Passing the Baton: Becoming The You That You Were Meant to Be with Sonnie Linebarger

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🎧 Episode 175: Passing the Baton – Becoming the You That You Were Meant to Be

What if your old self wasn’t meant to come with you into your next season?

In this powerful solo episode, Sonnie unpacks the concept of passing the baton—the idea that we must honor the version of ourselves that got us this far… but also recognize when it’s time to let her go.

This isn’t about becoming someone else.
 It’s about remembering who you’ve always been, underneath the layers of fear, pressure, people-pleasing, and pain.

If you’ve been stuck, restless, or quietly craving a new level of yourself—this is your moment.

We explore:

• Why your old self deserves gratitude, not judgment
• A live exercise to reconnect with the version of you who was on fire
• What’s keeping your greatness buried (and how to release it)
• The patterns that keep you on autopilot and how to interrupt them
• How to shift from surviving to creating
• Why your 2.0 self isn’t a fantasy, it’s your truest self waiting to rise

🔑 Key takeaways:

• The version of you that felt brilliant, bold, and confident is still you
• Your next level requires a new identity...not new credentials
• Shedding the old isn’t a loss, it’s a return
• You don’t have to hustle for your worthiness
• It’s time to say yes to the version of you that’s been waiting

💡 Quotes to remember:

• “Your old self got you this far. Thank her—and then pass the baton.”
• “You are not behind. You are not too late. You are ready.”
• “Stop dragging your old identity into a future that wasn’t built for her.”
• “Don’t let this be a slow burn. Let it be a blaze.”

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 (00:04):
Welcome to Evoke Greatness, the podcast for bold
leaders and big dreamers whorefuse 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

(00:27):
takes to rise.
You'll hear raw conversations,unfiltered truths and the kind
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.

(00:48):
Welcome back to another episodeof Evoke Greatness.
I heard this concept recently.
Episode of Evoke Greatness.
I heard this concept recently Ibelieve it was from Ed Milet,
about passing the baton fromyour old self to your new self,

(01:12):
and it lit something up in melike, yes, that's exactly what
this next season is about.
Too many of us are dragging ourold identities, our old habits,
old pain and trauma into afuture that was never meant for
them.
So in this episode, I'm goingto walk you through a powerful,

(01:35):
honest reflection.
We honor who you've been and weawaken who you really are
underneath it all.
We peel back the layers so thatyou can finally show up as your
most powerful, most alive, mostyou version of you.
Prepare your hearts.
It's about to get real.

(01:56):
Let's hop into it.
Hey friend, what if I told youthat the next version of you is
already here.
She's not somewhere out therein the distance.
She's actually right under thesurface, waiting for you to
finally peel back the layers andlet her out.

(02:19):
Today I want to talk to youabout the moment you stop
dragging your old self into afuture that wasn't built for her
and instead you pass the baton,you honor her, you thank her,
you acknowledge every singlething she's done to get you to

(02:40):
this point, and then you tellher Sis, I've got it from here.
This is going to be a to thispoint.
And then you tell her sis, I'vegot it from here.
This is going to be aconversation about release and
about awakening.
So let's dive in.
Let's start with somethingimportant.
Your old self, the you fromyesterday, last year, 10 years

(03:04):
ago, she's not your enemy.
She actually got you throughthe hard.
She got you through theheartbreak, pushed you through
the seasons of exhaustion.
She made the hard decisionsthat nobody saw, kept you afloat
when you thought you might sink.

(03:24):
There's a temptation to lookback and judge her, to think, oh
, I should have known better, Ishould have done better, but the
truth is she did exactly whatshe could with what she had at
the time.
So, before we let her go, let'sthank her.
Take a moment right now,wherever you are, if you can.

(03:46):
Wherever you are, if you canclose your eyes, picture her in
your mind.
See her standing there, tiredmaybe, but strong.
Look her in the eyes and saythank you for getting me this
far.
I couldn't have made it herewithout you, but I've got it

(04:13):
from here.
That's the baton pass.
That's the handoff fromsurvival mode to creation mode.
And here's the thing that mostpeople don't realize your
greatness isn't something thatyou have to go find, it's
already in you.
In my keynote, I walk audiencesthrough an exercise that I want
you to try with me right now, ifyou're able to.
I want you to close your eyesand I want you to think of a

(04:37):
time in your life when you wereon fire, a time when things were
clicking, when you feltbrilliant, confident, alive.
Maybe it was your career, maybeit was in your personal life,
maybe both.
Now I want you to really feelthat moment.

(04:58):
What were you doing?
Who were you with?
How did your body feel in thatmoment?
When I do this with a liveaudience, I then have them open
their eyes and write down threewords that describe that version
of them.
Not the watered-down,distracted, doubtfulful version,

(05:20):
but the fully alive version.
Go ahead, I want you to thinkof your three words that
describe that brilliant spacethat you occupy.
I want you to say them out loud, if you can write them on the
notes in your phone, if you needto, because here's the truth.
That person is you.

(05:41):
It's not a future version, it'snot a fantasy.
That is you.
Sometimes she's just buriedunder years of routine and fear
and people-pleasing and pain,but she's still there, waiting.
So here's the question what'skeeping her hidden?

(06:09):
Maybe it's the belief thatyou're too much or you're not
enough.
Maybe it's habits that keep youstuck on autopilot, or the idea
that you need permission fromsomeone else to rise.
But, friend, it's time to shedthose layers.
Let go of that story that saysyou have to earn your worthiness
.
Drop the guilt that's weighingyou down.

(06:32):
Stop carrying identities thatyou've outgrown.
This is not about becomingsomeone different.
This is about returning to whoyou've always been before.
The world told you who to be.
So peel it back, step into thelight.

(06:53):
Let the world see the real you,not the edited, filtered,
socially acceptable version ofyou, but the bold, powerful,
unapologetic version.
Here's what I hope for you aftertoday's episode.
I don't want this to be a slowburn.
I want this to be a fire thatyou can't put out.

(07:15):
But that means deciding todaythat you're no longer carrying
what's not yours to carry.
It means getting real about thepatterns that keep you from
showing up fully, and it meanssaying yes to you 2.0.
Not someday, but now.

(07:37):
Because here's the thing lifedoes not wait for you to be
ready.
Opportunities won't wait foryou to feel confident.
The moment you decide to stepup is the moment things will
start to shift.
So I'll ask you one last timeare you ready to take the baton,
to honor your past self, tothank her, and step boldly into

(08:04):
who you are always meant to be?
You are not behind, you are nottoo late and you are so worthy
of what's next.
Friend, this is your season.
Go, set it on fire.
If today's episode challengedyou, moved you or lit a fire in

(08:30):
your soul.
Don't keep it to yourself.
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

(08:52):
time.
Until next time, stay bold,stay grounded and make moves
that make mediocre uncomfortable.