December 2, 2025 ⢠30 mins
In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith delivers a reflective, practical lesson on leadership gifts worth sharingâespecially when life gets busy. Using the backdrop of the holiday season, Doug unpacks a curated gift guide through the lens of leadership, family, personal growth, and mindful presence. He reminds leaders that tools, systems, and intentional habits donât replace the work of leadershipâthey strengthen the person doing it.
00:00 Introduction & Dougâs return to personal lessons
01:00 Why sharing resources creates lasting leadership impact
02:15 The finish line thinking that shapes character first
04:45 Finance tools leaders rely on now
07:30 Family routines and training kids in stewardship
09:50 Being present and blocking distractions
14:20 Tech that supports productivity without clutter
18:40 Kitchen tools that encourage hospitality at home
21:10 Learning through business biography, faith, and leadership books
25:35 Expanding impact by inviting the right people into your goals
27:48 Dougâs encouragement to leaders heading into the holidays
29:05 Quote on generosity and finishing well
Key Takeaways
- Leadership starts with character, systems just support the leader.
- Intentional family habits build leadership muscle long before adulthood.
- Presence is not passiveâit requires guarding focus.
- Small tools that reduce friction protect mental bandwidth for what matters.
- Investing in durable resources creates compounding value over years, not months.
- Leaders grow bigger by asking who, not just how.
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"Give generouslyâeven with your ideas. Inspiration is one of the easiest gifts to share and the longest to remember."
Leaders donât quit. Keep leading. The world desperately needs your leadership.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Doug Smith (00:00):
Hey leader and welcome to another episode of
the L3 Leadership Podcast wherewe are obsessed with helping you
grow to your maximum potentialand to maximize the impact of
your leadership.
My name is Doug Smith and I amyour host, and we recorded this
episode live from our BurgoRealty Studios.
Today you're going to hear meshare my annual holiday gift
guide where I'll walk youthrough a list of all of my
favorite things that I thinkwould make great gifts for
yourself, but also for yourfriends and family.
(00:22):
I think all of these thingswill add massive value to your
life.
And so I'm so excited to sharethem with you.
Again, really important.
There will be a link in theshow notes that you can go to,
and it'll take you to a postthat I wrote with links to every
single item that I discussed.
So if you're interested in anyof them, make sure that you
check that out.
And with that being said, let'sdive right in.
Here's my 2025 holiday gift.
What's up, everyone, andwelcome to another episode of
(00:48):
the L3 Leadership Podcast.
It is great to be with you.
It's been a few months, and Iapologize for that, but my phone
got really, really busy and Iwas unable to uh sustain my
consistent podcasting.
And so I'm back and I'm hopingto be back in the rhythm and
groove going into 2026, whereI'll be back with you as
consistently as possible.
And so it's the week beforeThanksgiving as I'm recording
(01:09):
this, and I thought, let's havesome fun in the first episode
that I have back in a while.
And so I'm gonna actually besharing with you my holiday gift
guide for 2025.
This is something I startedlast year, and it's basically me
just sharing my favoriteproducts with people that have
added value to my life that youcan use for gifts for those you
love or for yourself if you wantto.
And uh every time I sharethese, I get a ton of feedback
(01:30):
of oh, that was so helpful, andit gave me all kinds of ideas,
and this added so much value tomy life.
And so I just thought I'm gonnado this every single year.
I'm gonna be sharing a lot ofdifferent products, and so
there's a link in the show notesthat'll take you to my Substack
page and the actual article Iwrote on this.
And literally, there's links toevery product that I'm gonna
mention in this.
So you can just go there againin the show notes, click it, and
(01:51):
find anything that I discuss.
So, with that being said, let'sdive right in.
Here are some of my favoriteproducts in 2025.
And again, these are in noparticular order, and I'll
basically name a category andthen name the products within
the category and then move on toanother category.
So I started with finance andjust one product under finance
here, and it's called Copilot.
Copilot is an online softwareand an app that basically allows
(02:14):
you to track all of yourfinances in one place.
So uh your daily transactions,your investments, uh everything
like that.
And so some people in the pasthave used Mint.com and that went
away.
So many, many people have goneto Copilot.
I've been using it for about ayear now.
I look at it literally everysingle day and just love it.
It's super easy.
It has AI built into it.
So even tracking and trackingthe categories of your expenses
(02:38):
is super, super easy.
So if you need a system forlooking at your overall
financial picture and gettinginto the minute details of that,
Copilot is for you.
The next category, which couldbe under finance, is credit
cards.
Now, again, I'll always saythis because I am a huge Dave
Ramsey fan and for a long time Ihad no credit cards.
Um, but I Lauren, I felt like,you know, I basically saw an
(02:58):
Instagram story once of someonethat I admire and respect.
And he said, if if you can usecredit cards responsibly and you
aren't using them, you'rebasically missing out on a three
to six percent return on all ofyour spending.
And I thought, that soundspretty good.
So started doing a bunch ofresearch.
I've spent a ton of time onthis and basically picked the
best cards that work for me.
So I just wanted to share thosewith you.
Again, if you can't use creditcards um appropriately, then I
(03:22):
would tell you not to use themat all.
But if you can, here are a fewthat I would recommend.
Number one is uh AmericanExpress Platinum Card.
If you travel a lot, this canbe worth it.
Now, my wife has a job whereshe travels quite a bit, and so
that's what makes this cardworth it.
It does come with, I think it'sa $750 annual fee, which is one
of the steepest in the market.
(03:42):
Uh, so again, the real perkhere is when you use this card,
if you use it for travel, youget 5x points uh with Amex.
If you book through Amex travelor directly through um an
actual flight service.
And so uh if you travel a lot,it's worth it.
If not, all the other spendingis basically just 1x points.
So this is basically a luxuryuh card.
(04:03):
It does have a ton of benefits.
One of my favorite benefits,again, if you travel a lot, is
you can get into the AmericanExpress lounges, uh, which are
in several airports throughoutthe US and the world, and
they're absolutely awesome.
I didn't know clubs existedbefore this.
And you know, you go in andit's basically like you go in a
door that you wouldn't even knowthat was there if you didn't
know the clubs existed.
And it's just a whole otheruniverse.
(04:24):
And basically there's freemeals, uh, it's an awesome place
to hang out.
They have showers.
It's crazy.
And so if you've neverexperienced that and you travel
a lot, highly encourage you toget the Amex Platinum card.
If you don't travel a lot, Iwould tell you, do not get this
card, it's not worth it.
Second card we use is the AAmerican Express Gold card.
If you have a family like I doand you go out to eat a lot,
this card is absolutely worthit.
(04:45):
I think the annual fee on thisis like $250 to $350, somewhere
in there.
But you get 4x points onrestaurants and groceries, which
is basically all of ourspending.
And so I get a ton of pointsfor this, which we ultimately
redeem for most of our travel.
And so, you know, we have fivekids.
So this ends up paying for alot of times airfare for our
kids uh during travel or hotelstays at great places.
(05:08):
And that's really why we useour credit card.
So the goal card is great ifyou spend a lot on restaurants
and groceries.
And then for all of our otherspending, we basically use Wells
Fargo 2% cash back card.
Again, this is pretty standardand basic, just you get 2% cash
back on all of your spending.
And so usually this equates toyou know a thousand or two
thousand dollars for us at theend of the year.
(05:29):
That's really, really nice tobe able to put towards Christmas
or something like that.
So Wells Fargo, 2% cash back.
And then the other honorable uhmention that I would say is
American Express Blue CashPreferred.
Uh, this is another umalternative to the gold card.
So in this card, you actuallyget 6% cash back uh for on
groceries for up to $6,000 ayear spent.
(05:51):
So again, it's a good way.
I think there's an A fee oflike $90, but it's a good way to
get a pretty good return andhave some cash at the end of the
year to throw towards Christmasor whatever.
So those are the credit cardswe use.
Uh again, if you use the linksuh that I provided, you get some
bonus points as well in thereuh in the Substack article.
So make sure you check thatout.
So that's credit cards.
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Doug Smith (07:12):
Next section is family, which is my number one
passion.
Lots of fun things here.
Number one is Greenlight.
So Greenlight is an app that weuse to teach our kids how to
use money.
So this is basically an appthat when our kids, and I'm not
going to go through our systemfor paying them, but when they
get paid, you everything'selectronic and they get debit
cards.
And so we can actually transferfunds to each of their
(07:32):
accounts, each individual kid.
Each individual kid has debitcards, and you could separate
their accounts into giving,saving, spending, and even
investment accounts you can haveon here for your kids.
And there's lots of lessonsthat they have on there.
There's so many ways to usethis, but uh we actually allow
our kids to pay themselves in asense of their entering in how
much money is gettingtransferred, and we make them uh
(07:54):
give 10% to give, and we makethem put away 20% to invest.
And so they're doing that on aregular basis, and they're all
under nine years old, andthey're already learning how to
spend money and how to save forthings.
Greenlight has been a gamechanger.
Again, you can use a link toget some cash back uh if you
sign up for it in the articlewith the link in the show notes.
So that's Greenlight, highlyrecommended for teaching your
(08:16):
kids money habits.
Number two on our family is theSkylight Calendar.
This is a new product that wegot introduced to this year.
And basically, it's a portable,I would say, photo frame, uh,
either that can sit on yourcounter or hang on your wall.
We got the one that hangs onyour wall, and basically this
says everything you can imaginethat you would need for your
family planning.
(08:36):
So it has a shared calendar, ithas shared lists that you can
create, it has chore charts forall of the kids on there.
Uh, it has ways to import uhevents that will go on your
calendar.
Um, it has a photo picture, ithas photos in it, so you can
also turn it into a pictureframe in your home.
So uh very, very functional.
If you're you if you'llactually use it, I think it's
(08:57):
very, very nice to have.
If you won't use all thefunctionality, then I wouldn't
encourage you to get it.
But Skylight Calendar, checkthat out.
It's a great way to keep yourfamily organized.
Number three under family isthe brick.
Uh, the brick is a littledevice.
Uh, I actually do have one inmy pocket.
If you're watching online, hereit is.
It's just a little brick.
And this is a device that youcan basically choose uh a list
(09:19):
of apps on your phone to block.
And when your phone scans thisdevice, it'll block all of those
apps and won't allow you tohave access to them until you
scan that device again.
So this has been huge.
I I can't oversell this.
This has been a game changerfor me when it comes to staying
focused and being present withmy kids or really in any
situation.
And so um, I've used to findmyself mindlessly scrolling and
(09:43):
I just couldn't help it.
Like I didn't even know I wasdoing it.
You just go for that dopaminehit.
But having a brick has helpedme to alleviate all distractions
from me basically not evenneeding to go on my phone.
And so it's been a gamechanger.
Um, highly, highly recommended.
The brick.
Uh, number four is The WeekJunior.
This is a magazine wesubscribed to maybe a year or
(10:03):
two ago uh for our oldestdaughter, and now our second
oldest is getting into it aswell.
But it's a magazine for kidsthat you get weekly that
basically updates them oneverything going on in the
world.
Uh, and there's an adultversion of this too that Laura
and I subscribe to.
So again, really encourage youto check it out.
But it's been awesome to gothrough this with our oldest
daughter and actually talk aboutworld events and things that
are happening uh all over theplace and in all areas of life.
(10:26):
It's been really, reallyhelpful and it gives them a
bigger picture of the world.
So the week junior is what it'scalled.
And then lastly, I alwayspromote Family Teams.
FamilyTeams.org is a ministrythat we follow that helps equips
and equips families.
And basically, the way Lauraand I lead our family is
basically the way that FamilyTeams teaches you to lead your
family.
(10:46):
So they have podcasts, theyhave all kinds of resources,
they have coaching, trainingavailable.
Really encourage you to getconnected with that community if
you're looking for a moreintentional way to lead your
family.
That's gonna cover the familycategory.
Next, we'll go into clothingand comfort, uh, which I am I'm
not a big clothes guy.
I'm not good at styling oranything like that.
But Lara got me a few pieces ofclothing from Vury.
(11:09):
Uh I think that's how you sayit.
V-U-O-R-I, and they're awesome.
Like everything I own that isby them is incredible.
So check them out.
Very, very comfortable.
Great dress pants, etc.
Uh, and then two, on comfort,cozy earth blankets.
Cozy earth blankets.
Lara wanted a blanket lastyear, and I actually found
another holiday gift guide thatI heard about these blankets.
(11:32):
And uh, we actually, thisblanket we got is the heaviest
blanket I've ever uh experiencedin my life, but it's the
softest and most cuddliest,comforting uh blanket that you
can imagine.
And so we call it the GreatFur.
Highly recommend it.
You can check that out in theclothing and comfort section in
the article.
Next up is games.
So I'm always looking for moregames to play with a family or
(11:53):
individually.
So here are a few of ourfavorites.
Uh, one is called Escape theCrate.
So Escape the Crate isbasically a subscription box, or
you can just buy an individualone, but it's basically an
escape room in a box.
So this has been great forLaura and I to have date nights.
And so basically, you open thebox, it has all kinds of things
that you have to go through, andyou basically use a QR code and
you go through this guidedexperience uh on your phone, but
(12:17):
all of the puzzles are in thebox, and so you have to work
through puzzles and escape.
And uh, it's a ton of fun.
You can do it with friends.
Um, however, I found like thesweet spot for doing it is
usually two people.
You could probably get awaywith three or four, but any more
than that, um, it's probablytoo many people.
So it's a great thing forhusbands and wives, escape the
crate.
Next is the New York TimesGames app.
(12:37):
Uh, I love this, it has tons ofgames like uh Wordle.
Laura and I do Wordle everysingle day, which I love.
It has many crosswords, the NewYork Times crosswords.
Uh it's just a bunch of fungames that you can just hop on
daily that to kind of helpexercise your mind.
So, New York Times Games app.
Next is Monopoly Deal.
This is a card game that isbasically a really quick version
(12:58):
of playing Monopoly.
Uh, you can usually finisharound in like 10 to 20 minutes.
So that's been a lot of fun ina way that you don't have to sit
around for an entire hour for agame, um, but you can just work
through relatively quickly.
Monopoly deal.
And then lastly, Ticket toRide.
Uh, I ask people all the timewhat games we should get, and
Ticket to Ride came up like ahundred times when I asked
people.
And so we got it.
And I could say that everyonewas right.
(13:20):
It's an incredible game, a lotof fun, a lot of strategy behind
it, and highly encourage you toget that.
So, those are some games.
If you're looking for somethingfun to do with your family and
friends, check those out.
Next section is health andfitness.
So I did an entire post onthis, but function health blood
work.
Function health blood work.
So uh Dr.
(13:40):
Mark Hyman is the one thatcreated this, and basically it's
a blood test that goes really,really into depth with function
health.
And you get two blood tests ayear for this.
And basically, you get twotests with over 100 biomarkers
tested in the first test, andthen halfway through the year,
you test about 60 biomarkers tosee what kind of progress that
you made.
And this was really, reallyeye-opening to me without going
(14:03):
to for me, uh, without goinginto a ton of details.
It may, it caused me to makesignificant, significant changes
in my health, in my nutrition,in my diet, uh, that could
potentially save my life in thelong run.
And so, really, really gratefulfor this.
Uh, I actually included a linkin the show notes to the article
I wrote if you want to readmore about it, but I really
think everyone should shouldhave this on an annual basis
(14:26):
just to have the data that youneed on your health.
Can't recommend that enough.
Next is the Bevel app.
If you have an Apple Watch,this is a must.
It's specifically only forApple users, but if you've ever
heard of like a whoop or an Auraring, it basically does the
exact same thing they do, uh,only with those with Apple
(14:46):
Watches.
So if you have an Apple Watchand want more data on your
health, this is the only appthat you'll need.
It literally gives you all thedata you could ever possibly
want on your health and fitness.
Um, really check that out.
Bevel app uh in the app store.
Next is the Yuka app, you I'msorry, Y U K A app.
And this is an app that I usethat'll scan your food and your
(15:08):
hygiene products and basicallytell you if it's healthy or not.
It'll rate it on a scale of oneto a hundred, and it'll also
provide substitutes for you.
So this has been super helpful.
Uh there's times where you knowI'm thinking of these crackers
that I like, Mary's gonecrackers, and I thought they
were pretty healthy.
I scanned them and they werelike a 40 out of 100.
But it was beautiful, itprovided like 20 options of
(15:28):
things that they graded, like 80out of 100 that are chips and
crackers that are just as good,but um, they're they're
healthier for you.
So um, you could app, checkthat out.
It's super helpful.
My FitnessPal, I've been usingthis for years.
If you need a great caloriecounter and where you actually
track your meals, MyFitnessPalis definitely the way to go.
Check that out.
Next is ChatGBT.
(15:50):
Uh, this is huge.
I basically use AI to be acoach for me in every area of my
life, whether that's work, uh,executive leadership, uh, and my
health.
And it's been super helpful formy health as I'm talking about
it.
Just basically telling it theresults of my blood work and
everything going on in my life.
It's been a great coach that'sdialed in and really helped me
focus on my health andnutrition.
So, just more than anything,try to think like how could
(16:12):
ChatGBT and AI help me with myhealth journey?
And when you start playingaround with that, I think you'll
be surprised at how much itcan.
Next is Beach Body workoutprograms.
I've been using Beach Body andnow it's called Body Workouts
for over 20 years now, which iscrazy.
But they're the creators ofP90X, Body Beast, uh, Dig
Deeper.
They have all kinds of programsthat I love, but basically
(16:33):
those are my go-to liftingworkouts on a daily basis.
And then the next one would bePeloton.
Laura and I got a Pelotonprobably four or five years ago.
Love it, use it all the time.
Um, not only can you ride it asa bike, they have a rower, they
have a treadmill, they havestrength classes, they have yoga
classes.
Uh, really, if you if you likeworking out from home, you
should get a Peloton.
It's super, super awesome.
(16:53):
And then lastly, in the healthand fitness area, power block
dumbbells.
Um, I'm sure you've seen theseonline, but they're basically
just dumbbells that I have twosets.
One go from 10 to 50 pounds,the other go from 10 to 90.
So I have two sets ofdumbbells.
Literally, it's just fourdumbbells total.
Doesn't take up a lot of space,but has all the weight I could
possibly need, and they'readjustable.
(17:14):
So I've been using those forprobably 15 years, and they're
the same dumbbells.
So it's a little bit of aninvestment on the front end, but
they'll last you forever.
So highly recommend power blockdumbbells.
Kids, I just put NintendoSwitch.
We got this two Christmases agoand we love it.
I know Switch 2 is out now, butI'm a huge fan.
A lot of fun games forfamilies, uh, especially if you
(17:36):
have young kids.
Get a Nintendo Switch.
All right, next section sectionis kitchen food and drink.
Lots of things here.
The Paprika app, I've beenselling this for the past two
years, I've been using it.
But basically, this is an appwhere you can collect all of
your recipes that you have,whether you got online, et
cetera, you can put them all inone place.
(17:56):
And what I love about this isthe way it collects recipes
online is if you find a greatrecipe uh on Safari or whatever
browser you're using, you canbasically just copy the URL and
then paste it into Paprika.
And if you've ever seen recipesonline, it has ads, it has tons
of text.
It takes all of that out and itputs it all in one place in a
really easy way to digestformat.
(18:17):
And so it basically says, hey,here's the ingredients and
here's what to do.
That's it.
And then uh you can actuallyexport the shopping list or the
grocery list uh based on theitems that are needed for the
recipe.
Makes it super, super easy togrocery shop.
Uh and again, you cancategorize everything so you can
say, hey, what recipes do Ihave?
What soup recipes do I have?
(18:38):
Um, what chicken recipes do Ihave?
And it makes it real easy justto find and meal plan that way.
So precap, if you don't have agood meal planning app, can't
recommend that enough.
Number two is the Nutribullet.
We've been using this foryears, but yeah, if you like to
make smoothies, NutraBullet'sthe way to go.
I won't say much more aboutthat.
Uh, Jura Coffee Machines.
This is huge.
So unfortunately, I don't drinkcoffee or tea anymore, which
(19:00):
kills me.
But I used to drink like agallon of coffee a day.
And I literally I'd go toStarbucks.
I think I was averaging 1,500 ayear, 1500 years, $1,500 a year
at Starbucks that I wasspending.
And eventually, you know, I'dbuy all these coffee makers, but
I just felt like they weren'tgreat and they'd break within a
year and just not really producegreat quality coffee.
And someone introduced me tothe Jura, and they're a little
(19:23):
pricey, but we ended up buyingone and probably the best
investment as far as coffee andtea is concerned that we've ever
made.
Uh, we've had our Jura now forprobably five years, and it's
it's easily paid for itself.
But fantastic coffee, supereasy, it's fancy, great way to
host.
So can't recommend Jura'senough.
You can check them out again inthe link below.
Uh, next, all clad 10-piecestainless steel set.
(19:46):
So I mentioned this in anearlier podcast, but we replaced
all of our pots and pans thisyear, and we replaced them with
all-clad uh the 10-piecestainless steel kit.
It's been phenomenal.
Uh, when I shared this postearlier, I had a coworker reach
out to me and he said, I boughtmy all-clad stainless steel kit
in like 1979, and it's stillgoing strong.
So, lifetime warranty.
These will serve you forever.
(20:07):
Um, so just make sure you havegreat quality pans and pots in
your house, and stainless steelby Alclad is the way to go.
And then lastly, I don't evenknow if I'll say this right, but
Woostoff 11-piece knife set.
Um, you know, I have tons offriends who cook all the time,
and they're like, man, the rightknife really makes a
difference.
And for me, I would just laughat be like, really?
Like, knives are just knives,they cut through stuff.
(20:28):
But uh, Laura and I decided toget a nice set of knives earlier
this year.
And when I got them, I realizedthat my friends are right.
Uh, it really does make adifference.
These things slice throughthings like butter, as they say.
And so really recommend them ifyou're looking for a good knife
set.
Woo staff is a great brand.
So those are my kitchen foodand drink uh recommendations.
Next, I'll go into personaltech.
(20:50):
Uh, first is a Moffed Sat uhMagSafe wallet.
And this is basically just awallet.
Again, I have it on my iPhoneuh right here, but it's
basically uh it fits right ontothe back of your iPhone.
It'll fit three credit cards ata time, uh, and it'll actually
create a stand where you can setuh your iPhone upright.
So it's really, really nice,super cheap, but I've loved
(21:10):
having it and made it superconvenient rather than carrying
a wallet around in my backpocket.
Next is Aura picture frames.
So these are awesome.
They're digital picture frames,and they make it super easy to
upload pictures.
The quality of them isfantastic.
Uh, we have ours right in ourkitchen, and so again, seeing
the pictures of all the memorieswe've made as a family together
(21:32):
every day when we spend a tonof time in the kitchen has been
uh has brought so much joy tous.
We'll oftentimes look at it andsay, Wow, do you remember that?
And we'll just laugh about it.
Uh, we've also used these asgifts.
I got one for my father-in-lawand my dad.
My dad is so funny.
He's a guy that like doesn'twant presents at all, usually
wants to return whateverpresents people get him.
But this was the first time,literally the first gift I ever
(21:53):
gave him, probably in 40 yearsof living, that he actually
said, like, this was a greatgift.
And so if you're looking for agreat uh gift for loved ones or
picture frames, check them out.
Next is Sonos speakers.
Um, when we bought the housethat we're in, the previous
owners had speakers allthroughout the house that
sounded unbelievable and theywere all in sync playing the
same thing.
(22:14):
And basically I was like, whatsystem is that?
And they're like Sonos, they'resuper awesome.
You plug them in and they'resuper easy to sync.
So we invested in a Sonosspeaker system for our house,
and we absolutely love it.
So if you're looking for aspeaker system, check out Sonos.
Next is OnePassword.
So this is just uh an app thatI use on my browser called
OnePassword, which basicallydoes what it sounds like.
(22:36):
It takes all of your passwordsand just saves them in one
place.
So when you're going to log into email or whatever you're
logging into, you don't have toremember your password.
You can just pull it up and putit in, and it's so nice.
It probably saves me hours andhours and hours of being
frustrated that I don't knowwhat my password is.
That's one password.
Next is the remarkable.
Um, if you're watching this, Ihave it here, but this is a
(22:58):
remarkable pro.
It's basically a pad that youcan write in uh that's supposed
to replace pen and paper, uh,but also not be an iPad.
So it feels like pen and paperwhen you're writing on it.
You can erase it.
Uh you could journal.
I use this for everything.
I use it every single day.
And why I love that it's not aniPad.
There's no apps on it, there'snothing to distract you.
(23:18):
It's just writing.
So I use this for my journal.
I use this for my dailyproductivity.
I use this for um you could putPDFs on it and actually write
on the PDFs and take notes.
So I use it for a billiondifferent things.
Really encourage you to checkit out.
Uh, it's a remarkable.
Usually when I'm out withpeople and I'm taking notes,
they say, What is that?
And then I sell them.
I probably have sold over 50remarkables.
I should become uh an owner inthe company.
(23:40):
Anyway, next five-minutejournal app.
I promote this every year, butLaura and I've been using this
for nine years now.
It's just a really quick app onour phone where in the morning
it basically just prompts youwhat are you grateful for?
And you know, what does whatdoes a win look like today?
And at the end of the day, youbasically say, like, hey, what
was great about today?
What did I learn?
And you can put a picture ofthe day highlight.
(24:02):
So every day for the past nineyears, I have a picture of the
day, and I can go back at anyday and say what I did and what
I learned.
And it's just a great app, andit really doesn't take a lot of
time to journal.
So really encourage you tocheck that out.
And then I put Grammarly.
Grammarly is just an app thatbasically helps you with your
grammar, which I desperatelyneed uh online.
So when you're typing andstuff, it'll just automatically
(24:24):
create auto corrections, etc.
I use it every day and makemillions of adjustments uh and
corrections every single year.
So Grammarly, check that out.
The next section is learning inbooks, and this is actually the
last section.
So uh obviously I read a lot,so I just want to share some of
my favorite books in the pastyear or two.
Uh and one resource that I'dreally recommend, even before
(24:47):
that, is Audible.
Uh, I don't always listen toAudible books.
I actually like reading more,but occasionally there's an
Audible book or two that I justlove.
I love the narrator, love theway it sounds.
So, one of those books for me,so side note, get an Audible um
subscription if you don't haveone.
But one of the books that Ilove listening to on Audible was
The Ride of a Lifetime by BobIger.
(25:07):
He's the CEO of Disney.
It's his story of how hestarted with ABC and basically
worked his way up to being theCEO of Disney to acquiring uh
Pixar and Star Wars and umMarvel.
It's just it's it's the bestbusiness biography that I've
ever read.
Like unbelievable.
I was on the edge of my seat,like every second thinking,
(25:28):
like, man, what's he gonna do?
Or how did he do that?
And just such greatstorytelling.
So again, if you likeleadership business, check it
out.
The ride of a lifetime.
Second book I'd recommend isExperience Jesus, comma.
Really.
Experience Jesus, really.
This is a book by JohnEldridge, who I've come to love.
Uh, it was probably the mosttransformative book of the year
(25:49):
for Laura and I.
Made a really, really bigimpact on us.
So if you're looking to grow inyour walk with God, can't
recommend that book enough.
And then another book by JohnEldridge that I read this year
that was life-changing wascalled Fathered by God.
I truly do believe that everyman on the planet needs to read
this book.
It basically walks you throughthe stages of manhood.
I think there's six stages inthe book, and uh it just spoke
(26:11):
to me so many different timesfor so many different reasons.
So, again, if you're a manlistening to this or have young
men in your life, get them thisbook, Fathered by God by John
Eldridge.
Uh, next is Die With Zero.
So by Bill Perkins.
Uh, I read this book everyyear, and it's just a great
reminder to live in the moment.
And basically the whole premiseof the book is um yes, you need
(26:33):
money to save for retirement,but you also should be spending
your money now on experiencesthat that you'll live off of in
retirement.
Because when you're 70, you'reprobably not going to want to
climb Mount Everest.
But when you're 40, youprobably could and would want
to.
And so climb Mount Everest nowso you have that memory to live
off of when you're 70.
And so, really, really goodbook.
(26:54):
I'd highly recommend and makeit required reading for every
year.
Next is 10x is easier than 2xby Dan Sullivan and Benjamin
Hardy.
Uh, again, the whole promise isthe premise is just to get you
to think bigger.
So, you know, most peoplethink, oh, okay, I want to
double my revenue or I want todouble my income, I want to
double whatever.
And he said, No, no, no, stopthinking like that.
Instead of thinking, how am Igoing to double something, think
(27:15):
how am I going to 10x this?
Because if you think, how am Igoing to make this 10x bigger?
How can I make 10x the incomethat I make?
It forces you to think at ahigher level and be more
creative about solutions.
So 10x is easier than 2x,phenomenal read.
Another book by Dan Sullivanand Benjamin that I'd recommend
is called Who, Not How.
Again, really simple concept,but life-changing.
(27:37):
He basically just said, if youhave find that you have goals
and you keep not uh you're notable to consistently achieve
them, you're probably saying,Well, like, how can what else
can I do?
How can I achieve this?
And he said, Don't ask how.
The question you should beasking is who.
You basically need to come tothe conclusion that you're not
going to be able to achieve thisgoal uh by yourself.
(27:58):
You're going to need the helpof someone else.
So, who, what expertise do youneed to bring around you to help
you complete that?
So, who not how, really, reallygood book.
And then lastly, uh Traction byGino Wickman.
This book and really the EOS,which is stands for
entrepreneurial operatingsystem, transformed my life as
well as our organization.
(28:19):
And uh, if you help run anorganization or would like to,
really encourage you to readthis book.
It kind of gives you a roadmapfor how to run an organization
well and actually gives you anoperating system for how to do
that.
And then the last resource Iput in learning is just the L3D
Leadership Podcast.
Again, I'm really lookingforward to 2026.
I plan on doing a lot morepersonal lessons.
(28:39):
I'm still gonna be doinginterviews, but I've gotten
enough feedback of peoplesaying, like, hey, everyone does
interviews.
We actually like your personallessons sometimes more than your
interviews.
And so we'd love to hear fromyou more, Doug.
And so I'm gonna try to be moreconsistent in doing personal
lessons to add value to yourlife.
But there it is, my holidaygift guide, 2025.
I hope that you enjoyed it.
I hope that you find a fewproducts that will add value to
(29:01):
your life and add value to yourloved ones' lives as well.
Uh, and hey, I'm always lookingfor more things to add to my
list.
So if there's a gadget, a game,something techie that you love,
and you're saying, Doug, if youdon't know about this, you need
to, please, please, please, youknow, leave a comment, hit me
up on social media.
I would love to add thosethings to my list and check them
out.
So thanks for listening andlooking forward to being with
(29:22):
you next episode.
Hey leader, thank you so muchfor listening to me share my
holiday gift guide.
I hope that you found somegifts for yourself as well as
some of your friends and familyover the holiday season.
More than anything, I hope itadded value to your life.
So, again, if you wanted toaccess any of the links to
anything that I talked about,there's a link in the show notes
that'll take you to a Substackarticle that I wrote that has
the links to every single giftthat I discussed.
(29:43):
So I hope that'll help.
As always, I want to thank oursponsor, Endosha Marketing
Solutions.
They are the producers of thispodcast.
And if your organization needsmarketing expertise, I
wholeheartedly recommend theirservices.
You can visit them atendosha.com.
That's a n d o c ia.com.
And as always, I like to endevery episode with a quote, and
today I'll share a quote ongiving generously.
(30:03):
It says this it says, givegenerously, even with your
ideas.
Inspiration is one of theeasiest gifts to share.
And I hope that you wereinspired by this episode, but
all of the episodes that we'veoffered as well.
So that's gonna wrap up today'sepisode.
As always, remember, leaders,don't quit.
Keep leading.
The world desperately needsyour leadership.
Until next time, have a greatday.
Hey leader and welcome to another episode of
the L3 Leadership Podcast wherewe are obsessed with helping you
grow to your maximum potentialand to maximize the impact of
your leadership.
My name is Doug Smith and I amyour host, and we recorded this
episode live from our BurgoRealty Studios.
Today you're going to hear meshare my annual holiday gift
guide where I'll walk youthrough a list of all of my
favorite things that I thinkwould make great gifts for
yourself, but also for yourfriends and family.
(00:22):
I think all of these thingswill add massive value to your
life.
And so I'm so excited to sharethem with you.
Again, really important.
There will be a link in theshow notes that you can go to,
and it'll take you to a postthat I wrote with links to every
single item that I discussed.
So if you're interested in anyof them, make sure that you
check that out.
And with that being said, let'sdive right in.
Here's my 2025 holiday gift.
What's up, everyone, andwelcome to another episode of
(00:48):
the L3 Leadership Podcast.
It is great to be with you.
It's been a few months, and Iapologize for that, but my phone
got really, really busy and Iwas unable to uh sustain my
consistent podcasting.
And so I'm back and I'm hopingto be back in the rhythm and
groove going into 2026, whereI'll be back with you as
consistently as possible.
And so it's the week beforeThanksgiving as I'm recording
(01:09):
this, and I thought, let's havesome fun in the first episode
that I have back in a while.
And so I'm gonna actually besharing with you my holiday gift
guide for 2025.
This is something I startedlast year, and it's basically me
just sharing my favoriteproducts with people that have
added value to my life that youcan use for gifts for those you
love or for yourself if you wantto.
And uh every time I sharethese, I get a ton of feedback
(01:30):
of oh, that was so helpful, andit gave me all kinds of ideas,
and this added so much value tomy life.
And so I just thought I'm gonnado this every single year.
I'm gonna be sharing a lot ofdifferent products, and so
there's a link in the show notesthat'll take you to my Substack
page and the actual article Iwrote on this.
And literally, there's links toevery product that I'm gonna
mention in this.
So you can just go there againin the show notes, click it, and
(01:51):
find anything that I discuss.
So, with that being said, let'sdive right in.
Here are some of my favoriteproducts in 2025.
And again, these are in noparticular order, and I'll
basically name a category andthen name the products within
the category and then move on toanother category.
So I started with finance andjust one product under finance
here, and it's called Copilot.
Copilot is an online softwareand an app that basically allows
(02:14):
you to track all of yourfinances in one place.
So uh your daily transactions,your investments, uh everything
like that.
And so some people in the pasthave used Mint.com and that went
away.
So many, many people have goneto Copilot.
I've been using it for about ayear now.
I look at it literally everysingle day and just love it.
It's super easy.
It has AI built into it.
So even tracking and trackingthe categories of your expenses
(02:38):
is super, super easy.
So if you need a system forlooking at your overall
financial picture and gettinginto the minute details of that,
Copilot is for you.
The next category, which couldbe under finance, is credit
cards.
Now, again, I'll always saythis because I am a huge Dave
Ramsey fan and for a long time Ihad no credit cards.
Um, but I Lauren, I felt like,you know, I basically saw an
(02:58):
Instagram story once of someonethat I admire and respect.
And he said, if if you can usecredit cards responsibly and you
aren't using them, you'rebasically missing out on a three
to six percent return on all ofyour spending.
And I thought, that soundspretty good.
So started doing a bunch ofresearch.
I've spent a ton of time onthis and basically picked the
best cards that work for me.
So I just wanted to share thosewith you.
Again, if you can't use creditcards um appropriately, then I
(03:22):
would tell you not to use themat all.
But if you can, here are a fewthat I would recommend.
Number one is uh AmericanExpress Platinum Card.
If you travel a lot, this canbe worth it.
Now, my wife has a job whereshe travels quite a bit, and so
that's what makes this cardworth it.
It does come with, I think it'sa $750 annual fee, which is one
of the steepest in the market.
(03:42):
Uh, so again, the real perkhere is when you use this card,
if you use it for travel, youget 5x points uh with Amex.
If you book through Amex travelor directly through um an
actual flight service.
And so uh if you travel a lot,it's worth it.
If not, all the other spendingis basically just 1x points.
So this is basically a luxuryuh card.
(04:03):
It does have a ton of benefits.
One of my favorite benefits,again, if you travel a lot, is
you can get into the AmericanExpress lounges, uh, which are
in several airports throughoutthe US and the world, and
they're absolutely awesome.
I didn't know clubs existedbefore this.
And you know, you go in andit's basically like you go in a
door that you wouldn't even knowthat was there if you didn't
know the clubs existed.
And it's just a whole otheruniverse.
(04:24):
And basically there's freemeals, uh, it's an awesome place
to hang out.
They have showers.
It's crazy.
And so if you've neverexperienced that and you travel
a lot, highly encourage you toget the Amex Platinum card.
If you don't travel a lot, Iwould tell you, do not get this
card, it's not worth it.
Second card we use is the AAmerican Express Gold card.
If you have a family like I doand you go out to eat a lot,
this card is absolutely worthit.
(04:45):
I think the annual fee on thisis like $250 to $350, somewhere
in there.
But you get 4x points onrestaurants and groceries, which
is basically all of ourspending.
And so I get a ton of pointsfor this, which we ultimately
redeem for most of our travel.
And so, you know, we have fivekids.
So this ends up paying for alot of times airfare for our
kids uh during travel or hotelstays at great places.
(05:08):
And that's really why we useour credit card.
So the goal card is great ifyou spend a lot on restaurants
and groceries.
And then for all of our otherspending, we basically use Wells
Fargo 2% cash back card.
Again, this is pretty standardand basic, just you get 2% cash
back on all of your spending.
And so usually this equates toyou know a thousand or two
thousand dollars for us at theend of the year.
(05:29):
That's really, really nice tobe able to put towards Christmas
or something like that.
So Wells Fargo, 2% cash back.
And then the other honorable uhmention that I would say is
American Express Blue CashPreferred.
Uh, this is another umalternative to the gold card.
So in this card, you actuallyget 6% cash back uh for on
groceries for up to $6,000 ayear spent.
(05:51):
So again, it's a good way.
I think there's an A fee oflike $90, but it's a good way to
get a pretty good return andhave some cash at the end of the
year to throw towards Christmasor whatever.
So those are the credit cardswe use.
Uh again, if you use the linksuh that I provided, you get some
bonus points as well in thereuh in the Substack article.
So make sure you check thatout.
So that's credit cards.
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Let's start a conversation.
Doug Smith (07:12):
Next section is family, which is my number one
passion.
Lots of fun things here.
Number one is Greenlight.
So Greenlight is an app that weuse to teach our kids how to
use money.
So this is basically an appthat when our kids, and I'm not
going to go through our systemfor paying them, but when they
get paid, you everything'selectronic and they get debit
cards.
And so we can actually transferfunds to each of their
(07:32):
accounts, each individual kid.
Each individual kid has debitcards, and you could separate
their accounts into giving,saving, spending, and even
investment accounts you can haveon here for your kids.
And there's lots of lessonsthat they have on there.
There's so many ways to usethis, but uh we actually allow
our kids to pay themselves in asense of their entering in how
much money is gettingtransferred, and we make them uh
(07:54):
give 10% to give, and we makethem put away 20% to invest.
And so they're doing that on aregular basis, and they're all
under nine years old, andthey're already learning how to
spend money and how to save forthings.
Greenlight has been a gamechanger.
Again, you can use a link toget some cash back uh if you
sign up for it in the articlewith the link in the show notes.
So that's Greenlight, highlyrecommended for teaching your
(08:16):
kids money habits.
Number two on our family is theSkylight Calendar.
This is a new product that wegot introduced to this year.
And basically, it's a portable,I would say, photo frame, uh,
either that can sit on yourcounter or hang on your wall.
We got the one that hangs onyour wall, and basically this
says everything you can imaginethat you would need for your
family planning.
(08:36):
So it has a shared calendar, ithas shared lists that you can
create, it has chore charts forall of the kids on there.
Uh, it has ways to import uhevents that will go on your
calendar.
Um, it has a photo picture, ithas photos in it, so you can
also turn it into a pictureframe in your home.
So uh very, very functional.
If you're you if you'llactually use it, I think it's
(08:57):
very, very nice to have.
If you won't use all thefunctionality, then I wouldn't
encourage you to get it.
But Skylight Calendar, checkthat out.
It's a great way to keep yourfamily organized.
Number three under family isthe brick.
Uh, the brick is a littledevice.
Uh, I actually do have one inmy pocket.
If you're watching online, hereit is.
It's just a little brick.
And this is a device that youcan basically choose uh a list
(09:19):
of apps on your phone to block.
And when your phone scans thisdevice, it'll block all of those
apps and won't allow you tohave access to them until you
scan that device again.
So this has been huge.
I I can't oversell this.
This has been a game changerfor me when it comes to staying
focused and being present withmy kids or really in any
situation.
And so um, I've used to findmyself mindlessly scrolling and
(09:43):
I just couldn't help it.
Like I didn't even know I wasdoing it.
You just go for that dopaminehit.
But having a brick has helpedme to alleviate all distractions
from me basically not evenneeding to go on my phone.
And so it's been a gamechanger.
Um, highly, highly recommended.
The brick.
Uh, number four is The WeekJunior.
This is a magazine wesubscribed to maybe a year or
(10:03):
two ago uh for our oldestdaughter, and now our second
oldest is getting into it aswell.
But it's a magazine for kidsthat you get weekly that
basically updates them oneverything going on in the
world.
Uh, and there's an adultversion of this too that Laura
and I subscribe to.
So again, really encourage youto check it out.
But it's been awesome to gothrough this with our oldest
daughter and actually talk aboutworld events and things that
are happening uh all over theplace and in all areas of life.
(10:26):
It's been really, reallyhelpful and it gives them a
bigger picture of the world.
So the week junior is what it'scalled.
And then lastly, I alwayspromote Family Teams.
FamilyTeams.org is a ministrythat we follow that helps equips
and equips families.
And basically, the way Lauraand I lead our family is
basically the way that FamilyTeams teaches you to lead your
family.
(10:46):
So they have podcasts, theyhave all kinds of resources,
they have coaching, trainingavailable.
Really encourage you to getconnected with that community if
you're looking for a moreintentional way to lead your
family.
That's gonna cover the familycategory.
Next, we'll go into clothingand comfort, uh, which I am I'm
not a big clothes guy.
I'm not good at styling oranything like that.
But Lara got me a few pieces ofclothing from Vury.
(11:09):
Uh I think that's how you sayit.
V-U-O-R-I, and they're awesome.
Like everything I own that isby them is incredible.
So check them out.
Very, very comfortable.
Great dress pants, etc.
Uh, and then two, on comfort,cozy earth blankets.
Cozy earth blankets.
Lara wanted a blanket lastyear, and I actually found
another holiday gift guide thatI heard about these blankets.
(11:32):
And uh, we actually, thisblanket we got is the heaviest
blanket I've ever uh experiencedin my life, but it's the
softest and most cuddliest,comforting uh blanket that you
can imagine.
And so we call it the GreatFur.
Highly recommend it.
You can check that out in theclothing and comfort section in
the article.
Next up is games.
So I'm always looking for moregames to play with a family or
(11:53):
individually.
So here are a few of ourfavorites.
Uh, one is called Escape theCrate.
So Escape the Crate isbasically a subscription box, or
you can just buy an individualone, but it's basically an
escape room in a box.
So this has been great forLaura and I to have date nights.
And so basically, you open thebox, it has all kinds of things
that you have to go through, andyou basically use a QR code and
you go through this guidedexperience uh on your phone, but
(12:17):
all of the puzzles are in thebox, and so you have to work
through puzzles and escape.
And uh, it's a ton of fun.
You can do it with friends.
Um, however, I found like thesweet spot for doing it is
usually two people.
You could probably get awaywith three or four, but any more
than that, um, it's probablytoo many people.
So it's a great thing forhusbands and wives, escape the
crate.
Next is the New York TimesGames app.
(12:37):
Uh, I love this, it has tons ofgames like uh Wordle.
Laura and I do Wordle everysingle day, which I love.
It has many crosswords, the NewYork Times crosswords.
Uh it's just a bunch of fungames that you can just hop on
daily that to kind of helpexercise your mind.
So, New York Times Games app.
Next is Monopoly Deal.
This is a card game that isbasically a really quick version
(12:58):
of playing Monopoly.
Uh, you can usually finisharound in like 10 to 20 minutes.
So that's been a lot of fun ina way that you don't have to sit
around for an entire hour for agame, um, but you can just work
through relatively quickly.
Monopoly deal.
And then lastly, Ticket toRide.
Uh, I ask people all the timewhat games we should get, and
Ticket to Ride came up like ahundred times when I asked
people.
And so we got it.
And I could say that everyonewas right.
(13:20):
It's an incredible game, a lotof fun, a lot of strategy behind
it, and highly encourage you toget that.
So, those are some games.
If you're looking for somethingfun to do with your family and
friends, check those out.
Next section is health andfitness.
So I did an entire post onthis, but function health blood
work.
Function health blood work.
So uh Dr.
(13:40):
Mark Hyman is the one thatcreated this, and basically it's
a blood test that goes really,really into depth with function
health.
And you get two blood tests ayear for this.
And basically, you get twotests with over 100 biomarkers
tested in the first test, andthen halfway through the year,
you test about 60 biomarkers tosee what kind of progress that
you made.
And this was really, reallyeye-opening to me without going
(14:03):
to for me, uh, without goinginto a ton of details.
It may, it caused me to makesignificant, significant changes
in my health, in my nutrition,in my diet, uh, that could
potentially save my life in thelong run.
And so, really, really gratefulfor this.
Uh, I actually included a linkin the show notes to the article
I wrote if you want to readmore about it, but I really
think everyone should shouldhave this on an annual basis
(14:26):
just to have the data that youneed on your health.
Can't recommend that enough.
Next is the Bevel app.
If you have an Apple Watch,this is a must.
It's specifically only forApple users, but if you've ever
heard of like a whoop or an Auraring, it basically does the
exact same thing they do, uh,only with those with Apple
(14:46):
Watches.
So if you have an Apple Watchand want more data on your
health, this is the only appthat you'll need.
It literally gives you all thedata you could ever possibly
want on your health and fitness.
Um, really check that out.
Bevel app uh in the app store.
Next is the Yuka app, you I'msorry, Y U K A app.
And this is an app that I usethat'll scan your food and your
(15:08):
hygiene products and basicallytell you if it's healthy or not.
It'll rate it on a scale of oneto a hundred, and it'll also
provide substitutes for you.
So this has been super helpful.
Uh there's times where you knowI'm thinking of these crackers
that I like, Mary's gonecrackers, and I thought they
were pretty healthy.
I scanned them and they werelike a 40 out of 100.
But it was beautiful, itprovided like 20 options of
(15:28):
things that they graded, like 80out of 100 that are chips and
crackers that are just as good,but um, they're they're
healthier for you.
So um, you could app, checkthat out.
It's super helpful.
My FitnessPal, I've been usingthis for years.
If you need a great caloriecounter and where you actually
track your meals, MyFitnessPalis definitely the way to go.
Check that out.
Next is ChatGBT.
(15:50):
Uh, this is huge.
I basically use AI to be acoach for me in every area of my
life, whether that's work, uh,executive leadership, uh, and my
health.
And it's been super helpful formy health as I'm talking about
it.
Just basically telling it theresults of my blood work and
everything going on in my life.
It's been a great coach that'sdialed in and really helped me
focus on my health andnutrition.
So, just more than anything,try to think like how could
(16:12):
ChatGBT and AI help me with myhealth journey?
And when you start playingaround with that, I think you'll
be surprised at how much itcan.
Next is Beach Body workoutprograms.
I've been using Beach Body andnow it's called Body Workouts
for over 20 years now, which iscrazy.
But they're the creators ofP90X, Body Beast, uh, Dig
Deeper.
They have all kinds of programsthat I love, but basically
(16:33):
those are my go-to liftingworkouts on a daily basis.
And then the next one would bePeloton.
Laura and I got a Pelotonprobably four or five years ago.
Love it, use it all the time.
Um, not only can you ride it asa bike, they have a rower, they
have a treadmill, they havestrength classes, they have yoga
classes.
Uh, really, if you if you likeworking out from home, you
should get a Peloton.
It's super, super awesome.
(16:53):
And then lastly, in the healthand fitness area, power block
dumbbells.
Um, I'm sure you've seen theseonline, but they're basically
just dumbbells that I have twosets.
One go from 10 to 50 pounds,the other go from 10 to 90.
So I have two sets ofdumbbells.
Literally, it's just fourdumbbells total.
Doesn't take up a lot of space,but has all the weight I could
possibly need, and they'readjustable.
(17:14):
So I've been using those forprobably 15 years, and they're
the same dumbbells.
So it's a little bit of aninvestment on the front end, but
they'll last you forever.
So highly recommend power blockdumbbells.
Kids, I just put NintendoSwitch.
We got this two Christmases agoand we love it.
I know Switch 2 is out now, butI'm a huge fan.
A lot of fun games forfamilies, uh, especially if you
(17:36):
have young kids.
Get a Nintendo Switch.
All right, next section sectionis kitchen food and drink.
Lots of things here.
The Paprika app, I've beenselling this for the past two
years, I've been using it.
But basically, this is an appwhere you can collect all of
your recipes that you have,whether you got online, et
cetera, you can put them all inone place.
(17:56):
And what I love about this isthe way it collects recipes
online is if you find a greatrecipe uh on Safari or whatever
browser you're using, you canbasically just copy the URL and
then paste it into Paprika.
And if you've ever seen recipesonline, it has ads, it has tons
of text.
It takes all of that out and itputs it all in one place in a
really easy way to digestformat.
(18:17):
And so it basically says, hey,here's the ingredients and
here's what to do.
That's it.
And then uh you can actuallyexport the shopping list or the
grocery list uh based on theitems that are needed for the
recipe.
Makes it super, super easy togrocery shop.
Uh and again, you cancategorize everything so you can
say, hey, what recipes do Ihave?
What soup recipes do I have?
(18:38):
Um, what chicken recipes do Ihave?
And it makes it real easy justto find and meal plan that way.
So precap, if you don't have agood meal planning app, can't
recommend that enough.
Number two is the Nutribullet.
We've been using this foryears, but yeah, if you like to
make smoothies, NutraBullet'sthe way to go.
I won't say much more aboutthat.
Uh, Jura Coffee Machines.
This is huge.
So unfortunately, I don't drinkcoffee or tea anymore, which
(19:00):
kills me.
But I used to drink like agallon of coffee a day.
And I literally I'd go toStarbucks.
I think I was averaging 1,500 ayear, 1500 years, $1,500 a year
at Starbucks that I wasspending.
And eventually, you know, I'dbuy all these coffee makers, but
I just felt like they weren'tgreat and they'd break within a
year and just not really producegreat quality coffee.
And someone introduced me tothe Jura, and they're a little
(19:23):
pricey, but we ended up buyingone and probably the best
investment as far as coffee andtea is concerned that we've ever
made.
Uh, we've had our Jura now forprobably five years, and it's
it's easily paid for itself.
But fantastic coffee, supereasy, it's fancy, great way to
host.
So can't recommend Jura'senough.
You can check them out again inthe link below.
Uh, next, all clad 10-piecestainless steel set.
(19:46):
So I mentioned this in anearlier podcast, but we replaced
all of our pots and pans thisyear, and we replaced them with
all-clad uh the 10-piecestainless steel kit.
It's been phenomenal.
Uh, when I shared this postearlier, I had a coworker reach
out to me and he said, I boughtmy all-clad stainless steel kit
in like 1979, and it's stillgoing strong.
So, lifetime warranty.
These will serve you forever.
(20:07):
Um, so just make sure you havegreat quality pans and pots in
your house, and stainless steelby Alclad is the way to go.
And then lastly, I don't evenknow if I'll say this right, but
Woostoff 11-piece knife set.
Um, you know, I have tons offriends who cook all the time,
and they're like, man, the rightknife really makes a
difference.
And for me, I would just laughat be like, really?
Like, knives are just knives,they cut through stuff.
(20:28):
But uh, Laura and I decided toget a nice set of knives earlier
this year.
And when I got them, I realizedthat my friends are right.
Uh, it really does make adifference.
These things slice throughthings like butter, as they say.
And so really recommend them ifyou're looking for a good knife
set.
Woo staff is a great brand.
So those are my kitchen foodand drink uh recommendations.
Next, I'll go into personaltech.
(20:50):
Uh, first is a Moffed Sat uhMagSafe wallet.
And this is basically just awallet.
Again, I have it on my iPhoneuh right here, but it's
basically uh it fits right ontothe back of your iPhone.
It'll fit three credit cards ata time, uh, and it'll actually
create a stand where you can setuh your iPhone upright.
So it's really, really nice,super cheap, but I've loved
(21:10):
having it and made it superconvenient rather than carrying
a wallet around in my backpocket.
Next is Aura picture frames.
So these are awesome.
They're digital picture frames,and they make it super easy to
upload pictures.
The quality of them isfantastic.
Uh, we have ours right in ourkitchen, and so again, seeing
the pictures of all the memorieswe've made as a family together
(21:32):
every day when we spend a tonof time in the kitchen has been
uh has brought so much joy tous.
We'll oftentimes look at it andsay, Wow, do you remember that?
And we'll just laugh about it.
Uh, we've also used these asgifts.
I got one for my father-in-lawand my dad.
My dad is so funny.
He's a guy that like doesn'twant presents at all, usually
wants to return whateverpresents people get him.
But this was the first time,literally the first gift I ever
(21:53):
gave him, probably in 40 yearsof living, that he actually
said, like, this was a greatgift.
And so if you're looking for agreat uh gift for loved ones or
picture frames, check them out.
Next is Sonos speakers.
Um, when we bought the housethat we're in, the previous
owners had speakers allthroughout the house that
sounded unbelievable and theywere all in sync playing the
same thing.
(22:14):
And basically I was like, whatsystem is that?
And they're like Sonos, they'resuper awesome.
You plug them in and they'resuper easy to sync.
So we invested in a Sonosspeaker system for our house,
and we absolutely love it.
So if you're looking for aspeaker system, check out Sonos.
Next is OnePassword.
So this is just uh an app thatI use on my browser called
OnePassword, which basicallydoes what it sounds like.
(22:36):
It takes all of your passwordsand just saves them in one
place.
So when you're going to log into email or whatever you're
logging into, you don't have toremember your password.
You can just pull it up and putit in, and it's so nice.
It probably saves me hours andhours and hours of being
frustrated that I don't knowwhat my password is.
That's one password.
Next is the remarkable.
Um, if you're watching this, Ihave it here, but this is a
(22:58):
remarkable pro.
It's basically a pad that youcan write in uh that's supposed
to replace pen and paper, uh,but also not be an iPad.
So it feels like pen and paperwhen you're writing on it.
You can erase it.
Uh you could journal.
I use this for everything.
I use it every single day.
And why I love that it's not aniPad.
There's no apps on it, there'snothing to distract you.
(23:18):
It's just writing.
So I use this for my journal.
I use this for my dailyproductivity.
I use this for um you could putPDFs on it and actually write
on the PDFs and take notes.
So I use it for a billiondifferent things.
Really encourage you to checkit out.
Uh, it's a remarkable.
Usually when I'm out withpeople and I'm taking notes,
they say, What is that?
And then I sell them.
I probably have sold over 50remarkables.
I should become uh an owner inthe company.
(23:40):
Anyway, next five-minutejournal app.
I promote this every year, butLaura and I've been using this
for nine years now.
It's just a really quick app onour phone where in the morning
it basically just prompts youwhat are you grateful for?
And you know, what does whatdoes a win look like today?
And at the end of the day, youbasically say, like, hey, what
was great about today?
What did I learn?
And you can put a picture ofthe day highlight.
(24:02):
So every day for the past nineyears, I have a picture of the
day, and I can go back at anyday and say what I did and what
I learned.
And it's just a great app, andit really doesn't take a lot of
time to journal.
So really encourage you tocheck that out.
And then I put Grammarly.
Grammarly is just an app thatbasically helps you with your
grammar, which I desperatelyneed uh online.
So when you're typing andstuff, it'll just automatically
(24:24):
create auto corrections, etc.
I use it every day and makemillions of adjustments uh and
corrections every single year.
So Grammarly, check that out.
The next section is learning inbooks, and this is actually the
last section.
So uh obviously I read a lot,so I just want to share some of
my favorite books in the pastyear or two.
Uh and one resource that I'dreally recommend, even before
(24:47):
that, is Audible.
Uh, I don't always listen toAudible books.
I actually like reading more,but occasionally there's an
Audible book or two that I justlove.
I love the narrator, love theway it sounds.
So, one of those books for me,so side note, get an Audible um
subscription if you don't haveone.
But one of the books that Ilove listening to on Audible was
The Ride of a Lifetime by BobIger.
(25:07):
He's the CEO of Disney.
It's his story of how hestarted with ABC and basically
worked his way up to being theCEO of Disney to acquiring uh
Pixar and Star Wars and umMarvel.
It's just it's it's the bestbusiness biography that I've
ever read.
Like unbelievable.
I was on the edge of my seat,like every second thinking,
(25:28):
like, man, what's he gonna do?
Or how did he do that?
And just such greatstorytelling.
So again, if you likeleadership business, check it
out.
The ride of a lifetime.
Second book I'd recommend isExperience Jesus, comma.
Really.
Experience Jesus, really.
This is a book by JohnEldridge, who I've come to love.
Uh, it was probably the mosttransformative book of the year
(25:49):
for Laura and I.
Made a really, really bigimpact on us.
So if you're looking to grow inyour walk with God, can't
recommend that book enough.
And then another book by JohnEldridge that I read this year
that was life-changing wascalled Fathered by God.
I truly do believe that everyman on the planet needs to read
this book.
It basically walks you throughthe stages of manhood.
I think there's six stages inthe book, and uh it just spoke
(26:11):
to me so many different timesfor so many different reasons.
So, again, if you're a manlistening to this or have young
men in your life, get them thisbook, Fathered by God by John
Eldridge.
Uh, next is Die With Zero.
So by Bill Perkins.
Uh, I read this book everyyear, and it's just a great
reminder to live in the moment.
And basically the whole premiseof the book is um yes, you need
(26:33):
money to save for retirement,but you also should be spending
your money now on experiencesthat that you'll live off of in
retirement.
Because when you're 70, you'reprobably not going to want to
climb Mount Everest.
But when you're 40, youprobably could and would want
to.
And so climb Mount Everest nowso you have that memory to live
off of when you're 70.
And so, really, really goodbook.
(26:54):
I'd highly recommend and makeit required reading for every
year.
Next is 10x is easier than 2xby Dan Sullivan and Benjamin
Hardy.
Uh, again, the whole promise isthe premise is just to get you
to think bigger.
So, you know, most peoplethink, oh, okay, I want to
double my revenue or I want todouble my income, I want to
double whatever.
And he said, No, no, no, stopthinking like that.
Instead of thinking, how am Igoing to double something, think
(27:15):
how am I going to 10x this?
Because if you think, how am Igoing to make this 10x bigger?
How can I make 10x the incomethat I make?
It forces you to think at ahigher level and be more
creative about solutions.
So 10x is easier than 2x,phenomenal read.
Another book by Dan Sullivanand Benjamin that I'd recommend
is called Who, Not How.
Again, really simple concept,but life-changing.
(27:37):
He basically just said, if youhave find that you have goals
and you keep not uh you're notable to consistently achieve
them, you're probably saying,Well, like, how can what else
can I do?
How can I achieve this?
And he said, Don't ask how.
The question you should beasking is who.
You basically need to come tothe conclusion that you're not
going to be able to achieve thisgoal uh by yourself.
(27:58):
You're going to need the helpof someone else.
So, who, what expertise do youneed to bring around you to help
you complete that?
So, who not how, really, reallygood book.
And then lastly, uh Traction byGino Wickman.
This book and really the EOS,which is stands for
entrepreneurial operatingsystem, transformed my life as
well as our organization.
(28:19):
And uh, if you help run anorganization or would like to,
really encourage you to readthis book.
It kind of gives you a roadmapfor how to run an organization
well and actually gives you anoperating system for how to do
that.
And then the last resource Iput in learning is just the L3D
Leadership Podcast.
Again, I'm really lookingforward to 2026.
I plan on doing a lot morepersonal lessons.
(28:39):
I'm still gonna be doinginterviews, but I've gotten
enough feedback of peoplesaying, like, hey, everyone does
interviews.
We actually like your personallessons sometimes more than your
interviews.
And so we'd love to hear fromyou more, Doug.
And so I'm gonna try to be moreconsistent in doing personal
lessons to add value to yourlife.
But there it is, my holidaygift guide, 2025.
I hope that you enjoyed it.
I hope that you find a fewproducts that will add value to
(29:01):
your life and add value to yourloved ones' lives as well.
Uh, and hey, I'm always lookingfor more things to add to my
list.
So if there's a gadget, a game,something techie that you love,
and you're saying, Doug, if youdon't know about this, you need
to, please, please, please, youknow, leave a comment, hit me
up on social media.
I would love to add thosethings to my list and check them
out.
So thanks for listening andlooking forward to being with
(29:22):
you next episode.
Hey leader, thank you so muchfor listening to me share my
holiday gift guide.
I hope that you found somegifts for yourself as well as
some of your friends and familyover the holiday season.
More than anything, I hope itadded value to your life.
So, again, if you wanted toaccess any of the links to
anything that I talked about,there's a link in the show notes
that'll take you to a Substackarticle that I wrote that has
the links to every single giftthat I discussed.
(29:43):
So I hope that'll help.
As always, I want to thank oursponsor, Endosha Marketing
Solutions.
They are the producers of thispodcast.
And if your organization needsmarketing expertise, I
wholeheartedly recommend theirservices.
You can visit them atendosha.com.
That's a n d o c ia.com.
And as always, I like to endevery episode with a quote, and
today I'll share a quote ongiving generously.
(30:03):
It says this it says, givegenerously, even with your
ideas.
Inspiration is one of theeasiest gifts to share.
And I hope that you wereinspired by this episode, but
all of the episodes that we'veoffered as well.
So that's gonna wrap up today'sepisode.
As always, remember, leaders,don't quit.
Keep leading.
The world desperately needsyour leadership.
Until next time, have a greatday.
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