What if your productivity isn’t ambition—it’s survival? What if your “drive” is actually your nervous system sounding the alarm?
This isn’t just another pep talk for burned-out founders. This is a reframe. A pattern interrupt. A deep breath.
In this week’s Accidental CEO Podcast episode, Nata Salvatori sits down with trauma-informed coach and photographer Renee Bowen to dig deep into the business patterns that come from childhood conditioning, nervous system dysregulation, and deeply ingrained self-worth beliefs.
The result? A radically honest look at why your strategy isn’t working—and how healing your hustle could be the most profitable decision you make.
When Hustle Is a Trauma Response
Renee’s journey started in a small Louisiana town and led her to Los Angeles with no plan, just a deep knowing that she needed more. Like many creative entrepreneurs, she didn’t set out to become a CEO—she just followed what lit her up.
But behind the business growth? Old programming.
“A lot of us had to take care of things at a young age,” Renee shares. “We internalized this belief: if I don’t do it, everything will fall apart.”
And here’s the kicker: that same belief often fuels our businesses. High-performing women, especially, often build empires on top of over-responsibility. It looks like drive. It feels like leadership. But under the surface, it’s hypervigilance.
This isn’t your fault. But it is your pattern—and patterns can be rewritten.
Your Business Reflects Your Nervous System
It’s a bold claim, but it’s true: the way you feel in your business is often a mirror of how regulated your nervous system is.
Renee explains that dysregulation often shows up as:
- Overdelivering on every project
- Discounting your services out of guilt
- Refusing to hire even when you’re drowning
- Feeling like everything is urgent, all the time
“Your nervous system is either in survival or support. If you’re always in fight-or-flight, you’ll make fear-based decisions.”
This kind of CEO energy doesn’t scale. It just burns out. The good news? You can shift.
Multi-Passionate Doesn’t Mean Messy
One of the most liberating parts of Renee’s story is her refusal to niche down into something that doesn’t fit. She’s a luxury photographer, trauma-informed coach, and podcast host—and she’s unapologetically all of it.
“We are not just one thing. And we shouldn’t feel like we have to be.”
Multi-passionate founders often feel pressure to “pick a lane.” But in Renee’s experience (and Nata’s too), integrating all parts of your identity can actually be the most strategic move of all—especially when it’s rooted in alignment, not performance.
From Shoot-and-Burn to Premium Pricing
Pricing is where trauma shows up FAST.
Renee reflects on her early days in business—trying to shift from shoot-and-burn to a high-touch model—and how her unconscious money beliefs almost tanked her confidence.
“I didn’t even realize I had self-worth issues until I started charging premium prices. It brought up everything.”
Sound familiar?
If you find yourself justifying your rates, over-explaining your value, or discounting the moment someone hesitates, you’re not bad at sales—you’re stuck in an old identity.
Healing this isn’t about affirmations and “money magnet” mantras. It’s about getting curious. Where did you learn you had to suffer to earn? And what would change if you didn’t believe that anymore?
What Nervous System Regulation Actually Looks Like
This isn’t about becoming a zen monk. Renee breaks it down:
- Regulation = creating space between stimulus and reaction
- It’s the difference between reacting and responding
- It’s being able to observe your thoughts, not drown in them
If your nervous system is constantly in fight-or-flight, every decision feels high-stakes. You’ll rush hiring. Panic over prices. People-please clients. And overfunction yourself into exhaustion.
Renee’s practical tip? Connect back to your body.
- Hand on heart. Breathe deep. Ask: Is this mine to carry?
- Take a walk. Reconnect with nature.
- Notice without judgment: What feels off here?
The First Step Isn’t Strategy—It’s Self-Awareness
Most people try to fix their business with a better funnel, new hire, or productivity hack. But if your identity as a leader hasn’t shifted, the pattern will repeat.
Start here:
- Audit what’s really working in your life and business
- Identify where you’re operating from obligation, not alignment
- Reflect: Is your doing coming from passion—or panic?
“There’s no prize at the end for doing the most. There’s only burnout.”
Final Takeaway: Build a Business That Supports Your Nervous System
This episode is a gentle (but direct) call-out: Your worth isn’t tied to your output. Your hustle doesn’t have to hurt. And your business should feel like freedom, not pressure.
If you want to grow, you need more than strategy. You need safety. Support. Space to breathe.
Because you’re not your hustle.
You’re the leader behind it.
🎧 Listen to the full episode: You Are Not Your Hustle: Healing the High-Achiever Business Pattern
Stay inspired by today’s guest, Renee: ReneeBowen.com
🔗 DM @accidentalceo.co if this hit home or visit https://accidentalceo.co/podcast for more tools and coaching info.
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