We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Holly Curby a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Holly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
Wow! This is quite the loaded question. HA! My parents are one of my biggest blessings – they truly set a solid foundation for me on which to grow, be a woman of strong morals, beliefs, values and integrity. They set a beautiful example for me of selfless love, sacrifice, genuine care, hospitality, forgiveness and most of all – faith. They have always cheered me on, provided boundaries and structure to help protect and guide me, and just led by example in how they lived their daily lives.
My dad has always been my rock and my biggest encourager. Whether it was a hug, him telling me he was proud of me, or reminding me “you’re doing a marvelous job!” he just seemed to know what I needed and when to help keep me going. My mom was always my best friend, my confidant, and was always up for an adventure. I could talk through anything with my mom.
I’d say the biggest things they “did right” so to speak that I try to pass on to my children:
1) Faithful. They were faithful to God in their daily lives. Faithful to each other through their marriage vows and therefore even faithful to us kids by providing us that safe and secure upbringing under one roof with both our parents. They were faithful.
2) Be intentional. Whether it be intentionally staying up late until we came home just to say hi and be available to listen to us if we wanted to share the day’s events, or intentionally investing time attending our events, or even intentionally planning trips or outings for us so we could spend time all together making memories – they both were intentional.
3) Unconditional love. Our parents have loved us kids (and grandkids) with an unconditional love. We’ve always been able to go to them with questions, concerns, fears, wrong doings, you name it – and they would always love us. Love us enough to say no. Love us enough to be the bad guy and not let us get our way. Love us enough to set structure and enforce discipline. Love us enough to cheer us on as they watched us do things on our own. Love us enough to let us fail. Love us enough to help pick us back up. They just were and have always been that unconditional love.
Holly, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Of course. From the time I was a little girl I wanted to be a school teacher. While getting my Associates Degree I took a Public Relations class and was hooked. I ended up getting my A.S. in Public Relations, but was still going to proceed getting my teaching degree, that is, until I attended orientation and I just had a gut feeling that is no longer where I was supposed to go. So I took a year off and went to travel and tourism school. Shortly after 9/11 hit, which changed the travel and tourism compensations and policies, I returned to University to get my Bachelors of Science Degree, but in Mass Communication. I wasn’t sure which route I wanted to take with it – broadcasting, journalism, marketing, but the Regional Shopping Center I had been working for since high school continued to open up new positions for me so I found myself naturally taking the path of marketing.
Once I had my first child I resigned from my position as Director of Marketing at a Shopping Center and accepted an at-home position for the local chamber of commerces as their Events Director overseeing memberships and sponsorships. Shortly after our second child my husband left and following the divorce I needed something to support me and my two children so I accepted a position as Director of Culture and Community with a well-known restaurant chain. While there I received a scholarship which paid for me to return to college to earn my Master of Science in Leadership and Management.
During these years working for the restaurant chain, I experienced a lot of challenges in life: my mother was poisoned by tea at a restaurant, my dad was diagnosed with blood cancer, I went through a major surgery, and I lost my mother to brain cancer. Through all of this I used my Facebook social media to simply remind myself of blessings in the midst of heartache. My mother had encouraged me to write a book based off of my social media as she had many people comment how inspiring my posts were and how people felt encouraged when they read them. The day she passed I promised her I’d write the book.
Shortly after my mother’s death COVID hit and I found this new path ramping up speed. While writing the book I was encouraged by publishers to start a podcast (Holly’s Highlights podcast), was asked to speak at various engagements, was directed by my tax accountant to start my own business (Holly Curby LLC), and as result of my speaking engagements I had people reaching out to me for my coaching and consulting services. My book got picked up by a publisher in 2022 and was released just this past April 2023 – already being nominated and receiving several awards.
Little did I know that keeping a promise to my mother would result in a brand that now offers Author Services (book signings, speaking engagements, media interviews, awards), Coaching Services (from college students and parents, to entrepreneurs and small and large businesses), and Speaking Services (city meetings, business leadership retreats, schools and colleges, women’s conferences, retreats and events, and church events).
I help encourage, inspire and equip people to intentionally live their lives full of purpose. I think what sets me apart is the life I have lived – meaning challenge after challenge and yet seeing the good in each situation as I persevere through the trial, the care I have for others, and my raw, genuine vulnerability all balanced with the education and experience too. I’m most proud of just seeing how God keeps blessing everything – that is reassurance to me that I’m still following His will and staying in the center of where He’d have me. All I do, say, and think about is to bring Him glory so I’m honored I can do such through the podcast, book, and speaking all while trying to encourage, inspire and equip people who are listening, reading, and/or attending.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Oh, I like this question. Yes! I have two books which I think everyone needs to read. The first is “10 Seconds of Insane Courage” by Garrett Gravesen. As we all know, when we are asked to get out of our comfort zone (seriously – I had NEVER listened to a podcast when a publisher advised me to start one!) we can be overcome with fears. Well, Garrett walks us through 8 different fears and how to not just overcome them – but walk through them. Each time I have come to a point where I had to make leaps, step into those unknowns, this book helped me find the courage to do so. Truly a must for anyone, but especially entrepreneurs.
Another fabulous book is “Lessons Learned From a Mouse” by Dennis Snow. This book has invaluable insights for those in management and leadership on how to get your team engaged and have a sense of both ownership and loyalty. It reminds you of the importance of alignment and vision as a leader, as well as the impact of personal touches for any organization. This book is a catalyst for dreaming of what your culture and your company can look like – and then encourages you to implement it within your own organization.
And the beauty of these are they are not huge, overwhelming reads. They are simple and ones you’re sure to fill with many notes and highlights – which you’ll return again and again to use as resources and reminders.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Well, if you read Face-Lift: Embracing Hope Through Your Heartaches you’ll find it is filled with defining moments that could have kept me down, but by the grace of God proved to be opportunities for resilience. But I think over the course of getting the book published. I mean, you hear SO MANY “no” responses, before you finally get a “yes.” It can be very discouraging and daunting. And then even when it is picked up by a publisher, there is the process of edit after edit, and deadline after deadline. There was literally one night I was so done, I sat at the kitchen table with my face burried in my hands and I just wanted to quit. That is, until my son came over, put his hand upon my shoulder, and ever-so-sweetly spoke truth to me, “momma, you can’t quit – you can do this – you never quit!” I remember gazing up at him and seeing his innocent eyes staring back at me. There was such warmth of love and a belief in me I had forgotten to have in myself. That’s when I pressed on, pushed into the strength of my faith to finish, and voila. I treasure the memory of celebrating Face-Lift’s release with my family. All gathered around a long table at an upscale restaurant that held some special meaning, each of the family with their own signed copy of Face-Lift before them, my mom and dad’s favorite flowers adorning the table – it all felt worth it. My story comes from doing life with those I love – each one of them gathered at that table. We all had lived a journey that was challenging, and yet God was so faithful to see it through to completion. Yes, resilience – if you don’t have it, you could very easily miss the blessing(s) that await you just off in the distance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hollycurby.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollycurby/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HollysHighlights
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-curby-95870777/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HollyCurby
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdQON2EjTy_ZHoDA2IIJtAA