Chapter 1: What challenges does Michelle Curran face with imposter syndrome?
What do you do when self-doubt hits harder than turbulence? Former Thunderbird fighter pilot Michelle Mace Curran shows up to tell us how to rise through imposter syndrome, how to lead with trust, and how to command confidence under pressure. This isn't theory, it's live leadership at Mock Speed.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the best thought leaders in our space today, my good friend, Michelle Mace Curran. Michelle, how you doing today, dear?
I am great. That was one of the best intros I have ever heard. I need you to travel with me.
First off, you've had many amazing intros, so I'm not going to go there, but you are amazing. You are awesome and you deserve everything that I just said.
So thank you so much.
So Mace. I love starting my episodes by asking my guests about their because. That thing that's deeper than your why, that purpose, that mission that drives you. And it changes over time, right?
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Chapter 2: How does trust influence high-performing teams?
So if I were to say today, Mace, what's your because? Why do you keep doing the things that you do and giving so unapologetically from your soul?
I love this question and that you started with today because I think it's clearer for me today than it has been at any other point in my career in the various chapters. And being an entrepreneur post active duty military, quite the shift, quite the change in just structure, you know, used to having a chain of command and very clear mission and orders and being part of a high performing team.
And now I'm a solo entrepreneur. There's no playbook. There's no wingman who's in the thick of it with me, even though I have some amazing people that help whenever I need them. And so I tell people they're always surprised that I'm so passionate about what I'm doing now, because it seemed like I've already done things that people look up to in such a unique way. But I feel so clear.
that I'm creating my legacy now, even though I got to fly for the Thunderbirds, which is just a cool thing to be part of. And it gave me the platform to do what I do now. It gave me the perspective and the wisdom to be able to present my ideas in a way that really impact people in this new chapter.
But I get to tangibly see the inspiration happen in front of my eyes when I give a keynote speech, when I talk to someone afterward and they tell me how that moment where they felt like I was talking directly to them just changed their life. And now with my book, I get these amazing pieces of feedback that are very similar, where they're like, I feel like you wrote this for me.
And I know what I'm going to go do differently now.
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Chapter 3: What is Michelle Curran's personal 'because' that drives her?
So it's not just I feel good. It's I'm going to act accordingly because of that. And so having this...
platform and this position and this timing to be able to not just feel fulfilled myself because I get to control my schedule and I'm my own boss and I have creative control of the narrative, but just to see this legacy being left when I talk to a 20 year old woman who wants to be a pilot or I talk to a 65 year old man who's retiring and feels like he's lost his identity. And so I feel like that's
Still sort of my why, but I like that you took it a little bit deeper because being an entrepreneur is hard and uncertain. And it just keeps me running towards the target without hesitation, maybe naively sometimes. But I absolutely love it.
I love that. I love your answer. And I love I've told you offline, like, I just love the person, the human being that you are. So inspired by you. You know, my best friend in the world is celebrity chef Robert Irvine, whose mission, whose because is helping our heroes, right? Like our military, our veterans, our servicemen and women.
first responders that really make what we do in the United States easy.
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Chapter 4: How did Michelle transition from fighter pilot to entrepreneur?
And I know that we all have adversity. We all have challenges. But Michelle, without people like you, I don't think the world would understand the true adversity, the true challenges that we would have. So again, I just want to thank you for all that you have done, all that you currently do, and all that I know you will continue to do. So thank you.
That means a lot. And Robert has just done such an incredible job of using the platform he's been given to give back to the veteran community. He's, you know, just a handful of people are doing it at that level and he's one of them. So I love that connection.
Absolutely. So you are Wisconsin's finest born and raised in Wisconsin, right? My youngest son went to undergrad at Beloit in Wisconsin. So I got to spend a little bit of time in that great state. Talk to us a little bit about growing up in Wisconsin. But more importantly, when did you know that, yeah, I'm going to go support and fight and defend for our country in the Air Force?
Chapter 5: What strategies can help overcome self-doubt?
Yeah, growing up in Wisconsin was a great place to grow up. But my dad would be very sad if I didn't tell you when I was growing up, we didn't live anywhere close to Beloit, but we would drive past the exit for it. And we were going on a road trip and he would say, you know how they named that town? It's the sound a quarter makes if you accidentally drop it in the toilet.
The most obscure thing that I remember from my childhood. I don't even think I've ever been to Beloit. So I apologize for people from there that are listening. But that is what my dad would say. That's the most dad story I've ever heard.
Of course. And well, I won't I won't bash Beloit because my son went to college there. But yeah, like it's one of those towns that has a ton of history. But like you can miss it if you don't pay attention. Yeah, that's that's weird.
Yeah, lots of hidden gems like that in the Midwest in general, I think.
Chapter 6: How can leaders create a culture of psychological safety?
But yeah, so I didn't grow up in an aviation family or military family. My grandpa, my dad's dad, had been a lieutenant in World War II in the Navy. And so there was a small exposure there. He passed away when I was two years old, so I don't have any memories of him. But his trunk, his military green metal trunk,
with Lieutenant Kern stenciled on the end of it, was at my grandma's house growing up. And I used to open it, take out all his stuff. There were letters that he had written to my grandma. There were black and white photos from him in like the Pacific during World War II. He was in the thick of it and his uniforms were in there.
And I would actually try them on and put on his spectacles and his wooden pipe was in there. And it was just like this treasure trove of what felt like adventure. coming from a small town in Wisconsin. And so I think that was in the back of my mind. And fast forward to high school, where I need a way to pay for college.
Chapter 7: What insights does Michelle share about facing fears?
And I'm a good student, but my parents don't have a college fund for me. I start talking to my dad about this. And he had gone to UW Madison for a while. And he had seen all of the ROTC cadets running around. He wasn't in ROTC, but he was just like familiar that it existed. So we start talking about that. We end up settling that Air Force ROTC would probably be a good fit.
Great scholarship opportunities. At that point, I didn't want to be a pilot. But the Air Force, I associated with this idea of exploration and adventure. And it just felt like the branch that I got the most excited about. So I go off to college in Minnesota on an ROTC scholarship as a criminal justice major.
Because my plan is to do four years in the Air Force after I graduate to pay back my scholarship. And then I want to be an FBI agent. Okay.
Chapter 8: How can small, bold choices lead to greater confidence?
That is my dream as like a 16 year old. Wow. I don't know why I always joke that I love the X-Files growing up and, you know, the most accurate representation of what FBI agents do, hunt down aliens. But there we are.
That's amazing.
And then halfway through college, I'm already going to commission as a lieutenant when I graduate college. We end up visiting an Air Force base and I see two fighter jets take off in full afterburner. And I am just awestruck. It is the coolest thing I have ever seen. Goosebumps, jaw dropping. And I'm like, forget the FBI. How do I go do that?
And then it became my singular focus on how I can make that happen.
So as much as I feel like I know about you, I never knew the how you got there. Like, that's awesome. That's awesome. So let's talk about, you know, you're enlisted, you're doing amazing things. When did you realize that you're a leader? And there's a purpose that I'm asking this question, but. But when did you know, when did you accept the responsibility? I'm going to ask it that way.
When did you accept the responsibility that I have to lead? I have to lead people.
That's such an interesting question because that's one of those titles that I always felt a lot of imposter syndrome around. And it's because I didn't stay in the Air Force long enough to be what the Air Force talks about as like leadership, like a squadron commander. Right. Right.
Like I would have I left at 13 years had I stayed in for probably two more years, I would have gotten into a position like that. But I left before that. And so I had so many moments where I was a leader, even if it wasn't at that level in that title. Right. Like I was a flight lead in formation. Right.
I was a mission commander putting 60 aircraft in the air and I'm the one in charge of that entire thing. I go to the Thunderbirds and for two years, my title is the lead solo. And so it's funny because from an outside perspective, I was leading in so many different ways.
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