The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower

by Michelle "MACE" Curran

As one mom pulled her six-year-old daughter toward the fence, I recognized that the girl, eyes downcast and hesitant, was embarrassed and shy. When they finally reached me, the mom said, “Look, Anna, that lady flew the jets you just watched.” Anna slowly looked up at me, connecting the dots between what she had witnessed during the air show and a person that she could relate to. A light turned on in her eyes. Over the next few minutes, previously shy Anna bombarded me with excited questions about flying upside down and spinning my jet around in the air. By the time the autograph session ended, her mom had to drag her away. I had become a planter of seeds of possibility for others, and when that was no longer something I could do most effectively in the military, it was clear it was time for a pivot to speaking and writing. The moment the new position failed to align with these goals, I abandoned my plans. It was clear that it was a No-go because it no longer fit my why. How do you determine your why? Entire books and courses have been written to help people find their why, and Simon Sinek’s Start with Why is perhaps the most well-known. His TEDx, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” introduces the idea as it relates to business and leadership.3 He said that most people who work for companies know what they do and how, but not all understand why. If you ask the average person why they work, they’ll reply, “To pay my bills.” But that’s the what and how, not the why. And this ...