The Top Lessons that I Learned in 2025 (Part 2)

In this episode of the L3 Leadership Podcast, Doug Smith shares Part 2 of his annual reflection series, unpacking the final ten lessons he learned in 2025 and how they are shaping his leadership moving into 2026. Drawing from real conversations, leadership challenges, faith, and personal growth, Doug challenges leaders to rethink success, create margin, embrace hard seasons, and recognize the significance of the work God is doing in and through them.

⏱️ Episode Breakdown

00:00 – Why Doug shares his annual lessons and how they’re selected
 01:45 – Lesson 11: You can have everything and still have nothing
 03:30 – Lesson 12: In leadership, there are things only you can do
05:00 – Lesson 13: The necessity of people who challenge your perceptions
07:45 – Lesson 14: Follow a proven path when you don’t know what to do
08:45 – Lesson 15: Why AI can be a powerful personal and leadership coach
10:30 – Lesson 16: Margin matters—create it with time and finances
11:45 – Lesson 17: You’re always campaigning, whether you realize it or not
13:30 – Lesson 18: The gospel comes with a house key
15:15 – Lesson 19: Lessons learned in one season prepare you for the next
17:30 – Lesson 20: Don’t minimize the work God is doing in and through you
18:45 – Final encouragement: Don’t quit—your leadership matters more than you think

Resources Mentioned:

• The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger
• The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
• “Good” Leadership Mindset – Jocko Willink (Video)

The L3 Leadership Podcast is sponsored by Andocia Marketing Solutions.
Andocia exists to bring leaders’ visions to life. Learn more at www.andocia.com

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Transcript

Doug Smith (00: 0:00

01) Hey leader, hope your 2026 is off to a great start. Today I'm going to share part two of the top lessons that I learned in 2025. You don't have to have listened to part one in order to listen to this part. But if you haven't listened to part one, really encourage you to go back. I think there'll be a lot of valuable lessons that will add value to your life. But again, how I come up with my top lessons is every year at the end of the year, I do a year end review and I try to extract all of the lessons that I learned throughout the year. And then as I have that in a report in a summary at the year end, I go through the top lessons that I learned and I say, okay, out of all everything that I learned this year, like what are the most significant lessons that I can share with people that will add value to them? And that's how I came up with this list. There's 20 lessons. There was 10 in part one, and there'll be 10 in part two. And so with that being said, let's dive right into part two. And the first lesson of part two that I'll share with you is you can have everything, but not really have anything. You can have everything, but not really have anything. And I was actually meeting with a young leader that I'd become friends with and he actually spent years of his career working at a prestigious club that had over 800 members and they all have a ton of money and they're very quote unquote successful. And I said, wow, that must've been an incredible experience. You got to rub shoulders with all these incredible leaders. Like, what did you learn? And what he said to me, said, Doug, I think it's important to know that you can have everything but not really have anything. That's what I learned. And that was not what I expected him to say. And you just said, yeah, I saw a lot of people who had a lot of money, who had a lot of stuff, but their families were in shambles or different areas of their lives were a mess. And I just don't think that that's success. And I would absolutely agree. And so it was just one more reminder. Like we need reminded us all the time of what's really important. What's really important is it and how much money you have or how much stuff you have or what clubs you belong to. What's really, really matters is man. What's your family life like? What's your marriage life like? Like what's your health and fitness look like? What's your, what you doing for other people? What are you doing for God? Like those are the things that are really, really significant. And so it was just one more reminder of just, Hey, am I more focused on chasing stuff or am I focused on what's really important? And so leader, just remember your priorities. Jesus said, what is it gain if a man profits the world, but loses his soul? Right? What profit is it if a man gains the world? I'm sorry, but loses his soul. And don't let that be leader. Remember what's important and keep what's important in front of you. You can have everything, but not really have anything. Number two, in leadership, there are certain things only you can do. In leadership, there are certain things only you can do. And this was another lesson I learned from Kevin Myers throughout the years, but he just said, you know, if you're a leader, like no one else can hear from God but you. And it's not saying that no one else can actually hear from God, but it's like, as far as what you're leading and what you're responsible for, you need to hear from God. for the unique vision for your position and where you're taking the organization like you need to hear from God. He also said that no one can take care of your character other than you, right? No one can make sure you're a man or woman of integrity and character, only you can. And through the decisions that you make every day. And leaders, nobody else can make the hard decisions that you have to make. That's what leaders get paid for. remember early on in my leadership journey, I remember John Maxwell saying, there was some quote from an executive at Kodak who said, 95 % of the decisions that leaders face could be solved by any reasonably intelligent ninth grader. But they pay you for the other 5%. And that's so true. There's 5 % of the work that's extremely hard, the decisions you have to make, the personnel decisions, etc. And only you can do it leader. And so I just want to encourage you as you're thinking through your leadership journey in 2026, what are the things that only you can do? And whatever those things are, make sure that you're actually doing them. Lesson number three. Have people who can question and challenge your perceptions. Have people who can challenge and question your perceptions. You one of our core values at Light of Life is we value diversity. And I consider myself so blessed to be able to work there because we have such a diverse staff in so many different ways. And I always share a story that one of my bosses formerly, who's no longer at Light of Life, I affectionately called her and still do to this day, the other side. Because I feel like no matter what I believe, no matter what I would say, she would always come in with the opposite point of view. And it wasn't a bad thing. It was awesome. And it's so awesome to this day. Actually, I just had lunch with her a few weeks ago. And I'm like, all right, hey, I need some other side perspective. Give it to me like, let's go. And she was able to really challenge my thinking. And I'm so grateful for that because so few people have that in today's world. We live in a world where everyone's algorithms only show them things that they believe in. their challenge, their beliefs never get challenged. And they work in workplaces and they work in bubbles where everyone just thinks it like them. It's it's it's so unhealthy. Leaders without diversity, you are not complete. I'll say that again. Without diversity, you are not complete. You need diversity of thought, diversity, you need diversity in every area. Who can challenge your perceptions? Who can challenge your beliefs? If you don't have people like that, you are missing on a huge growth edge in your life and leadership journey. So do everything you can to find people who can question and challenge your perceptions. In 2025, I had a lot of my... perceptions challenge, and I'm extremely grateful for that. And it's helped me grow a lot. And so get that around you leader. Next follow a proven path when you don't know what to do. Follow a proven path when you don't know what to do. This is probably common sense, but I think so many times in leadership, we hit, we hit situations or problems that we don't really know what to do with. And we try to forge our own path and make up whatever the solution is on our own. When the reality is I guarantee you basically any leadership issue that you're facing, it's not, you're not the only person on earth facing that issue. There's been hundreds of thousands of leaders who have faced the exact same thing as you. And so you don't need to do life and leadership alone. Who can you reach out to and say, Hey, I'm going through this. Can you, can you help me process this? Or what would you do in this situation? What, have you done? Or, what resources are out there? There's probably already blueprints that you can follow on. Hey, here's the five step process for whatever problem that you're facing. and did I mention, and it's going to be part of my next point too, AI. Like you have access to world information like type in an AI, AI, hey, I'm going through this situation in leadership or I'm dealing with this issue. What should I do? You'll be shocked at what AI can come up with. So stop doing life and leadership alone. Stop trying to figure it out all by yourself and forge your own path. There's been proven paths before and there's people who have already figured out what you're trying to figure out. So take advantage of that. You know, one thing I encourage all of our staff to do on a consistent basis is Reach out to organizations who are similar to ours that are bigger than us who think bigger who have solved bigger problems and just spend an hour with them people in your position asking them questions that you have I've been doing that for years and it's those have been some of the biggest spurts of growth that I've had because people were able to take me further faster because they've already been there follow a proven path when you don't know what to do The next lesson I kind of alluded to it already is AI is a phenomenal coach And I know everyone's talking about AI and everyone's sick of people talking about AI. but I've really taken a deep dive and I use AI as a coach, basically in every area of my life. You know, I mentioned in part one about my health and fitness and my blood work. I'm putting all of that stuff in the AI and saying like, man, treat me as an executive. ⁓ I'm sorry, executive treat me as like an elite performance coach. Like what would you tell me to do when it comes to my health and fitness? Hey, when it comes to my blood work and my heart and my nutrition, like treat me like, ⁓ I want you to be a world class. nutritionist or a world class doctor, what advice should I have? And I've gotten so much great content and things that I'm able to actually implement in my life, even as simple as when it comes to my health. Hey, now that AI is familiar with my health journey. Hey, I have I'm just thinking of I use it even as a cooking coach. So I'm at home and maybe I didn't plan a meal for a certain night. And I'm like, okay, here's the ingredients I have. have chicken, I have broccoli, have cauliflower and rice. I could say, hey, based on my health goals, give me like an awesome recipe with these ingredients. Like what can I make for a healthy ⁓ family, a healthy family meal for seven people and AI will come up with it like that. And there it is. I have a heart healthy meal. That's really helping me with my health. So whatever you want to use it and only do a whole episode probably on how I'm utilizing AI, cause I can get a lot more specific and give you examples. ⁓ but use it as a coach next margin matters, create it margin matters, create it margin is a word that keeps coming up in my heart over and over and again. And basically the two areas that I feel like I need to create margin in both organizationally and personally is finances and time. Finances and time. How can we free up more money to be able to do what God's called us to do? And how can we free up more time to be able to do what God's called us to do? And the only way that you can have more time and more money is with margin. so whatever you need to do to create margin, whether it's redoing your budget, ⁓ redoing your calendar, That's what I'm focused on right now. I've been taking my calendar from 2025 and actually screenshotting it and putting it into AI and basically saying like, where am I wasting time? And how should I be better utilizing my calendar with a position that I have? And the advice that AI has given me is phenomenal. And so I'm making significant changes to my calendar this year to create more margin for my time and schedule so I can focus on what matters most. Leaders, margin matters. Create it. The next lesson is you're always campaigning. you are always campaigning. The best business and leadership book that I read this year was The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger. And it was a phenomenal book. If you haven't read it, really encourage you to is all about how he his ride journey to becoming the CEO of Disney. ⁓ It was so good. I listened to it on an audible and I literally like I could not get enough of it. I was always on the edge of my seat like what's he going to do? How did he do this? How did it was phenomenal. But my favorite chapter is a chapter called ⁓ It's About the Future. And it was about in the specific season where ⁓ his predecessor, I think it was Michael Eisner was getting ready to leave and the board started looking for the next CEO or successor. And he basically expressed his interest in run and getting the role. And when he did, this young kid came up to him who was a political campaign activist or whatever. And he basically just said like, Bob, are you ready for your campaign? And Bob said, like, what are you talking about? He goes, you're you want to be the next Disney CEO, don't you? goes, Yeah, he goes, Well, you better start campaigning now, because that's what you're running a campaign to prove to the board to select you to be the next CEO of Disney. And I don't want to give away all the details, because it's such a great story. But he ends up running a campaign. And obviously, he got the position. But it's a it's a phenomenal story really encourage you and you'll learn so much from how he ran his campaign and how he promoted himself, and how he positioned himself, etc. So so good. But the key lesson here for me was Hey, regardless of you're going for the CEO role or you're just in a role and just whatever you're doing every single day as a leader, like you're always campaigning. I always tell people to like long before people pick you or promote you, they're talking about you like behind closed doors. Every decision that you make, every action that you take in an organization, people are watching and they're saying, can we trust this person? Can we give this person more? Could we ever put this person in a position of leadership? Whether you know it or not, people are voting for you or they're taking away their vote from you. for future leadership positions. So leaders, just remember that you're always campaigning. And if you remember that you're going to live and lead differently every day. And ultimately, if you lead in ⁓ right and you campaign right day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, who knows where you'll end up? Maybe one day you'll be the next CEO of Disney. The next lesson is the gospel comes with a house key. The gospel comes with the house key. This was the best book I read overall. For a while it was Bob Iger, but I read this book the last week of 2025 and it took the number one place, the best book of 2025. And it's a really simple book on the power of hosting and in basically utilizing your home to love on your neighbors, your friends and those in need. And it was just so challenging and compelling. And Laura and I have always had a heart to host, but this kind of elevated.⁓ our vision for utilizing our home for hosting. And you know, I always share that my life was changed by the hosting of others. You may not know my story, but I actually met my wife Laura because her mom, when she was in high school, started a Bible study, and every week would have 100 plus kids come to her house, and eventually someone else's house because they outgrew the house, ⁓ eventually someone else's house ⁓ to learn about God. And one day I was invited to that Bible study and again, I don't have time to go into details. But basically, her mom, for whatever reason, decided to start inviting me over for family dinners. And so I started eating dinner with Laura and her family. And they gave me a seat at the table. And for the first time in my life, I saw a totally different way of life modeled for me. I saw what a godly family looked like a godly husband, a godly wife, godly kids. And it gave me a vision for what I wanted my life to be one day. And I didn't know at the time that I would end up marrying their daughter, Laura. But thank God I did and I'm living out the vision of what I sat around through hosting in 2002. And so I think hospitality has the power to change lives. And if this is striking a chord with you as you're listening to this, read that book and get ready to host because you're going to want to do it all the time. The gospel comes with a house key. Next lesson, the lesson you learn in one season will serve you in the next season. The lessons you learn in one season will serve you in the next season. And I was going through a really difficult leadership season this year. And one day I felt like God spoke to me he said, Doug, this is really hard, but it's necessary. The lessons that you're learning now are the last lessons that you're going to be learning in your warrior lover stage before you become a king one day. And it's necessary for who I need you to grow into be the leader I need you to become. It's necessary that you go through this and it's necessary that you learn these lessons. And I don't know about you, but oftentimes the hardest seasons and the hardest⁓ lessons that I've learned have come through tough circumstances and tough seasons. And I went through one of those in 2025 and leadership, but I know that I'll be better on the other side because of it. And so if you're going through a tough season or facing all kinds of tough stuff right now, ⁓ consider that a blessing because you're going to be able to grow from it. ⁓ I shared it in the sub stack article I wrote on the top lessons that I learned, but a video that I always watch, ⁓ when I'm going through tough leadership challenges is a video called good by Jocko Willick. Willink, I don't know how you say his last name, but he was a former US Navy SEAL. And basically, he just says, any issue that comes up when his subordinates would bring it up, he would just say, good. Good. Like didn't get promoted? Good. It's an opportunity to get better. Didn't get the new gear we wanted? Good. Didn't get the mission we wanted? Good. We have time for another one. Like basically, no matter what came up, he said, And that's basically the mindset that I've come when it comes to growth and issues. Like when I become aware of issues that I need to grow in or tough leadership challenges come across my desk, I just say, good, like as hard as this is, it's going to make us better. It's going to make me better. I'm going to be better on the other side of this. Our organization is going to be better on the other side of this. So hope you have that mentality, but just recognize the lessons you're learning in this season are going to be imperative for what God's called you to do next. I promise you the things he's called you do next, you're have even bigger problems and you're gonna recognize why you went through all these other things in the past. So trust God when it comes to your growth and development prayer, always pray and encourage leaders to pray as God developed me as quickly and as solidly as possible. And when you do that, he'll do it. So pray that prayer this year. And then last lesson that I learned in 2025 is don't minimize the work that God is doing in and through you. Don't minimize the work that God is doing in and through you. And this is something God started to deal with me in probably like mid summer last year. And basically he just said, you, you, you don't count ⁓ what you're doing for anything. Like as a leader, I'm so focused on what's next and what's needed to get to the next level that I never take time to actually look around to say like, wow, look at what is happening. And not just through me, but like organizationally, like at light of life, like we're impacting thousands of homeless men, women and children every single year. Families are being reunited. People are getting housing. People are getting free from addiction. People are giving their life to Christ. We're feeding people. We're keeping people from becoming homeless. Unbelievable things are happening on a daily basis. In L3 leadership, we're impacting leaders' lives. I'm leading a pastoral group of some of most influential leaders in our city. And to see these guys come together and advance the kingdom together, it's significant. And God saying, don't miss out on what I'm doing in it through you because you're so focused on what you want me to do in the future or what you want to do in the future. What you're doing is significant. And that's my encouragement I want to leave you with today, Leader. What you're doing is significant. How you're leading and what you're leading is significant. The difference you're making is significant, not just now, but for eternity. And so remember that, Leader. And I'll close this just like I closed the last one. I want you to remember, I say it at the end of every episode, but don't quit, Leader. I don't care what you're going through this year. You're making it, you're doing better than you think you are. Don't quit, keep leading. Why? Because the world desperately needs your leadership this year. That's gonna wrap up all the lessons for 2025. I hope these add value to your life. Again, if you enjoyed this and didn't listen to part one, go back and listen to that. I think it'll add value to your life. Thanks for being a part of my life. If you haven't followed the podcast, make sure that you follow it and subscribe so you can keep up to date on all of the episodes. And again, if this added value and you think of someone else that would love to hear it, make sure you share that as well. That'll help us reach more people. Thank you so much. Hope you have a great 2026.