The Real Women Real Business Podcast

How to Break the Burnout Cycle and Rebuild With Purpose with Christina Kantzavelos

47 min · 16. juni 2026
episode How to Break the Burnout Cycle and Rebuild With Purpose with Christina Kantzavelos cover

Description

What if your business is working on paper, but your body is telling a very different story? In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Christina Kantzavelos, a California licensed psychotherapist, writer, chronic illness advocate, and founder of Begin Within Today and WithinMe. After severe Lyme disease and complex chronic illness forced Christina to rebuild her life, identity, and career, she developed a powerful perspective on ambition, burnout, boundaries, and sustainable success. Christina explains how survival mode shows up in high-achieving women, including overfunctioning, people pleasing, perfectionism, freezing, and fawning. She also shares why boundaries can feel impossible to hold when the nervous system does not feel safe, and what it really takes to create a business that supports your health instead of depleting it. Listeners will walk away with practical nervous system tools, a more compassionate lens for burnout recovery, and permission to redefine success in a way that protects their capacity, relationships, and wellbeing. Timestamps: (01:50) - (06:45) - Why survival mode impacts your body, business, and sense of safety (06:46) - (12:35) - Fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and the hidden signs of chronic stress (12:36) - (19:00) - Why boundaries fail when your nervous system is dysregulated (19:01) - (26:30) - Nervous system regulation tools for a normal entrepreneurial day (26:31) - (32:25) - Stress management, journaling, voice notes, and celebrating small wins (32:26) - (47:17) - Chronic illness, identity loss, rest, support, and rebuilding with intention Resources: * Book Your FREE Coaching Assessment Call with Shauna Lynn: https://www.aboutshaunalynn.com/coachme * Learn more about the show: AboutShaunaLynn.com/podcast * Get 15% off any journal from Begin Within Today (Use code RWRB): https://www.beginwithintoday.com/journal * The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy: https://amzn.to/4e6efj7 Connect with Christina Kantzavelos: * Learn more about Christina: https://www.beginwithintoday.com/ * Begin Within Today Journal: https://www.beginwithintoday.com/journal * WithinMe: https://www.withinmeapp.com/ * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beginwithintoday * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beginwithintoday/ * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Beginwithintoday * Email: hello@beginwithintoday.com Christina P. Kantzavelos, LCSW, is a California licensed psychotherapist, writer, chronic illness advocate, and the founder of Begin Within Today and WithinMe. After developing severe Lyme disease and complex chronic illness while doing humanitarian work overseas, Christina had to rebuild her life, identity, and career from the ground up. Her work now supports people navigating chronic illness, trauma, burnout, identity loss, and nervous system dysregulation through trauma-informed and somatic approaches. Living nomadically between Portugal and Greece, Christina brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship, resilience, boundaries, and creating meaningful success without sacrificing wellbeing.

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130 episodes

episode The Flip the Box Method for Better Leadership and Connection with Shari Leid artwork

The Flip the Box Method for Better Leadership and Connection with Shari Leid

What if connection is not just a nice-to-have in business, but one of the biggest drivers of trust, performance, and growth? In this episode of The Real Women Real Business Podcast, Shauna Lynn Simon sits down with Shari Leid, author, speaker, connection expert, attorney, and founder of the Flip the Box movement. Shari shares how her personal story of being found as an orphaned baby in a cardboard box shaped her lifelong search for belonging, and how that same box became the foundation for a powerful leadership framework rooted in connection. Through her Table for 51 project, Shari traveled to all 50 states and shared meals with women she did not know, uncovering what creates meaningful connection beyond surface-level networking. She explains how disconnection shows up in teams, client relationships, and leadership, and why trust often begins with helping people feel seen. Listeners will walk away with practical ways to strengthen relationships, improve communication, and lead with more clarity, confidence, and care. Timestamps: (01:50) - (04:26) - Why connection is a driver of business performance, not just a buzzword (04:27) - (08:09) - How disconnection shows up in leadership, teams, and client relationships (08:10) - (13:49) - Why connection matters after the pandemic and how Flip the Box began (13:50) - (19:25) - The Flip the Box framework and how it builds trust in leadership (19:26) - (28:00) - Simple ways to help team members and clients feel seen (28:01) - (38:20) - Prioritizing connection, Shari’s retreat, and flipping the story you tell yourself Resources: * Book Your FREE Coaching Assessment Call with Shauna Lynn: https://www.aboutshaunalynn.com/coachme * Learn more about the show: AboutShaunaLynn.com/podcast * Flip the Box Women’s Retreat - Use code RWRB to save $100 off registration: https://www.sharileid.com/retreat * Table for 51 by Shari Leid: https://animperfectlyperfectlife.com/table-for-51 * The Effective Manager by Mark Horstman: https://amzn.to/4v4RPUz Connect with Shari Leid: Learn more about Shari: https://www.sharileid.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sharileidbiz Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/an_imperfectly_perfect_life/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shari-leid-51a53b10/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sharileid TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sharileid X: https://x.com/AnImperfectly Linktree: https://linktr.ee/animperfectlyperfectlife Email: Sharileid@sharileid.com Shari Leid is an author, speaker, connection expert, attorney, and founder of the Flip the Box movement. A former litigator, Shari brings analytical thinking, lived experience, and a deep understanding of human connection to her work with leaders, entrepreneurs, and organizations. She is the author of Table for 51, a project that took her across all 50 states to share meals with women and explore how connection shapes leadership, belonging, and life. Through her Flip the Box framework, Shari helps professionals turn disconnection into a strategic advantage by strengthening trust, improving communication, and creating relationships that support performance, retention, growth, and meaningful reinvention.

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Part 6: The Step-by-Step Process of Selling Your Home Staging Business - How to Sell Your Staging Business Mini Series

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