Michelle “MACE” Curran

Flying Through Fear: How Vulnerability Fuels Success

In today’s world, we are constantly under pressure to hire the right people, create a cohesive team, and perform at a high level… to do more with less. However, true success hinges on each team member’s ability to be bold and expand their comfort zone.

As leaders, we can continuously reinforce this with our teams. Yet, sometimes seeing this struggle from a new perspective is just what an audience needs as the catalyst for change. Recognizing that even those who may seem unflappable have overcome the same doubts and the same obstacles suddenly makes success seem within reach. 

In this 45-minute keynote, Michelle, also known as Mace, takes her audience on a surprising and compelling journey through her career as a Fighter Pilot, culminating in her role as the Lead Solo Pilot for the Air Force Thunderbirds. 

Most will struggle with self-doubt and imposter syndrome at some point in their lives. Mace battled these obstacles while attempting to find her identity in a high-performance, type-A culture. Her evolution from struggling with a crippling fear of failure to flying inverted only inches from other aircraft at 500 mph will inspire audiences to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Drawing on over a decade in high-performance aviation and her own transformation, Mace teaches audiences what they are capable of when they let go of fear, lean into vulnerability, and make bold choices. 

Are you ready to take flight and overcome your fears? 

Workshop: Going to War with Your Inner Critic

No matter how confident and independent we appear to be, we all face pressure to fit in, be liked, and meet the expectations of others. This pressure often leads to us becoming our own harshest critic and stands in the way of our success. 

Despite this tendency, our inner critic can be reframed to be our biggest cheerleader. 

We can make this change by diving into the inner workings of our self-critic. Shedding light on it takes away its power and gives us much-needed perspective. 

In this workshop, combat veteran Michelle Curran, callsign Mace, draws from her experiences as an F-16 fighter pilot and Lead Solo Pilot for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. Despite Mace’s success, she struggled with the same inner critic that we all do. Over time, Mace was able to harness this inner voice and use it to propel her toward success. She now uses these techniques to inspire attendees and help them generate positive change in their inner voice.  

Participants will:

• Identify key attributes of their inner voice that have prevented them from taking action
• Understand their inner critic does not necessarily align with the truth
• Develop a new perspective on how to control the power their inner critic wields 
• Have a plan to tackle at least one of their goals by a deadline
• Form accountability tools with the support of a wingman