Campfires, commitment, & and the One above
Did someone say “7k rock star”? Curtis Harland, arm in arm with his wife Carrie, has been growing his successful business since 2019. Having earned the rank of Presidential Gold, we asked Curtis to share a few life lessons that have made a difference for him (and can do the same for you).
1. Develop a strong support system.
Curtis is quick to say Carrie is his secret weapon. “She’s the reason that I do a lot of the stuff I do because I’ve got her support behind me. That’s a very important part. Even though it’s me that’s on the face of everything, it’s that alone time that we have just to be able to bounce ideas off each other. She’s a big part of why I’ve been successful.”
Curtis says his faith is also a major source of strength. “It’s the One above that gives me the strength,” he says, citing the Biblical scripture from 1 John, “He that lives in me is greater than he that lives in the world.”
Even though Curtis’s spirituality strengthens him, he lets his actions do the talking. “He is a thoughtful person, and he is not talking his faith; he’s walking it. I see that also in the 7k leadership; it’s not that we need to use words to express our faith; it’s that our actions speak much louder, and Curtis is definitely one of action,” Carrie said.
For those who don’t have a faith system in place, Curtis suggests drawing strength from the 7k family. “A lot of leaders call it the campfire—gather around the campfire; you stay warm close to the campfire. The 7k community is so powerful because we are united together in one. We may have different beliefs about certain things, but there is the one that connects us all.”
2. Follow a winning mantra and never quit.
The Harlands embrace this mantra as a guidepost for their lives: Make a plan, work a plan, evaluate a plan—and then reevaluate the first three steps. The couple coined this phrase when they were dating, and they’ve lived by it ever since.
“Throughout almost 31 years of marriage, that’s what we do,” Carrie said. “When you’re sailing a ship, it’s not always on course. You’ve always got to find that north star and readjust—change the rudder.”
But essential to adjusting the rudder is carving out time for reflection. In a conversation years ago, 7k co-founder Zach Davis told Curtis to evaluate every presentation after the fact, identifying things he wished he would have said and things he wish he didn’t. The reflection would reveal how to adjust for greater success, and Curtis lives by that advice because learning from mistakes equals growth.
“Never quit. I know so many times in life, we do things and we fail, but part of being successful is failing. When you fail, it takes that reflection time to readjust,” he said.
3. Dream big.
In December 2024, Curtis took part in a Super Saturday about dream building, and he wants to know this: If you had some big dreams back in December, how is it going? Curtis said our dreams should stay grand as we get older, not the opposite. “Sometimes we house ourselves to smaller vision because we don’t dream big. As little kids, we had all the big dreams in the world, but as life goes on, those dreams just kept getting smaller and smaller. There’s opportunity all around—you just got to go get it,” he said.