaluate the year that has just passed and to learn from it.

“Experience isn’t the best teacher, evaluated experience is.” -John Maxwell

It is also a way to document your life. Imagine being able to go back to any year of your life and read a summary of where you were that year, what goals you had, what you accomplished, the losses, the lessons learned, and so on.

Not only will you be able to go back through your year-end reviews, but so will your kids and your grandchildren. Creating a year-end review is another way to leave behind a legacy of a life well lived.

If you will stay consistent in conducting year-end reviews, it will become one of the most impactful things you do in your personal, professional, spiritual, and leadership journey.

Ready to get started? Let’s go!

Preparing for Your Year-End Review

Schedule It

What gets scheduled gets done. The first thing you need to do is put your year-end review on the calendar. Give yourself at least 8 hours to conduct the review. It usually takes me 2-3 days because I spend so much time extracting things out of my journal and into the document. If you are in a season where you can get away by yourself for a day or two for a personal retreat, I’d encourage you to do that. Schedule it now!

Find a Place

Next, you need to determine where you will conduct your review. You can do it in your home office, at a local coffee shop, or in a park if you live somewhere warm. Wherever you choose to do it, make sure it’s a quiet place that inspires you and enables you to focus.

What to Bring:

You’ll want to bring your computer, your journal, and your phone (strictly to use for going through your calendar and your photos for the year).

Conducting Your Year-End Review

Once you get to your location, it’s time to jump into the review. You’ll want to open the Word template. Once the document is open, you’ll want to start your review by reviewing your journal, your calendar, your photos, and your finances. As you go through each of these, you’ll extract content and start filling in the following sections:

The Year-End Review Summary

This section is to be completed at your year-end review. It’s a summary of your entire year from an 80,000-foot view.

Themes for the Year:

Were there any themes for you this year? What were they? Use your journal to reflect on commonalities throughout the year.

Tough Questions I got asked this Year:

While this one might really require you to think, it’s important that we remember the tough questions that we were asked. We tend to grow more from the questions we are asked than the advice we’re given. Once you find a life-changing question, record it so you never lose it.

We tend to grow more from the questions we are asked than the advice we’re given.

Best Lessons Learned:

In this section, list any lesson, quote, thought, etc. that had an impact on your life, leadership, or career. Lessons can be easily forgotten if they are reflected upon infrequently.

Blessings:

What blessings did you experience throughout your year?

What you’ll find is that the more you reflect on your blessings, the more thankful and content you become in the present. Sometimes as leaders, we become so ambitious and ready for the next thing that we neglect to be grateful for what we have now.

Highlights:

What sticks out as your top highlights for the year? What were the most exciting wins?

Lowlights:

What were the bummers of the year? What were the losses? List some of the overall cons for the year.

Memories:

Make a bulleted list of all of your favorite memories from the year. Use your journal and photos to help you reminisce. I tend to keep my memories on a different document as it tends to get pretty long.

Accomplishments:

What were your greatest accomplishments? List out your accomplishments professionally, spiritually, personally, athletically, academically, etc.

Goal Assessment:

When I’m doing the Goal Assessment portion of my Year-End Review, I do this by asking four questions:

1. What were my goals?
2. Did I accomplish them?
3. If not, why?
4. What should my goals be next year?

Most Influential People in my Life:

Who made a significant impact on you this year?

Things I need to do:

What things did you want to do that you didn’t get to?

What did God speak to me?

If you’re a person of faith, this will be one of the most important sections of your year-end review. As you go through your journal, make sure to record anything that you believe God spoke to your heart. It’s amazing to be able to go back through the years and see what God spoke to us.

What encouraging things did people speak into my life:

If someone encouraged you or challenged you and it made an impact on your life, write down what they said so you won’t lose it!

What Affirmations did I speak over my life:

What did you need to speak over your life this year?

Things I prayed for:

What did you pray for this year? What prayers did God answer that year? What are you still believing God for?

What Opportunities did I have:

This section is for you to list exciting opportunities that you had in the previous year.

Most Influential Speakers (authors, podcasters):

Who spoke to you through their content? Books? Podcasts?

Best Movies:

This is a fun category. What were the best movies you watched this year?

Books Read:

What books did you read this year? How did they impact you?

The Top Books I Read:

Take your book list and narrow it down to 3-5 books that made the most impact. Consider writing a letter to the author thanking them for the impact they’ve made on you.

Funniest YouTube Videos:

Here’s another fun one that I love to record. Make sure to include actual links so that you can go back and watch the videos from year to year.

Best Shows:

What were the best shows you watched this year?

Bucket List Items Completed:

Do you have a bucket list? If not, you should create one and aim to cross of 1-5 bucket list experiences a year.

Write out any bucket list experiences you crossed off this year.

Places I traveled to:

Where did you go this year? What made these places so meaningful?

Interesting People I met:

Who did you meet this year that was interesting?

Statistics & Finances

This next section in the Year-End Review is mostly just filling in numbers and stats. Although this takes a lot of time, trust me, it’s worth it. Data is so crucial to our growth as people and as leaders. How will we know if we are improving if we don’t track our progress?

Take the time to fill out the following section. ou won’t regret it!

Statistics:

Social Media:

• Website
• Podcast Stats
• LinkedIn:
• Twitter:
• Instagram:
• Facebook:
• EmailSubscribers:
• Podcast:
• YouTube:
• Speaking Engagements:

Finances:

Ending Balances of Accounts:

• Income
• Expenses
• Giving
• Investments

Where did I spend the most money?

• Keep this to 3-5 categories. (i.e., Groceries, Vacations, etc.)

Financial Goal Assessment:

How did you manage your money this year? What do you need to do differently next year?

How did I spend my time?

As you go through your calendar, evaluate how you used your time. Where did you waste time? What can you do in the next year to become better at time management?

What to do with Your Year-End Review

Save it and Print it!

I save a copy on my computer, and a copy online, and I also print out a copy and put it in a folder because I don’t want to lose it.

The Three Letters

As I go through my review, I select the top three most influential people in my life that year and write handwritten letters to them letting them know the impact they’ve had on my life. It’s a way for me to express gratitude and a way to encourage those leaders to keep making a difference.

Year-End Review Dinner

My wife and I both conduct year-end reviews. Once we complete them, I schedule dinner at a nice restaurant. We go out to dinner, and we reflect and share about our year-end reviews and what we learned.

We also take time to talk through the upcoming year and what hopes and dreams we have. It’s always one of the highlights of our marriage each year.

Conclusion

That is my year-end review process. Again, the goal is not for you to copy my process. The goal is for you to create your own. I hope I gave you a good start!

As you conduct your reviews, if you add anything to the process I created, I would love to hear how you do yours. I’m always looking to improve my process! Feel free to send me an email to dougsmith@l3leadership.org. I’d love to hear from you!

The post How To Conduct A Year-End Review appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

If you are reading this and you’ve listened to the podcast, thank you! I hope it’s made an impact on your life.

If you’re not familiar with the podcast, you can check it out here:

• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify
• Subscribe on YouTube

Let’s dive into the lessons that I’ve learned:

How the Podcast Started

When I started my leadership development journey at 18, one of my mentors would bring in leaders from our community and have them speak on leadership. Afterward, he would always tell me, “If you connected with what that leader was saying, you should ask them to grab coffee and ask them to mentor you.” He then gave me an entire process to make the most of mentoring relationships.

I took him up on that advice and started having monthly meetings with leaders. After ten years of meetings with leaders monthly, many of my friends started saying, “I can’t believe you get to spend time with all of those leaders. I wish I could.” To which I’d always respond, “Have you ever asked?” To which they’d respond, “No.”

I saw that as an opportunity and thought, “What if I recorded my conversations with leaders and made them available on a podcast for anyone to listen to?”

I shared the idea with Laura Smith and she bought me a $50 record on Amazon. I asked my father-in-law, Mike Steidel, if I could interview him, and he said yes, and that was the start of the podcast way back in 2012!

I had NO idea that starting the podcast would lead to me meeting and interviewing some of my heroes, creating opportunities to learn from some of the best leaders on the planet every week, and allowing me to influence thousands of leaders worldwide.

If you dream of starting something and putting it into the world, do it! You have no idea what will be on the other side of you stepping out.

You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great. -Zig Ziglar

With Anything that You Start, You Won’t be Very Good in the Beginning

When I first began podcasting, I did not know anything! I did not know how to be a great interviewer, how to edit a podcast or make it sound good, or how to get listeners.

I was ok with that. I was certain that starting the podcast was something I was supposed to do, and I was determined to figure it out and get better over time.

Had I waited until I knew what I know now or until everything was perfect, I would have never started, and I certainly would have never stuck with it.

In anything you’re starting, be willing to be bad and commit to learning and getting better every day. If you do, you’ll be shocked at how far you can go!

Some of my favorite compliments about the podcast are when I have leaders say, “Doug, I love going back and listening to the first hundred episodes of the podcast because it shows me how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown.”

If you don’t start where you are, you will stay where you are.

Always be Improving

No matter what you’re pursuing, make the committment to always be improving. I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my interviewing skills, the content, the podcast production, and how we market the podcast. One of the greatest ways you can improve is by asking for feedback.

One of the greatest ways you can improve something is by asking for feedback.

For example, at the end of every interview, I ask my guests if they have any feedback on how I can get better. Asking that question has led to significant growth moments in my life as a podcaster.

At one point early on, a mentor said to me, “Doug, it seems like you’re so focused on getting to the next question that you’re not really listening to what your guest is saying, and you’re missing opportunities to let your curiosity take the conversation where it could go.”

When I took that feedback to another mentor who interviews people for a living, he said, “Doug, you’re afraid of what your guest thinks of you. You’re insecure. If you’re ever going to be a good interviewer, you have to get over that. “

“Doug, you’re afraid of what your guest thinks of you. You’re insecure. If you’re ever going to be a good interviewer, you have to get over that. “

Those two pieces of feedback changed my life and have helped me become a much better interviewer.

Committ to continual improvement in every area of your life. If you do, you’ll continually improve, as will everything you do.

Be Consistent & Don’t Quit

This article said, “There are currently around 3 to 4 million podcasts out there, according to ListenNotes. According to Amplifi and Podnews, 44% of the podcasts have less than three episodes! Only 720k podcasts have more than ten episodes. They also share that out of those 720k podcasts, only 156k are releasing a weekly episode.”

That blows my mind. Out of 4 million podcasts, only 156,000 are producing weekly episodes consistently.

Consistency and tenacity will set you apart from the competition in any area of your life. If you are going to committ to doing something, be consistent and don’t quit.

If you’re going to committ to doing something, be consistent and don’t quit.

Don’t Worry about the Numbers

The graphic below shows the amount of downloads I’ve had on the podcast over time. You’ll notice that I had very few downloads for years after I started. Over time, my downloads have gone up and down but have continued to grow.

If all I focus on is the numbers, it can be an emotional roller coaster. In fact, when numbers are high, I’m on top of the world. When numbers are low, I want to throw in the towel and quit. Have you been there?

When I’m tempted to measure my worth or the podcast’s success by numbers, I must remind myself why I started the podcast in the first place.

I started the podcast hoping it would help at least one other person on the planet. If another person listens to the podcast and is impacted, that is incredible!

Rather than focusing on the masses, I celebrate the one.

Rather than focusing on how many more people I could reach, I focus on how many people I have reached, and for that, be it 1 or 1,000,000, I’m grateful.

The Greatest Gift Podcasting Has Given Me: Courage and Confidence

I’ve found that when you’re willing to create something and send it out into the world consistently, that takes immense courage.

In the beginning, I struggled with insecurity and asked questions like:

• Who am I to have a leadership podcast?
• Who am I to interview and connect with these people?
• Will anyone actually listen to this?
• Will anyone actually care what I have to offer or say?
• Am I enough?

That said, I chose to show up consistently, even when I was afraid, and to see what would happen.

After producing 400 episodes, my mindset has shifted entirely. I now think:

• Why not me?
• Why couldn’t I have a leadership podcast that adds value to thousands of people?
• Why couldn’t I connect with any leader on the planet?
• I can add massive value to people!
• I can connect with anyone!
• I can’t wait to interview and connect with leaders! When I do, I’m in my sweet spot!

Confidence comes from having the courage to show up and keep showing up, even when you’re afraid.

If you’re thinking about doing something but are afraid to, do it! Do it afraid. Do it insecure. Show up. Keep showing up. The confidence will come over time!

What Keeps Me Going: The Impact It Makes on People’s Lives.

I often have listeners of the show reach out to me and let me know that the podcast has positively impacted their lives, leadership, and family. Whenever I get a message like that, it fuels me and fires me up to keep going! Very few things in life are as fulfilling as making a positive impact on the lives of others.

The Top 3 People I’d Love to Interview:

People often ask me who is left on my bucket list to interview. Here are my top 3 currently:

• Dave Ramsey
• Erwin McManus (This may happen! I’m so excited!)
• Craig Groeschel

What Would Surprise You: What it takes to pull off a weekly show!

A ton of work goes into producing a weekly show:

• Pursuing and scheduling guests!
• Preparing questions for guests
• Creating content for personal lessons
• Editing and publishing each episode for audio and video
• Promoting and marketing each episode

As a result, I want to say thank you to those who make the podcast happen each week:

• Jessica Murphy – Thank you for everything you do behind the scenes to make the podcast successful. You’re such a blessing!

• Andocia Creative Agency – They edit and produce the podcast! William Host , Sarah Westby, and Aaron Higginbotham – Thank you for everything you do for me and L3! You’re helping us make an impact in the lives of thousands of leaders.

Interested in Starting Your Own Podcast?

If you’re interested in learning more about podcasts, in episode #308, I recorded my best advice for creating your own podcast.

How You Can Help Me

• Subscribe, Leave a Rating and Review, and Share the Podcast with Others
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify
• Subscribe on YouTube

Thank You

If you’re listening to this and have invested in me, encouraged me, listened to this podcast, left a review… Thank you. You’ve enabled me to live out one of the dreams of my heart, which is creating content that adds value to people’s lives.

Now, it’s onto 500 episodes! I can’t wait to see who I meet and what I learn along the way! I look forward to taking you along for the ride!

The post Lessons Learned from 400 Episodes of the L3 Leadership Podcast! appeared first on Doug Smith | Speaker.

As I’ve watched people’s reactions, comments, and posts about the situation, it made me sad and angry. I was shocked that people are so quick to tear someone down and celebrate their misfortune. Do people realize that Matt Canada is a human being? He is a son, a husband, and a father.

As a father of two boys, thinking about how it would feel to be Matt’s father, one of his children, or another family member breaks my heart. When did it become so easy to forget the humanness of someone.

You can have your opinions about whether or not he was the right person for the job he had, but let’s not participate in what’s become one of our culture’s favorite things to do: tearing others down.

Lynda Kenny once said, “You don’t rise by tearing others down.” Today, I want to challenge you about judging others, gossiping, and thinking about how you use your platform. Here are my thoughts:

“You don’t rise by tearing someone else down.” -Lynda Kenny

1.) Leadership is Tough.

First, I want to acknowledge that leaders in any organization must make tough decisions. Often, those decisions have to do with dealing with people’s performance. Those decisions will always impact people’s lives, and as a result, they are very hard to make.

Have you ever had to fire someone?

Have you ever dealt with people who have not been performing up to the standard you need them to?

If you have, you know it is the single most challenging thing to deal with in leadership. If you’re a good leader, you likely lose sleep anytime you have to make a decision that’s going to impact someone’s life in a negative way and you should.

Even if you know or believe it’s the right decision if you ever lose that empathy and compassion, you’re headed down the wrong path as a leader.

Decide to be the kind of leader that will go out of your way to help people succeed and ultimately, if that doesn’t work, do everything you can to help make that person’s transition a good one for them.

2.) Why are you posting or commenting?

If you decided to post or comment celebrating Matt Canada getting fired, can I just ask why?

What good in the world can come from you celebrating another person’s misfortune?

Don’t You Have Anything Better to Do?

This is a serious question. Do you think the best use of your time and platform is to use it to criticize and belittle others? Is that the best way to get the attention and engagement you want? If it is, that’s sad.

What if you used that time to do something that will make a difference in someone’s life?

But isn’t that what they signed up for?

You might say, well, Doug, they (professional athletes and coaches) get paid millions of dollars, and criticism is part of their job. It’s what they signed up for.

That may be true (I’d also add that everyone in leadership or doing something significant with their lives will be judged and criticized), but this isn’t about them. It’s about YOU and the kind of person and leader that you want to be.

Do you want to be a leader who is known for judging, gossiping, and criticizing others privately or publicly? I know I don’t!

If you’re willing to post and criticize people that you don’t even know online. I’m more than willing to bet that you gossip and criticize people that you do know in your organization and in your personal life. Stop it!

3.) If You Have a Problem with Someone, Talk to Them!

If you have an issue with someone, you should go to them and talk to them about it. Don’t have access to them (i.e., Matt Canada)? Then you’re probably not close enough to the situation to actually do something about it and you probably should keep your opinions to yourself.

3.) Do you want to be judged and gossiped about?

Have you ever performed poorly in a job before?

Have you ever been fired?

What if your organization or department is not growing or performing as well as it should, and it’s a result of your leadership?

Would you want people posting and commenting about how bad of a leader they think you are? What if everyone in your organization started chanting for you to be fired every day? How do you think that would feel?

Jesus once said, “Judge not, lest YOU be judged.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be judged, so I will do my best not to judge others.

4.) Have Empathy for People.

What if that was your brother, sister, mother, father, daughter, or son who was let go, and millions of people were celebrating it? Would you be talking about them the way you talk about Matt or anyone else that you judge, for that matter?

The more empathy we can have for others in our leadership, the better leaders we will be.

5.)God Wears Your Jersey When No One Else Will.

Years ago, one of my pastors taught a message called, “God wears your jersey when no one else will.” It was incredible. The main message was that even if the entire world is against you, God is still cheering for you.

In other words, while the world is celebrating Matt Canada losing his job, God is cheering Matt Canada on to his next opportunity.

That’s the kind of leader I want to be.

My prayer for Matt Canada is that he doesn’t define himself from this season of his life. I pray that he learns the lessons that can be learned from this experience and that he will move on to a new season in his life that will be better than any other season he’s experienced so far.

6.) People are Watching You, Leader.

In summary, the main reason I felt compelled to write this post is to challenge all of us (myself included) to become more aware of how often we judge others, gossip, and celebrate the downfall of others, rather than love people, have empathy, and have hard conversations.

As a leader, people are watching you. When you post and comment celebrating the downfall of others, you probably don’t realize it, but you’re losing trust and influence with others. Please stop.

If we’d all commit to judging others less, to stop gossiping, to have more empathy, and to have hard conversations when we need to have them, I believe the world would be a better place.

Go make a difference today!

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