When Deanna Cooney's marriage ended, she walked away with $50,000 in debt, zero financial literacy, and two young children relying on her. Her nervous system in complete disarray, she spent two years terrified.

Through vulnerability and honesty, Deanna shares how she learned to sit with her fear instead of avoiding it. She picked up 'The Barefoot Investor' and built practical financial skills. As her competence grew and her confidence followed, she added breathing techniques and nervous system regulation tools to feel safe. Together, these tools, along with reaching out for support, helped her rewrite inherited money stories and step into her own fierce capability and self-sovereignty.

Deanna's story reminds us we have the capability within us to navigate life's messiest challenges, but we don't have to do it alone. Small, consistent steps become the pathway to lasting growth.

About Our Guest

Deanna Cooney helps smart, capable leaders and high performers find their voice when the pressure is on. With 30 years as a professional performer and over a decade of teaching and coaching, she understands fear from the inside out. Her body-first approach builds nervous system capacity alongside practical speaking skill – going well beyond surface-level confidence. Working across corporate, creative, and leadership environments, Deanna translates performance tools from stage and screen into real-world communication that holds up when it counts.

Read the full show notes on our Substack: https://whatsfear.substack.com/p/s2e3

00:00 The Moment That Changed Everything

01:39 Facing Financial Illiteracy

06:08 The Fear of Loss and Judgment

10:29 Rewriting Money Stories

14:34 Finding Internal Strength

17:33 The Importance of Support

20:58 Breaking Free from the Feedback Loop

25:44 The Role of Support in Shifting Beliefs

29:11 Creating Internal Safety for Growth

33:58 Managing the Nervous System for Change

37:49 Building a Future Self through Safety

42:29 Lessons from Fear and Self-Trust

45:48 It's A Wrap