How to Build Up Confidence to Find Success and Happiness

Most of us grapple with a certain amount of stress, overwhelm, and self-doubt in our careers — even those who have attained high positions and look successful. But to truly feel successful and happy, we need to have the confidence to go after what we want, regardless of the fears holding us back. How can you gain more confidence and forge a fulfilling life for yourself? We spoke with Rachel Smets, a clarity coach and mentor who broke free from her corporate job to make her own career path and help others do the same. It’s an inspiring conversation that will open your eyes to what you can go after in life.

Find out how to gain confidence to do what you love by watching our podcast video with Rachel Smets below:

Rachel Smets is a clarity coach, mentor, YouTuber, bestselling author of the books Awaken Your Confidence and Living Abroad Successfully, a 2-time TEDx speaker, and trainer. After achieving great success in the corporate world, Rachel admits that, although she was successful on the outside, she felt miserable on the inside. She followed a journey through fears, self-doubt, a lot of self-development, and mindset work before finally quitting her 9-5 to live a life without permission, doing what she loves.

To start our conversation, Rachel shares a bit about her early career success and focus on climbing the corporate ladder. Unfortunately, despite the progress she was making in her job, Rachel ended up feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and unhappy. Like so many, she wasn’t doing what she loved or following her own goals. Instead, she was playing it safe and following the tried-and-true path that was expected of her.

Part of what held her back was a lack of confidence in her ability to find success on her own terms. Indeed, confidence, or lack thereof, is often what determines how safely or boldly we live. To reach our full potential, we must learn to become more confident. For Rachel, this realization eventually led to her pivoting and adopting a more fulfilling lifestyle.

How can someone recognize if they have low self-esteem and need to boost their confidence? Moreover, how can they actually become more confident? Rachel offers some valuable and actionable ideas here. It’s all about taking those baby steps and accepting that you’ll stumble, again and again, before you can walk. No one expects to go a gym once and come out looking like a sculpted body builder, right? The same is true with developing confidence: It takes time and dedication.

Since stepping away from her corporate career, Rachel has lived in several countries and can speak six languages. She describes how living abroad tested and ultimately built up her confidence. Indeed, nothing is more humbling than living in a country where you barely speak the language and you don’t fully understand the culture. But allowing yourself to feel a little loss and say things wrong actually allows you to let loose. Once you let go of some of your pride, you can start to make mistakes, learn from them, and grow more confident.

Rachel also identifies as an introvert. Do introverts face unique hurdles when working to develop their confidence? While introverts certainly do have a different way of living and interacting than extroverts do, they also bring uniquely valuable perspective and ideas. And while shyness can stem from lower self-esteem, it’s something you can work with. Don’t let your introversion or shyness hold you back; don’t use it as an excuse to not go after things.

Today, Rachel helps others build up their confidence so they can find true success and happiness. Our conversation ends with a bit of what she does through her courses and coaching. Like her clients, you can also develop a new sense of confidence and build a career on your own terms.

Listen to our podcast with Rachel below to learn how to gain confidence and new successes:

To learn more about Rachel Smets, be sure to visit her official website here. Find all of her helpful books and courses here for a deeper dive on all we talked about in our podcast today and more. Finally, check out her YouTube channel for all her latest videos.