158. Fighter Pilot to Founder | Michelle "Mace" Curran
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What does “classic imposter syndrome” feel like for a high‑achieving fighter pilot?
Classic imposter syndrome, right? I'm a high achiever. My identity is wrapped up in my achievements. I've always been able to work hard enough to succeed at everything I do up to this point. And now I'm a beginner in a very hard career field where it takes years to get good and you're constantly failing at first. And I just was not used to that happening. And it kind of rocked my identity.
Welcome to the Dwayne Kerrigan Podcast, and I'm your host, Dwayne Kerrigan. With 35 years in business and close to 30 ventures across 12 industries, I've seen a lot. Amid the celebrity allure of entrepreneurship, many exceptional entrepreneurs remain shadowed. Here I team up with these hidden talents to unveil their challenges and successes. Dive in with me to unearth entrepreneurial gems, learn from our experiences, and get educated. Ladies and gentlemen, uh I just want to introduce Michelle Mace Churin. Michelle, welcome to the podcast. She is a former Air Force F sixteen combat veteran fighter pilot, which in on its own is probably one of the coolest things somebody could say at a party. But you've thrown like a hundred and fifty to two hundred, I'll just call it, uh, combat hours in Afghanistan.
You're the member of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, or you were. You were the fifth woman to do that. And the second woman to lead it as a solo lead or a lead solo, I think they call it.
Lead solo, yeah.
You've used this platform. I mean, obviously we'll get into the career and all the really not only cool stuff, but the things that really helped you elevate You've used this platform to build and increase awareness for women. Congratulations on that. You left active duty in twenty twenty two and then started a business. I think you were in for thirteen years, if if my yep research is correct, and then founded Upside Down Dreams, which is a uh speaking, training and education company. You've written three books, the most recent being Flipside, which is how to invert your perspective and turn fear into your superpower. But then really what I thought was super cool was that you've written a couple of children's books.
One Upside Down Dreams and What's Your Call Sign. I don't know why I I thought this and I don't wanna make assumptions, but you think about fighter pilot and all the things that you had to do. And then you've written a couple of children's books. What was the drive for that? I'm actually very curious. It was the first thing that kind of popped into my head, which would be kind of odd, but I thought, wow, that's so cool.
Yeah. So the children's books were kind of the foundation that eventually led to the flip side, which got a lot more traction on like a national bestseller type level, where the kids' books were almost a passion project. And it all started with my first year with the Thunderbirds. We did an event at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, which awesome place. Great to visit. We did some book signings or some lithograph signings while we were there. And then I had some time. So I went over to the bookstore and it's got awesome stuff, all kinds of space stuff, aviation stuff. And then there's a book section. And I'm looking at all these children's books. And I have this realization after I had just met with all these kids and had this moment of inspiration with so many little girls where they saw someone that looked like them.
doing this thing that's just really unique. And I can see the inspiration happen in real time. And then I go to the bookstore. And I don't see a single children's book. That a little five or six year old girl is going to see. and find relatable. They're all male main characters, which is fine. It happens a lot in aviation. But as I stood there as, you know, the second woman to ever fly as lead solo for the Thunderbirds, I had this moment where I'm like, maybe I'm the person to put one out there where It is a relatable character. And it's kind of the see it to be it. So I was like, I'm gonna write a children's picture book. And it's gonna be about a little girl who wants to be a fighter pilot and that big dream that she's chasing as an eight year old.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What does “classic imposter syndrome” feel like for a high‑achieving fighter pilot?
0:00–13:55
2
How did a chance visit to the Smithsonian bookstore spark the idea for a children’s book?
13:55–27:33
3
What lessons did the debrief of a near‑catastrophic mishap teach about root‑cause analysis?
27:33–40:24
4
How did moving to a reserve squadron in Texas change the way you approached teamwork and reputation?
40:24–51:50
5
Why did transitioning from a regulated cockpit to solo entrepreneurship feel like a shock?
51:50–1:00:20
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from The Dwayne Kerrigan Podcast
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