Episode 267 The Flipside with Michelle “MACE” Curran (Part 2)

John continues his conversation with Michelle “MACE” Curran. In Part 1, Michelle shared her journey from joining the military on an ROTC scholarship to becoming one of the few female F-16 fighter pilots, the struggles she faced, and what it was like flying combat missions.

In this episode, they talk about her life after the military — becoming a keynote speaker, writing books, and setting work-life boundaries. Michelle also discusses her upcoming book, The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower.

Listen to this episode to learn more:

[00:00] - Intro

[01:26] - Reasons for leaving the military

[05:01] - Michelle’s speaking career

[08:26] - What The Flipside is all about and why she wrote it

[12:12] - Release date of Michelle’s book

[12:58] - Keeping boundaries between work and family

[15:44] - Life as a “bonus mom”

[18:44] - Michelle’s definition of success

[23:25] - Best way to connect with Michelle

[24:46] - Podcasts that help Michelle in her growth

[28:38] - Closing remarks

NOTABLE QUOTES:

“Fear is a normal thing we experience, and it’s actually a great signal to tell you to look further into the (that’s causing the fear) thing.”

“Boldness is something that is required if you want to play big at your full potential.”

“It’s not the easiest lifestyle. You’d think having control of your schedule and working remotely a good portion of time would just be like, ‘Oh, you have so much time with your family.’ But I think that creep into all parts of your life is very easy to let happen.”

“You have to make it a priority to not get stagnant, to not get comfortable, and to celebrate your small wins—but also to keep moving the goalpost for yourself. You always want to be learning something new, you always want to be getting better.”

“When you get to a pretty successful level—you fly for those 100 birds, or you have a business that’s doing well—it can be very easy to settle in and become complacent. And that’s like a surefire way to kind of lose that fulfillment around it.”

“Learning new things, pushing yourself, continuing to develop as a person, that’s the whole human experience. That’s why we’re here.”

“Success looks like building the life I want, that manages the time and the way I want it, and has the priorities that I want.”

“The strongest teams are the ones where people feel like they can show up as their whole selves.”

USEFUL RESOURCES:

https://macecurran.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/macecurran/

https://www.instagram.com/mace_curran/

https://www.facebook.com/macecurran/

https://x.com/mace_curran

https://www.youtube.com/@mace_curran5

"The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower" (https://a.co/d/6zgzEbT)

"Upside Down Dreams" (https://a.co/d/5HlDvhl)

"What's Your Callsign?" (https://a.co/d/ilF0djX)

CONNECT WITH JOHN

Website - https://iamjohnhulen.com   

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen   

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen   

X - https://x.com/johnhulen   

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen   

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA   

EPISODE CREDITS

Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/