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Alysa Liu · Stronger With Sophie

• 0:05
  Speaker A: Hey, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the podcast Stronger with Sophie. I'm Sophie and I'm here with my dad, Jimmy.
• 0:11
  Speaker B: Hello.
• 0:11
  Speaker A: Today we're going to be talking about the Olympic gold medalist for figure skating in America, Alyssa Liu.
• 0:17
  Speaker B: Oh, my God, she's insane.
• 0:20
  Speaker A: She's crazy. And you know what's even better about her? She has a great comeback story.
• 0:25
  Speaker B: I know, and I'm super excited to talk about it. So. So why don't you tell us a little bit about what, what Alyssa Lou's about.
• 0:31
  Speaker A: So basically, she was a figure skater for a while, and she, you know, she had a good routine and she was always just kind of like on a certain schedule and she ends up getting burnt out. And she quits at the age of 16.
• 0:47
  Speaker B: At 16, right? Yeah.
• 0:49
  Speaker A: Yes. And I mean, you know, it's just your normal, like, high school sport type of thing. You know, people quit their sports all the time because it's too time consuming or it just doesn't like, fit into their life. And I mean, I've done it with Cheers.
• 1:03
  Speaker B: I mean, you can totally understand because you ended up not doing. You're a competitive cheerleader. You decided last year to take a break, a one year break from competitive cheerleading.
• 1:14
  Speaker A: And, you know, I've thought about it so many times, too, and I know a lot of my friends have, and it's just, it's a very common thing. And she does, you know, what any teenager would do. And so she lives her life and she finds out who she is outside of figure skating. You know, she goes to see her friends and concerts and dinners and all these other things that normal teenagers get to experience, which is good that she got to experience that because she ends up ultimately finding out that she still loves figure skating.
• 1:44
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 1:44
  Speaker A: In the process of it all, I think she went on a ski trip with her family and it reminded her of how it felt to be on the ice.
• 1:51
  Speaker B: Okay.
• 1:51
  Speaker A: And so she.
• 1:53
  Speaker B: But she came back stronger.
• 1:55
  Speaker A: Yeah, right?
• 1:56
  Speaker B: She. She came back stronger. So tell. Yeah, tell us about that.
• 1:59
  Speaker A: It was a big mental struggle.
• 2:01
  Speaker B: Okay?
• 2:01
  Speaker A: I mean, any burnout in sports, it's just, it's, you know, it's, it's a mental struggle. And you're, you're always thinking about it and you just want to leave and, you know, you don't want to, you know, you don't want to have anything to do with that sport. And so the fact that she rediscovered that she missed figure skating and that she loved figure skating is still, like, it's a really good, like, it's a good thing. I mean, it's a good way to come back because it's doing it on her own terms, if that makes sense. And that's.
• 2:29
  Speaker B: I think that was. I think that was the thing.
• 2:31
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 2:32
  Speaker B: I mean, let's face it, she was. She had one of probably the best ice skating routines ever in the existence. In the existence of humanity. And then she. But. But then she goes away, and then she's 16. After a couple of years, she comes back at 20 years old, and her routine, it just blows everybody out of the water.
• 2:55
  Speaker A: And the. The best thing about the routine is that it's creative.
• 2:58
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 2:58
  Speaker A: And it's not, you know, it's not super conventional. It's not.
• 3:02
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 3:02
  Speaker A: What you usually see where they're all super classical and you. You know, it's. It has her own little creative spunk to it, which.
• 3:09
  Speaker B: That's exactly why. That's what struck me most about this story, is that she said that when she. Before she quit, she really didn't have much input into the choreography of her routine. Right. She would just do what she was told.
• 3:27
  Speaker A: She was kind of on her coach.
• 3:28
  Speaker B: And so, yeah, she's. Whatever her coach said, this is what the routine should be, and she would just do that. But then she goes away for two years, and she realizes, I really love the art of it. I love the passion of it. I want to do it my own way, and I want to be my own authentic person. Right, exactly.
• 3:48
  Speaker A: So now she's fitting figure skating into her own life and her own style, whereas prior, she was kind of fitting her life into figure skating. And so I think that's a big distinction that's important to be made, because
• 4:02
  Speaker B: her life, but also her. Her art, her personality, her way, it's her expressing. It's expressing herself. Right, Right. So how does that relate Sophie to your life? Like, if you. If you're looking at her the same way you're doing. Looking at your life in cheer or however, what kind of lessons do you take away from that?
• 4:26
  Speaker A: Well, I definitely think. I mean, overall, I've learned that my love for cheer, you know, isn't going away. So I think I relate to Alyssa a lot that way.
• 4:36
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 4:36
  Speaker A: Because, you know, every time I try to walk away, I just. I end up missing it even more. And I think it's important. I've. I've kind of grown a better voice and grown as a better advocate for myself in the cheer setting, because, you know, when I was younger, I would. You know, I wouldn't argue with the coaches I don't argue with the coaches now. But that would be bad. That would definitely be bad. But, you know, I wouldn't stand up for myself in a cheer setting. Whereas, like, now I feel like I can really be honest, you know, if I'm not feeling well or if I have, like, a certain injury and I don't feel comfortable stunting, I feel. I feel as though I can tell my.
• 5:16
  Speaker B: You can voice.
• 5:17
  Speaker A: I can be like, hey, I can't stunt today, or, hey, I really don't think I can, you know, perform to the best of my abilities today. I need to take it easy. And I think that's, you know, here's
• 5:30
  Speaker B: what I want you to take from it. What I want you to take from the Alyssa Liu story is this. That when you're thinking about what you want to do with your life, I want you to pursue what is most authentically you.
• 5:46
  Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
• 5:47
  Speaker B: I want you to think about what empowers me. Right. Because when she was a great figure skater. Right. But then when she had this. When she decided she was gonna do, express herself, express her love for the art, when she was gonna put her. It made it so much more powerful, and people could feel that. I mean, if you just look at that routine, it is just. It makes you feel something.
• 6:14
  Speaker A: Absolutely.
• 6:14
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 6:15
  Speaker A: It definitely reflects over on, like, not even just cheer, just any sport. You can really tell when somebody wants to be there.
• 6:23
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 6:23
  Speaker A: Or not. You can tell, you know, during a dance performance if somebody really wants to be there and if they're really into their routine or not.
• 6:31
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 6:32
  Speaker A: I think that has a lot to do with, A, the creativity.
• 6:34
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 6:35
  Speaker A: And B, just, you know, how you feel about that sport and about yourself. Yeah. It's a big confidence thing, too.
• 6:42
  Speaker B: So here's the thing. It's not just about sports.
• 6:45
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 6:45
  Speaker B: This is. This is about life. This is about your career, what you do. This is important because we're talking about life choices, and when you're deciding what you want to do with your career, the most important thing that you can do is follow what is your authentic passion. What. What makes you fired up, what gets you going? She. One of parts of her story that I think is really important is that she said she kind of felt like she was doing it for her dad. Right. She was pushing. Her dad was pushing her. Her dad was managing her and all that. And then when she came back, when she left it and then she came back, she was doing it for her. Right. And that's what took. Totally took it to the next level.
• 7:33
  Speaker A: And I think. I think that's definitely the biggest takeaway from this story. I think doing things for yourself rather than to please the audience or to please your couch, I think that's, you know, that's the most important, especially if you're trying to grow in that area of life.
• 7:50
  Speaker B: Absolutely. Like, for her, it was. You could just see the playfulness and the artistry that came into it.
• 7:58
  Speaker A: I mean, that performance, it went viral on TikTok, TikTok, YouTube, everywhere, every social media platform. People knew that routine. And usually, you know, I mean, a lot of people watch the Olympics, and a lot of people watch figure skating, but even I never watched figure skating until I saw that girl on my TikTok for you page.
• 8:18
  Speaker B: Yeah, totally.
• 8:19
  Speaker A: You know, it definitely draws an audience closer, I guess.
• 8:23
  Speaker B: I guess there's kind of a balance, because from a parent's perspective, like Alyssa's dad, you want to push your children to reach their maximum potential. Right. And that's great. And not only that, if she didn't have that motivation, if her dad wasn't there to motivate her, she may never have become the great figure skater that she is. So do you feel like in your life that mom and I are pushing you to reach your maximum potential?
• 8:54
  Speaker A: You guys definitely push me a lot, but I wouldn't say that's necessarily, like, a bad thing in any way, because, I mean, I wouldn't be as ambitious as I am today if you guys didn't push me as much as you have.
• 9:08
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 9:08
  Speaker A: And especially now that I've kind of proven that, you know, I'm a hard worker. I do things, you know, correctly.
• 9:16
  Speaker B: Well, you've taken the ball, and you're running with it.
• 9:18
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 9:18
  Speaker B: So that's the thing, is that you really do that.
• 9:21
  Speaker A: It's worth it.
• 9:22
  Speaker B: It works. Is worth it. So for the parents out there that are watching, don't be afraid to push your kids. Don't be afraid to push your kids because you do want them to reach their potential. That's the. That's the critical thing, that as a parent, that's what I really, really want from you and your sisters. Yeah. So how would you say just hearing Alyssa Liu's story is going to impact you for the rest of your life?
• 9:48
  Speaker A: I think it's. It's really easy to kind of fall into these, like, schedules and these burdens and just these. These constant commitments so that you're not super just into because you're kind of limited to somebody else's scope or somebody else's ideas.
• 10:05
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 10:06
  Speaker A: I think I'll probably take into consideration that I should be more, you know, true to myself in these situations because could, you know, it's. It's so easy to fall into those.
• 10:18
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 10:19
  Speaker A: You know, those traps. I wouldn't call.
• 10:20
  Speaker B: You mean like when you're. When you're letting other people tell you what to do?
• 10:24
  Speaker A: Yes.
• 10:24
  Speaker B: Right.
• 10:25
  Speaker A: It's so easy to fall into that lifestyle. And that's such a follower mentality.
• 10:29
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 10:29
  Speaker A: I think just kind of taking initiative and being my own advocate is really important, and I think I'll definitely, you know, I'll definitely do that.
• 10:36
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 10:37
  Speaker A: Because I, you know, I. I don't really like listening to, you know, people who are trying to kind of take
• 10:44
  Speaker B: over tell you what to do. You don't like to be told what to do. You don't like to be told what to do.
• 10:50
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 10:53
  Speaker B: Well, let's face it. Let's face it, Sophie, you know, reasonable,
• 10:57
  Speaker A: but I. I definitely like being in charge of my own life.
• 11:00
  Speaker B: Yeah, no doubt. No doubt. So you're about to go off to college. We got one more year of high school. You're gonna go to college, and nobody's gonna be there telling you what to do every day. But what our hope is that we've taught you the lessons that you need to know to be able to tell yourself what to do.
• 11:19
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 11:20
  Speaker B: That's the whole point. So I think it's.
• 11:22
  Speaker A: Yeah. Being your own boss.
• 11:23
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 11:24
  Speaker A: That's a good mentality to have.
• 11:26
  Speaker B: Well, definitely one of the things that your mom and I have focused on is raising you to be a strong, independent young woman that can make smart decisions.
• 11:39
  Speaker A: Having that independence is really important. Just kind of going into the future and, like, having all these different opportunities, either, you know, scoping out these opportunities or having them handed to me, it's just being independent will get me through all of it easier.
• 11:54
  Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. There's no doubt about it. You are strong. There's no doubt about it. You got that independence in you. Right. You just want it sooner. Sooner than. Sooner than you might need it.
• 12:08
  Speaker A: Deny that. So what about you, Dad? I mean, you're such a hard worker, and you're super successful, and I'm sure you've had, you know, moments where you've wanted to either quit or you've just felt super burnt out. So how have you handled those situations?
• 12:22
  Speaker B: I love that question, because I. Because I've actually given this a lot of thought.
• 12:27
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 12:29
  Speaker B: I'm a trial lawyer, and every trial lawyer has to tell a story. Right. And what I realized is I Actually lost my first three jury trials. And because I'm trying to follow a formula, I'm not. I wasn't being my most authentic self. And so just like. Just like Alyssa Liu. Right. So she had to really learn how to bring out her authenticity. That's what I had to do to be an effective trial lawyer. And when I. You know, losing. Losing three trials in a row, that will rip your guts out. Right. So. But I had to go to the drawing board, and I had to realize, what am I doing wrong here? And I realized I've just got to. I gotta be myself. And you know this. You know this because I've taught you this, which is when you are persuading someone or you're talking to a group or you're trying to motivate. Well, what I was about to say is I don't. In a jury trial, I don't even have any notes anymore. I'm not looking at cards. I'm speaking from the heart. And that's what completely changed the game. That's when I started winning jury trials, becoming an effective trial lawyer. So it's a very. It's very much looking at Alyssa and Alyssa Lu and looking at her story, it's very much in alignment with what my experience.
• 13:50
  Speaker A: Yeah, that definitely makes sense.
• 13:51
  Speaker B: Yeah. And so I think the big takeaway that I hope that you get from it is that when you decide to put your heart and soul into something, another big takeaway is when you decide to put your heart and soul into something, to do it your way.
• 14:06
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 14:06
  Speaker B: Do it your. Because nobody can do it like you. Literally, you put your own signature on everything that you do. And not to be afraid to stand out, not to be afraid to shine.
• 14:19
  Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:20
  Speaker B: Yeah, I completely agree with that. Hey, nice. Awesome.
• 14:25
  Speaker A: Thank you for the awesome advice, dad.
• 14:27
  Speaker B: You're welcome. You're welcome. All right, well, thank you guys so much for tuning in. Yeah, I think that's a wrap.
• 14:34
  Speaker A: I think that's great. Make sure to tune in on Spotify, on YouTube, on pretty much every social media platform. We're really excited to see you next time. Bye. Bye.