Story & Lesson Highlights with Carol Enneking of Cypress

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Carol Enneking. Check out our conversation below.

Carol, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
I love to laugh! That’s one reason I love my husband so much. He makes me laugh every single day. We have a great deal of fun together and have a lot of inside jokes that crack us up! Eric is the true love of my life, and we have been married just over seven years. When I talk about my Rebalancing Act, he is a huge part of it! I am so glad laughter is a big part of our daily routine. I think it keeps us sane. So, I would say there have been more moments lately making me laugh than I can truly count!

In terms of feeling proud, I have had the great honor to see my children become productive adults. They are making their mark on the world and it makes me really proud seeing them do their thing out there!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Carol Enneking—speaker, advisor, coach, and author of The Rebalancing Act: Wisdom from Working Women for Success That Matters. I help high-achieving professionals, teams, and organizations redefine success before it redefines them.

After more than 30 years in corporate leadership—most recently as Vice President of Talent, Learning, and Diversity for a $6B international company—I experienced firsthand the toll that constant striving can take on our health, relationships, and sense of purpose. I was a classic “busyholic” until my own health and family caregiving journey forced me to slow down and reimagine what success really means.

Today, I bring that lesson to others through speaking, coaching, and The Rebalancing Revolution™, a growing community for women who want to succeed without losing themselves in the process. My Oxford Talk on redefining success recently surpassed 1 million views, which tells me this message resonates around the world.

What makes my work unique is that it blends strategy with soul—I’m not just teaching leadership theory; I’m sharing lived experience. I’ve learned that when we create margin in our lives, we not only perform better—we have the time and energy to care for what matters most. That’s what real success looks like to me, and it’s the message I’m passionate about spreading.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
For most of my career, I wore my busyness like a badge of honor. I believed the more I did, the more valuable I was—and that success meant saying yes to everything. That drive helped me achieve a lot, but over time it also became my undoing. I was constantly achieving but rarely at peace.

The part of me that needed to be released was the busyholic—the version of myself that equated worth with work and mistook motion for meaning. That mindset served its purpose for a season; it pushed me to grow, learn, and lead. But eventually, it became the barrier between who I was and who I wanted to be.

Letting go of that constant striving didn’t mean giving up ambition—it meant redefining it. Now, my focus is on creating margin: space for reflection, rest, and relationships. I’ve learned that we don’t lose impact when we slow down—we multiply it, because we’re finally leading from a place of clarity, not exhaustion.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me how to slow down, surrender, and let go of the illusion that I could control everything.

My divorce was one of the most painful chapters of my life. For someone who had always “achieved” her way through challenges, it was humbling to face something I couldn’t fix by working harder or trying to be perfect. It stripped me of my pride, my plans, and my public image—and in that emptiness, I finally learned what it meant to depend fully on the Lord.

That season deepened my faith in ways success never could. I learned to let go of what others thought of me and, harder still, to forgive myself for what I saw as failure. Over time, I began to see that grace isn’t earned—it’s received.

That realization became the foundation for The Rebalancing Act and the Rebalancing Revolution™. True success isn’t about control—it’s about surrender. It’s leading and living with purpose, humility, and peace, trusting that even when life feels unbalanced, God can use every part of it for good.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Smart people are getting it wrong by confusing capacity with calling.

We live in a world that rewards constant motion. The smarter and more capable someone is, the more they’re asked to take on—and the more they believe they can’t afford to slow down. Many brilliant, well-intentioned people are burning out because they’ve built lives full of achievement but empty of margin.

I know, because I’ve been there. For years, I was praised for doing it all, but inside, I was running on fumes. Eventually, I realized that wisdom isn’t about knowing more or doing more—it’s about discerning what truly matters.

In my coaching and leadership work, I see this every day. People mistake busyness for purpose, overcommitment for loyalty, and exhaustion for excellence. The truth is, your greatest clarity doesn’t come from doing everything—it comes from aligning your gifts with your direction and giving yourself permission to rest.

The smartest thing any of us can do is pause long enough to ask: Am I building a life that looks successful—or one that actually feels that way?

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
For much of my life, I was doing what I thought I was supposed to do. I followed the formula—work hard, achieve, stay busy, keep everyone happy. And for a while, it worked. I built a successful career, traveled the world, and checked all the boxes that looked like success from the outside.

But eventually, I realized I was living a version of success that everyone applauded—except me. I had been doing what I was told to do, not what I was called to do. That realization came through hardship, faith, and a lot of reflection.

Now, I’m doing what I was born to do: helping others find freedom from the very same pressure I once felt. Through my speaking, coaching, and the Rebalancing Revolution™, I get to walk alongside people who are ready to lead, live, and love differently.

I don’t believe we are called to do more—we are called to do what matters most. That’s what I’m finally doing, and I’ve never felt more aligned or more grateful.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
The Oxford Talks (white jacket)
An Le, https://www.luxestudioproductions.com/ (green dress)
Megan Taylor Photography (all others)

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Highlighter Series
Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?

Derick Nana Mbrah Born with a vision for a mission , I am acomplishing my

Highlighter Series
Are you walking a path—or wandering?

Tracy Slepcevic I am absolutely walking a path. It hasn’t always been a straight or

Highlighter Series
What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?

Roger Dolin It feels like I am being called to teach now. For many years