How to Build the Kind of Unshakeable Confidence No One Can Take From You With Eliza Smith

**Olivia Burnett** (0:00)
Hi, Eliza.

**Eliza Smith** (0:01)
Hi, Liz.

**Olivia Burnett** (0:02)
Welcome to Twenty Something. I am so stoked and excited to have you in the studio today. You're someone that I have wanted to bring on for a very long time because you reach such a specific demographic. And it's so fun. You're 19 So you're just about to enter your 20s, which is a baby. Crazy.

**Eliza Smith** (0:19)
I know.

**Olivia Burnett** (0:19)
I'm like, you're tiny, but I just love you. I'm so grateful that you're here.

**Eliza Smith** (0:23)
I'm so happy to be here. I was I was waiting for this invite.

**Olivia Burnett** (0:25)
Yeah, I'm like, Eliza, when will you come on my podcast? So for the person who's spending an hour or so of their time with us today, what about their life, their mindset is going to change based on our conversation?

**Eliza Smith** (0:39)
Yeah. I mean, we're going to be talking a lot about sports today.
But for the listener, whether you played sports, play them currently or not, I think this just goes into life. Like the things that you learn from sports are going to help you be successful more than you realize. And we're going to talk about the ways how what we've learned from sports, how we've experienced have shaped us and to who we're going to be and how we can be successful. And also, I think a large part of what the listener can get away from today is that your worth is not defined in your sports or your successes and what you achieve and how to find balance in your life and utilize what you've learned but not make it everything about yourself and how to love yourself.

**Olivia Burnett** (1:22)
Man, all of those are such important things. And so many of us, you know, sports define your early life. And then when those end, you don't realize how much those skills carry over into the rest of your life. So I'm super excited for our conversation today.

**Eliza Smith** (1:37)
Yeah, let's get into it.

**Olivia Burnett** (1:38)
Let's get into it, girl.
Wait, are we recording? Hey, it's Liv, and welcome back to Twenty Something. You know, there's this moment right before your twenties where you start realizing that no one is gonna map things out for you anymore. If you want something, you have to go after it. If you wanna grow, you have to push yourself. And if you want confidence, guess what?

**Eliza Smith** (2:05)
You have to build it.

**Olivia Burnett** (2:06)
And that's exciting, but it's also a little terrifying, and it can be overwhelming, because how do you actually know what's worth betting on? How do you stay disciplined when no one's forcing you to? And how do you chase big goals without tying your entire worth to whether you achieve those goals or not? And so today's conversation is all about that. I have in the studio with me Eliza Smith. She's just 19 years old and is a student athlete playing soccer at the University of Utah. And what I love about her perspective is how intentional she's been before even fully stepping into her twenties.
In this episode, we talk about what it really looks like to bet on yourself early on. From her soccer journey to mindset work, to the kind of work ethic and mindset that it takes to create opportunities instead of just crossing your fingers and waiting around for them. And we're also going to get into something that I don't think is talked about enough, which is how sports actually shape you for life beyond the field. The discipline, resilience, and leadership that shows up not just in athletics, but in careers, business, and the way that you carry yourself.
And then maybe the most important part of all is how to chase something you care deeply about without letting it define you, without letting your performance become your identity. Because the goal isn't just to succeed in one area, in one sport, it's to build a life that can hold success, failure, growth, and change without losing yourself in the process of it all. So whether you're an athlete yourself, maybe you're chasing the dream of playing at the next level, or you're someone who just wants to better understand and support an athlete in your life, then this episode is for you. Eliza, I'm so stoked to have you here for so many reasons, but I think you bring such an interesting perspective because we bring on a lot of guests that are early 20s, mid 20s, way out of their 20s, and you are 19

**Eliza Smith** (4:01)