Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life with Sonnie Linebarger

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🎧 Episode 172: Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life 

If statistics were the deciding factor in my life… I’d be a nobody.

I came from a broken home, raised by a single mom who worked three jobs just to keep the lights on. I didn’t graduate high school. By all accounts, I wasn’t supposed to become a CEO, start a business, or lead anything of significance.

But statistics don’t determine your destiny, your mindset does.

In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how your beliefs are building your life ...whether you realize it or not. I share my own journey of breaking free from a fixed mindset and how I rewired the limiting stories I used to tell myself. I also unpack the science of neuroplasticity and how you can start training your brain to believe something better.

This one’s for anyone who’s been playing small, shrinking to fit, or wondering if it’s too late to go after something bigger.

Here’s what I dive into:

• Why most people don’t fail from lack of skill, they fail because they feel unworthy
• The mindset that kept me stuck for 30+ years
• What neuroplasticity is and how it proves you’re never too old to change
• How I went from CNA to CEO...and why I’m just getting started at 47
• How to audit your self-talk and write a new narrative
• What to do when shame, fear, or past trauma tries to keep you in your cage
• And why it’s time to walk out of the jail cell that’s been wide open all along

🔑 Here’s what I want you to take away:

• You are not broken. You’re not behind. You’re not too late.
• You can rewrite your story...starting now.
• Your brain will believe whatever you train it to.
• The same voice telling you “you can’t”… can be trained to say “let’s go.”

💡 A few things I said that I hope you carry with you:

“The thoughts we think and the stories we tell ourselves… become the limits of our lives.”
 “If the door’s not open, kick it down. If that doesn’t work, find a window. There's always another way.”
 “You are worthy. You are capable. You are just getting started.”
 “You don’t need permission. You need belief.”

A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!

Check out my website: www.evokegreatness.com

Follow me on:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonnie-linebarger-899b9a52/

https://www.instagram.com/evoke.greatness/

https://www.tiktok.com/@evoke.greatness

http://www.youtube.com/@evokegreatness

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
For anyone who knows my story, the odds were never in
my favor.
If statistics were always right, I'd be a nobody.
I came from a broken home,raised in poverty by a single
mom who worked three jobs justto keep a roof over our heads.
I didn't even graduate highschool.
According to the data, I hadprecisely zero business building

(00:22):
a life of any significance.
I wasn't supposed to become aCEO.
Statistics don't determine yourdestiny.
Your mindset does.
Welcome to Evoke Greatness, thepodcast for bold leaders and
big dreamers who refuse tosettle.

(00:43):
The podcast for bold leadersand big dreamers who refuse to
settle.
I'm your host, sunny.
I started in Scrubs over 20years ago doing the gritty,
unseen work and climbed my wayto CEO.
Every rung of that laddertaught me something worth
passing on Lessons in leadership, resilience and what it really
takes to rise.
You'll hear raw conversations,unfiltered truths and the kind

(01:05):
of wisdom that ignites somethingdeeper in you your courage,
your conviction, your calling.
This show will help you thinkbigger, lead better and show up
bolder in every part of yourlife.
This is your place to grow.
Let's rise together.
Welcome back to another episodeof Evoke Greatness, the podcast

(01:36):
for bold leaders, big dreamersand those of us who know deep
down we were created for more.
I'm your host, sunny, and todayI want to talk straight to your
soul.
I want to talk about themindset that holds you hostage.
So I'll start with this Mostpeople don't fail because they

(01:56):
lack skill or talent.
They fail because they believethey're unworthy.
Let that sink in.
We don't apply for the job, wedon't ask for the raise or pitch
the big idea or go for therelationship Because somewhere
along the way we startedbelieving the BS lie that we're
not enough.
And I'm here to tell you stopthat trash right now.

(02:20):
Seriously stop the thoughts wethink and the stories we tell
ourselves, the language we usein our own minds.
They actually become the limitsof our lives.
For anyone who knows my story,the odds were never in my favor.
If statistics were always right, I'd be a nobody.

(02:42):
I came from a broken home,raised in poverty by a single
mom who worked three jobs justto keep a roof over our heads.
I didn't even graduate highschool.
According to the data, I hadprecisely zero business building
a life of any significance.
I wasn't supposed to become aCEO.

(03:04):
I wasn't supposed to buildcompanies or lead teams or coach
high-performing executives.
That would have all soundedinsane years ago.
But you know what?
Statistics don't determine yourdestiny.
Your mindset does.
I spent the first 30 years ofmy life operating with a fixed

(03:27):
mindset, playing small,shrinking to fit, living in
survival mode.
But something shifted in meabout 12 years ago and I started
asking myself what if I'm wrongabout what's possible for me?
And that question cracked thedoor open.
And once you see a sliver oflight, you don't go back to the

(03:49):
dark.
Here's the wild part.
This isn't just motivation,it's science.
Your brain has something calledneuroplasticity, which
basically means it can literallyrewire itself based on how you
think, speak and act.
Let me say that again yourbrain is not fixed.

(04:10):
Your identity isn't permanent.
Fixed, your identity isn'tpermanent.
Your beliefs can be rewritten.
When you tell yourself I'm notgood enough, your brain looks
for proof to make that true.
But when you tell yourself I'mcapable, I'm worthy, I'm ready,

(04:40):
your brain finds that proofinstead.
This isn't about fakeconfidence.
It is about training your mindto become your ally and not your
enemy.
If I had accepted what lifehanded me, I would have stayed
stuck.
But deep down, even as a CNA,doing the work that nobody
glamorizes, I knew that I wascreated for something more.
I didn't always believe inmyself, but I learned to believe

(05:02):
in the possibility, and thatwas enough to get me moving.
Now, now I'm dreaming big.
Now I've got audacious visionsI plan to bring to life.
Is getting into politics on thetable?
Maybe I would have neverthought that was possible.
It would have seemed crazy.
Now it doesn't sound too faroff.
Do I have other big ideasbrewing?

(05:24):
Absolutely.
I just turned 47, and I feellike I am just starting to rev
my engine.
So let me ask you something whatstory have you been telling
yourself about yourself?
What's the belief that's beenkeeping you stuck?

(05:46):
What trauma or lived experiencehas become the jail cell that
you keep walking back into?
Friend, the door to the jailcell is open.
All you have to do is have thecourage to walk out that fear.

(06:06):
It's lying to you, that shame.
It's not your identity, thatold narrative.
You get to rewrite that,starting today, starting right
now.
So I want to give you a few waysto start shifting your mindset.
Today, you have to audit yourself-talk.
You have to catch yourself inthe act.

(06:29):
What do you say about yourselfwhen no one's listening?
And you have to create a newscript, like literally write it
out.
Replace I'm not qualified with.
I'm building the experience Ineed.
Replace I can't with.
I'm learning.
Visualize the audacious versionof you.

(06:51):
See her, hear her, let herspeak louder than the fear.
And you've got to stack yourwins Every day.
Write down one thing, just onething, that you did well.
Train your brain to focus onevidence of growth.

(07:11):
Doing things like this hasbecome a part of the fiber of my
being and my mission.
I want this mindset to be sofreaking contagious that it
spills onto every one of you,onto every listener, every
reader, every person who crossesmy path.

(07:32):
I want you to feel invincible,because when you believe that
almost nothing is impossible,guess what?
You start living like that.
So if nobody has told you thistoday, you are worthy, you are

(07:53):
capable.
You are worthy, you are capable.
If you see that door crackedopen, walk through it.
If it's not open, kick it open.
If that doesn't work for cryingout loud, climb through a
window.
There is always another way.
It's not too late and you arenot too old Friend.

(08:15):
You are just getting started.
I'm so grateful that you choseto hang out with me today and I
hope this message hit home foryou.
If you know someone who needsto hear this message, would you
share it with a friend?
I would love if you'd leave areview or share this online and
tag me on socials.
This is how we spread the fire.

(08:37):
Until next time, keep showingup, keep dreaming big and keep
evoking greatness.
If today's episode challengedyou, moved you or lit a fire in
your soul, don't keep it toyourself.

(08:57):
Share it with somebody who'sready to rise.
Could I ask you to take 30seconds to leave a review?
It's the best way to say thankyou and help this show reach
more bold leaders like you,because this isn't just a
podcast, it's a movement.
We're not here to play small.
We're here to lead loud, onebold and unapologetic step at a

(09:17):
time.
Until next time, stay bold,stay grounded and make moves
that make mediocre uncomfortable.