Some of you guys are hopeless :P ! Setting the shoe polish on fire? Steel wool? Can I point out this is LEATHER we are talking about here?
Too much abuse and the leather will deteriorate on you and you are out one each pair of boots. CrazyCadet142, by all means use the Parade Gloss as it’s possibly the best thing that Kiwi ever made. Cold water and a soft cloth (try an old T-Shirt) are all you need to polish boots (presuming they are smooth leather ones).
You need to watch out how much you use saddle soap as I have found that it tends to dry out the leather too much over time. I quit using it and switched to Lexol-pH, which is a bit milder, and works to preserve the leather - it also comes in very small containers so you can try it out without buying the 1 liter bottles

). Most Tack and Feed stores carry it (I use it on my saddles and bridles too).