Meet Roy Hughes

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Roy Hughes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Roy below.

Hi Roy, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from a lifetime of being forced to grow through adversity rather than around it. I grew up in environments that many people do not survive emotionally/mentally, but I learned early on that pain could either become an anchor or a motivator. The foster care system, childhood instability and abuse, military service, fatherhood, and later entrepreneurship — each season taught me that quitting isn’t an option when people depend on you. Resilience, for me, has become a muscle built from repetition: get knocked down, get back up, move forward with purpose…get it done!

Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic was shaped by two things: responsibility and necessity. When you grow up in chaos, you learn quickly that the only thing you can control is you and your effort. Later, the military reinforced discipline and accountability. And as a CEO in the home care industry, I’ve learned that my team mirrors my example. My work ethic is simply the result of understanding what’s at stake — my family, my clients, and the people who trust me to lead them.

How did you develop your confidence and self-esteem?

Confidence came naturally after I had several successes growing up despite my upbringing; I built upon it more by proving to myself, over and over, that I could overcome things I once thought would break me. For much of my life, I operated from survival mode. But as I began accomplishing goals — raising my sons, leading teams, building Curantis, writing my book — I realized confidence grows when your actions align with the person you’re becoming. Self-esteem came from healing, therapy, and allowing myself to acknowledge that I was worthy of success, not just fighting to avoid failure. People eventually showed up in my life that showed me what TRUE unconditional love really is.

Where does your generosity come from?

I know what it feels like to have nothing — emotionally, financially, and physically. Generosity is the natural response. When you’ve experienced real scarcity, helping someone else feels like restoring balance. In leadership, generosity means giving people opportunities, guidance, empathy, and the benefit of the doubt. In life, it’s simply who I’ve chosen to be: someone who uses pain as a bridge, not a barrier.

Being the only one in the room: how have you learned to be effective/successful even when you are the only one in the room that looks like you?

I’ve been “the only one in the room” more times than I can count — in the military, in business, in boardrooms, and in health-care leadership. What I’ve learned is that identity can be a burden **or** a superpower. I stopped trying to shrink myself. Instead, I focused on showing up with purpose, preparation, expertise, and authenticity. When you know who you are and why you’re there, the room adjusts to you — not the other way around.

Where does your optimism come from?

Optimism came from realizing that I have already survived the worst parts of my story. Once you know you can weather the storm, the future stops looking so intimidating. And as someone leading a mission-driven company, I’ve seen how positivity impacts culture, outcomes, and the well-being of vulnerable people. Optimism isn’t ignorance — it’s choosing to believe that your tomorrow can be better than today because you’re willing to work for it.

How did you find your purpose?

My purpose found me through service. Every chapter of my life — military, leadership, fatherhood, and now home care — has been about helping people who can’t always help themselves. When I built Curantis, I realized my purpose was to protect dignity and bring compassion into the spaces society often ignores. Writing *Empty Hands* clarified it even more: my life story wasn’t meant to be hidden. It was meant to show others that healing, transformation, winning & success are possible.

How do you persist despite the haters, naysayers, etc.?

I stopped giving people permission to define my limitations. I have dreams and am not afraid to go get them! People criticize what they don’t understand or what threatens their comfort. That’s the problem…they’re comfortable. I’ve learned to treat negativity like background noise — it’s there, but it doesn’t guide or define me. What guides me is my mission, my family, and the real-world results of my work. If I had listened to naysayers, I’d still be stuck in the circumstances I was born into.

If you have self-discipline, where does it come from?

My discipline comes from structure and necessity. The military taught me routine, precision, decisions, and accountability. Life taught me consequences. And leadership taught me that you can’t expect consistency from others if you don’t model it yourself. Discipline today shows up in my fitness goals, in how I run my company, and in my long-term commitments — especially when motivation fades.

What do you do for self-care, and what impact has it had on your effectiveness?

Self-care for me is a mix of physical, mental, and emotional habits: working out when I can, learning about eating clean, drinking ALOT of water, unplugging from work (when I can), travelling, and spending intentional time with family. It stabilizes my mood, sharpens my focus, increases my patience, and boosts my energy. the occasional mani-pedi or spa day doesn’t hurt either! When I take care of myself, I show up better for everyone who relies on me.

How did you develop your decision-making skills?

I developed strong decision-making from experience, failure, and responsibility. In the military, indecision can be dangerous and get you hurt OR WORSE. In leadership, indecision can cripple momentum. Over the years, I’ve learned to evaluate information quickly, trust my instincts, gather input when needed, and accept accountability for the outcome regardless or what it is. Good decisions come from clarity of values and consistency of purpose.

How did you develop your ability to communicate effectively?

Communication became a skill out of necessity. As a leader, a recruiter, a father, and now an author, I had to learn how to speak clearly, listen actively, and adapt my message to the person in front of me. Writing *Empty Hands* strengthened this even further because it forced me to express painful truths with honesty and vulnerability. Effective communication is simply honesty delivered with intention.

How did you develop your ability to take risks?

Risk-taking is something I learned through survival and growth. When you’ve lived through instability, taking calculated risks feels less threatening than staying stuck. Entrepreneurship demanded risk: investing in Curantis, expanding services, writing a book, hiring a team. I learned to take risks by focusing on preparation, vision, and the potential upside rather than fear.

How did you overcome personal bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy was one of the most humbling chapters of my life. I overcame it by refusing to let financial failure define my future. I rebuilt from scratch, owned my mistakes, educated myself on finances, and committed to living within structure and discipline. That season taught me resilience, budgeting, patience, and the power of starting over with intention.

How have you overcome or persisted despite challenges related to mental health issues such as bipolar disorder and ADHD?

I’ve learned to manage my mental health the same way I manage everything important in my life — through structure (as best as I can muster), support, and self-awareness. I stopped pretending I could “thug it out” all the time, and started using the tools available: therapy, medication when needed, routine, and intentional habits. I refuse to let mental health challenges become a barrier to my leadership or my goals, and instead I use them as motivation to stay grounded and consistent.

How did you overcome getting laid off/fired?

Getting laid off was a blow to my pride, but it became one of the best turning points of my life. It forced me to rethink stability, redefine success, and create opportunities instead of waiting for them. Curantis Home Care was born from that moment — from deciding that I would never let someone else control my future again. Sometimes setbacks are simply detours to better destinations.

How did you overcome or avoid burnout?

Burnout taught me to respect my limits and build healthier habits. As a CEO and caregiver at heart, I often put myself last. But I learned that burnout doesn’t just hurt me — it hurts my team, my family, and the people depending on me. Now I set boundaries, delegate more, prioritize fitness and sleep, and stay grounded in my purpose rather than drowning in tasks.

What were the conditions that allowed you to develop your empathy?

Empathy was forged through lived experience — growing up in hardship, navigating the foster care system, serving in the military, raising a family, surviving personal loss, and leading a company that cares for vulnerable people. I understand struggle because I’ve lived it. That’s why I listen differently, lead differently, and care differently. Pain gave me perspective; service gave me compassion; leadership gave me a way to use both to help others.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I’m the CEO and founder of Curantis Home Care, a mission-driven home care agency based in Pennsylvania. At our core, we provide compassionate, dependable, high-quality non-medical home care to seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities who want to remain safe, independent, and dignified in their own homes.

What’s most exciting — and honestly, what I consider the heart of our brand — is that we don’t see home care as a service, we see it as a relationship. We serve people who are often overlooked or underserved, and we show up for them with humanity, respect, and consistency. I built Curantis because I’ve seen what happens when vulnerable people who are alone fall through the cracks, and I wanted to create a company that refuses to let that happen.

Another thing that makes Curantis special is our culture. Our caregivers are the backbone of the entire operation. We invest in them, support them, encourage their growth, and treat them like professionals — because they are. When our team feels valued, our clients feel valued. That’s the ripple effect we strive for every day.

What’s New & What’s Next

We’re in an exciting period of expansion right now. A few things on the horizon:

• Launching transportation for our VA community
We are preparing to expand into veteran medical transportation, especially for VACCN clients such as those requiring reliable transport to dialysis and specialty appointments.

• Growing our service area and team
Demand has increased significantly, so we are expanding into new counties and actively building a stronger, more specialized caregiver workforce.

• Strengthening our leadership and operational systems
As we scale, we’re implementing new technology, better training, and stronger team development programs to support both clients and employees.

• Continuing to raise awareness through my book, *Empty Hands
My memoir has opened up new conversations around childhood trauma, resilience, and the failures of systems meant to protect children. It aligns directly with Curantis’s mission: to care for those who can’t fully advocate for themselves.

At the end of the day, what I want people to know about Curantis is simple: we lead with heart, we operate with integrity, and we take care of people like they’re family. That’s not just branding — that’s who we are.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

When I look back over my life — from my childhood experiences, to the military, to building Curantis Home Care, to writing “Empty Hands” — three qualities stand out as the most impactful:

1. Resilience

Resilience has been the foundation of everything for me. I didn’t come from a background that promised stability or success. I had to learn early how to survive, how to keep moving, and how to turn pain into progress. That resilience carried me through financial setbacks, mental health challenges, career transitions, and the long road of building a business from scratch.

Advice for others:
You build resilience through action, not avoidance.
Start with the small things:

* Set one hard goal and keep your word to yourself.
* Do something uncomfortable every day.
* Let challenges teach you, not define you.
The more you overcome, the more unshakable you become.

2. Self-Awareness

Understanding who I am — my strengths, weaknesses, triggers, and patterns — changed everything. It helped me lead better, communicate better, and make fewer emotional decisions. Self-awareness helped me navigate bipolar disorder and ADHD, run a company with emotional intelligence, and build healthier relationships.

Advice for others:
Self-awareness starts with BRUTAL honesty. You must peel back ALL of your layers.

* Get comfortable with feedback.
* Give yourself permission to be human.
* Reflect regularly (maybe some journaling, therapy, mentorship, or quiet time).
You can’t grow into the best version of yourself if you don’t know who you are right now.

3. Discipline & Follow-Through

You can dream all you want, but without discipline and a DO IT attitude, those dreams never leave your head. Discipline helped me rebuild after bankruptcy, stay consistent in my fitness journey, maintain stability in my mental health, and run a business that people depend on every day.

Advice for others:
Discipline isn’t about motivation — it’s about structure.

* Build routines that support your goals.
* Track your progress.
* Remove distractions that sabotage you.
Most importantly, learn to do what needs to be done even when you don’t feel like it.

Final Thought

These three qualities — resilience, self-awareness, and discipline — weren’t things I was born with. They were forged through experience, failure, responsibility, and a commitment to becoming the kind of leader and father I needed when I was young.

Anyone early in their journey should know this:
You don’t need to be perfect to start — you just need to make a decision and start.
Every skill you admire in someone else can be developed in you with time, intention, and consistency.

We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?

I’m a firm believer in going all in on my strengths. I’ve lived enough life — through hardship, military service, setbacks, rebuilding, and ultimately entrepreneurship — to know that your strengths are where your impact, confidence, and opportunities come from.

Trying to become perfectly “well-rounded” often turns into spending too much energy patching weaknesses instead of maximizing the talents that can actually move your life forward.

Why do I Feel This Way???

Growing up, I didn’t have the luxury of choosing my environment or circumstances. What I did have was the ability to recognize what I was naturally good at — leadership, communication, problem-solving, making decisions under pressure, and connecting with people. Every time I leaned into those strengths, doors opened. Every time I tried to fit myself into roles or expectations that didn’t align with who I was, I ended up frustrated and ineffective.

When I joined the military, my strengths became assets in high-pressure situations. Later, in leadership roles and eventually as the CEO of Curantis Home Care, it was my natural strengths — not my weaknesses — that allowed me to build trust, rally teams, and create systems that empowered other people.

A Story That Shaped This Belief

When I first started Curantis, I tried to do everything myself — operations, scheduling, billing, hiring, compliance. I wanted to prove I could handle all aspects of the business. The truth? I was drowning. Some areas drained me mentally and emotionally.

What changed everything was when I leaned into my strengths — big-picture strategy, leadership, culture-building, and relationships — and hired or partnered with people whose strengths covered areas where I wasn’t as strong.

That shift didn’t just improve the company; it helped transform it.

The business grew. The team grew. The culture strengthened.
And more importantly, I became a better leader because I was operating from a place of excellence instead of exhaustion.

Why Going All In Works (for me)

When you commit to your strengths:

you build confidence faster
you create value for others more naturally
you stand out in a crowded field
you attract opportunities aligned with who you are
you avoid burnout from forcing yourself into the wrong roles

Weaknesses shouldn’t be ignored, but they should be “managed”, not central to your identity.

My Final Thought is this:

People succeed not by becoming average at everything, but by becoming exceptional at the things that make them unique.
I wouldn’t be where I am today — as a leader, author, or father — if I hadn’t learned to double down on what I do best and surround myself with people whose strengths complement mine.

Go ALL in on your strengths.
That’s where your life changes.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.traitmarkermedia.com/emptyhands
• Instagram: @curantishome
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roy-hughes-mba-cscm-a6027621/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/TJLy3z2empE