Balancing the Grind with Cassandra Worthy, Speaker, Author & Consultant

As the world’s leading expert on Change Enthusiasm and the founder of Change Enthusiasm Global, dynamic corporate speaker, consultant, and author Cassandra Worthy is lighting the world on fire with her refreshingly unique take on growing through change.

1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?

By trade, I’m a chemical engineer, and I spent nearly 15 years in the consumer-packaged goods industry leading innovation across brands such as Pantene, Gillette, and Duracell.  I truly enjoyed the time spent in this industry. 

I am naturally a very inquisitive person, which made engineering such a great fit.  I love asking questions and solving complex problems, and that work afforded me many opportunities to do that. 

But near the start of my career, I had this intuition, a whisper, that there was something bigger I should be doing to share my natural talents and gifts with the world to make it a better place.

For many of those years, I ignored that whisper, because all-in-all, I was still having so much fun.  But eventually, the whisper became louder and louder, and I decided I had to listen.  I followed curiosity about what my work could be. 

Step after step, one choice after another, I found myself one day on a stage in front of over 300 people talking about my journey, my toughest lessons learned.  I felt LIT UP. 

Stepping down from that stage, at that moment, I knew sharing my energy and my message on harnessing the power of emotion to grow through change was my purpose.  My curiosity quickly became my passion.

Now I am a best-selling author, top-rated speaker, and CEO of a consulting and leadership development company called Change Enthusiasm Global.  I couldn’t be more grateful for my decision to take that first step toward curiosity.

2) What does a day in your life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?

Well, let’s see here.  How about yesterday?  I woke up in my Atlanta home at 6:30a ET, hugged my wife, said good morning to our dog, and hopped in the shower. By 7:15a ET, my glam team had arrived to get me prepared for the day. 

At 10a ET, I delivered a virtual keynote experience to about 200 insurance claims litigators.  After which, I hustled to pack and get changed.  I then made my way to my next keynote, an in-person event for about 150 top-level executives in the auto industry starting at 1:15p ET. Before taking the stage, I had a short meeting with a potential client (a Senior VP) who was there to experience my speech.

After my keynote wrapped and I indulged in a quick test drive of one their newest all-electric vehicles, I was driven to the airport to catch my flight to San Jose by way of LAX. 

In the lounge and on the plane, I responded to emails, approved a couple of articles from my marketing team, worked on a couple of consulting proposals, and listened to the Mic Drop podcast hosted by a good friend and rock star speaker and author Josh Linker.  I also watched a pretty decent rom-com and managed to catch maybe an hour of sleep.

After a brief layover at LAX, I boarded my much shorter flight to San Jose around midnight ET.  I finally arrived at my room in San Jose at 1:30a ET.  After unpacking just enough to get ready for bed, I was able to get to sleep by 2a ET.  Whew! So very grateful for this very full life of mine!

3) What does work-life balance mean to you, and how do you work to achieve that goal?

To be honest, that language ‘work-life balance’ doesn’t resonate with me anymore, and I’m on a campaign to inspire us to evolve from it. Because it subtly presumes we have a ‘work’ self and a ‘life’ self, and these two entities must find a way to reach balance to ensure our happiness and fulfilment.

I think in some way it has invited in us this perhaps unconscious urge to turn ON our work self when in the office and then turn that self OFF once we leave to enable our true selves to turn ON.   It has subtly drained the vibrancy and authenticity from work. 

The way I think about work and life is less about balance and more about integration.  How am I integrating my work in a full, vibrant life? The idea of balance becomes relevant when I then think about where I spend the most precious currency we’ll ever possess: time. 

To where, what, and whom am I choosing to spend this currency? And yes, of course work is a part of that consideration.  So, for me, it’s about remaining in tune with what really matters to me in this beautiful thing called life: work, family, friends, impact, health, and spiritual well-being. 

Then within those, how and where do I choose to spend my time.  How do I balance time across all these things that matter in a way that feels right for me?  Where I’m able to get up more days than not feeling fulfilled, grateful, and excited to LIVE.  That’s my goal.  That’s ideal integration.

4) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?

Yes, I recently got married.  And in choosing my life partner, I have chosen to no longer walk this life alone. That means I’m no longer living solely by myself nor for myself. But I’ll spare you all the habits I’m actively working to break and those I’m actively working to build as we, two complete individuals, now evolve together.

5) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?

• Three Magic Words by Uell S Anderson
• The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
• “Mic Drop” hosted by Josh Linker (notably for anyone who has ever contemplated pursuing a career in professional speaking)
• “My First Million” hosted by Sam Parr and Shaan Puri (for my fellow entrepreneurial spirits out there)

6) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?

Well, assuming the title is ‘Work Life Integration’ (wink, wink), I suppose it would be…Denzel Washington.  The man works, living his purpose while inspiring the world, and seemingly prioritising his family as well.

7) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?

I bet you can guess where I’m about to take this…

I would invite you to flip the script on how you think about balance and life.  Strive to no longer place ‘work’ opposite it.  Rather, strive to balance your time across those things, people, places that matter to you then integrate your work into a healthy, fulfilling life.

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