From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller

What if the thing holding your business back isn't a strategy problem but baggage you've been carrying since childhood? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Curtis McCullom, creator of Legit Mindset, who helps CEOs, founders, and entrepreneurs eliminate the blind spots that have silently held them back, often since childhood. Curtis draws on nearly 40 years of practicing self-hypnosis and neurolinguistic programming, combined with mental and emotional release (MER), to help high-achieving entrepreneurs break through invisible ceilings.
Curtis walks through the four pillars behind Legit Mindset: Learning, Growing, Expanding, and Transforming and explains why so many successful entrepreneurs hit a wall even after achieving real financial success. He shares the science behind why change is so hard (our behavior is roughly 5% conscious and 95% subconscious) and why simply talking to the conscious mind rarely creates lasting transformation. Curtis also opens up about a deeply personal story: uncovering a belief he'd unknowingly carried since he was two years old that "success is hard and difficult" and how identifying and releasing it changed the way he shows up in his own business.
Chapters
0:00 Intro – Welcome Curtis McCullom
2:19 What Is "Legit Mindset"?
4:37 The Universal Capacity Principle
7:39 Why Your Success Doesn't Limit Mine
8:47 Uncovering Your True Identity
10:34 The 11 Million Bits vs. 50 Bits Theory
11:45 The 5% Conscious vs. 95% Subconscious Mind
13:04 How Bespoke Mental Audio Supplements Work
15:11 Discovering the "Legit Mindset" Framework
17:14 Why Curtis Sees Clients as Already Whole
17:39 Understanding Hypnosis and Trance States
19:59 How Media Normalizes Negative Programming
22:14 The Power of Daily Mental Conditioning
23:37 Processing Grief Through Loss
25:25 Why Outside Perspective Matters for Healing
28:06 Resetting Yourself When Out of Alignment
29:43 Why Boundaries Matter in Business and Life
30:47 Pat's Story: Losing Her Husband and Staying Professional
39:19 Why Successful Clients Still Feel Stuck
40:38 What It Feels Like to Release the "Baggage"
42:44 Turning Adversity Into Power
44:01 Doing the Hard Stuff First
45:20 Holding Grief and Gratitude at the Same Time
46:38 Curtis's Own Breakthrough: "Success Is Hard and Difficult"
51:20 Why It's Okay Not to Be Okay
53:09 Pat's Story: Surviving Birth Against the Odds
55:44 Where to Find Curtis McCullom
 
📖  Underdog to Empire —Available Now
Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.
The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.
👉 Get your copy now at: www.patmiller.net
📩  Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter
 
Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:
* Episode recaps and key takeaways
* Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else
* Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real
* The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else
 
👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter

This week, From Underdog to Entrepreneur flips the script. Instead of hosting, Pat Miller sits in the guest chair as fellow podcaster and friend Sarah Walton takes over the mic to interview Pat about her brand-new book, Underdog to Empire. It's a rare, personal look behind the scenes of the show and behind the woman who's spent every week asking other entrepreneurs to share their stories.
Pat opens up about the difference between her first book, a memoir written from a dark, rebuilding chapter of her life, and this second book, which captures her shift from surviving to thriving. She shares the real, unfiltered story of nearly shelving the project entirely, juggling schedules, doubting herself, and wondering if it was even worth finishing, and the moment that changed her mind.
Chapters
0:01 Intro – Sarah Walton Takes Over as Host
1:05 Why Pat Did a Role Reversal Interview
4:34 Pat's First Book: "Kicking Karma's Ass"
6:06 Why She Wrote Book Two: Underdog to Empire
8:28 Standing Out Instead of Fitting In
9:51 The Story of "Nobody Listens to the Blonde"
11:18 Confronting a Client Who Crossed the Line
17:02 Almost Not Finishing the Book
18:56 Feeling Disheartened After Losing Bids
19:38 The Phone Call That Changed Everything
20:50 "Rejection Is God's Protection and Redirection"
21:27 The Moment She Decided Not to Quit
24:34 Why She Keeps Writing and Sharing Her Story
26:43 The Importance of In-Person Connection
28:10 Advice for Anyone in an "Underdog Moment"
30:58 Surviving vs. Thriving
31:34 Her Favorite Chapter to Write
32:59 Where to Get Underdog to Empire & Launch Party Details

📖  Underdog to Empire — Pre-order the eBook Now
Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy, and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere on September 22, 2026.
The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.
👉 Pre-order your copy now: www.patmiller.net
📩  Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter
Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:
* Episode recaps and key takeaways
* Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else
* Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real
* The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else
👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter

What do you do when everything you built gets taken from you in 22 minutes? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Summer Dey, an award-winning TV host and executive producer, six-time best-selling author, and two-time Comma Club Award recipient who equips leaders to communicate with bold faith and lead from their God-given identity. Summer has built and scaled multiple seven-figure businesses and is also a fierce advocate for victims of sex trafficking, having helped raise over six figures to support survivors.
Summer opens up about the day her board of directors voted to strip away everything she'd built just weeks after a miscarriage and months before COVID would shut down another business she was building. She shares how that devastating betrayal, and the depression and PTSD that followed, ultimately became the turning point for an entirely new chapter: launching a coaching business in April 2020 that hit six figures in its first six months, publishing six best-selling books, and building a media and speaking brand from the ground up.
What You'll Learn
How forgiveness of others and of yourself became the tool that ended Summer's seizures and PTSD, and why she now offers a free course on it

How an "accidental" Facebook Live to read the Bible together grew to over 6,700 women in a matter of weeks

Why authenticity, even when it feels risky, is one of the most powerful tools in business and public speaking

The difference between a "talker" and a true transformational speaker, and why nonverbal communication matters so much on stage

Why Summer believes live events and real human connection will become even more valuable as AI reshapes media and content

How she and her family sold nearly everything and spent three years traveling in an RV to 31 states after feeling called into ministry

Why setting aside intentional time to rest and unplug is essential to avoid burnout, no matter how busy business gets

How a single moment of loss and betrayal can redirect your entire path toward something greater

Connect with Summer Dey
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesummerdey/?hl=e
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/FearIntoFaith/
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.
📖 Underdog to Empire — Pre-Order the eBook Now
Pat's new book — Underdog to Empire: Breaking Barriers and Building Businesses with Strength, Strategy and a Sense of Humor — is available for eBook pre-sale now. Widely available everywhere September 22, 2026.
The story of how a girl who ate last at the dinner table built a construction company from a $100 bill. How she lost her husband and still got back up. How every person who tried to hold her back ended up building her up instead.
👉 Pre-order your copy now: www.patmiller.net
📩 Join the Underdog Community — Free Weekly Newsletter
Every Tuesday, Pat sends a free weekly newsletter with:
Episode recaps and key takeaways

Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else

Pat's personal thoughts on entrepreneurship, resilience, and building something real

The Subscriber Exclusive — a personal question from Pat that doesn't appear anywhere else

👉 Subscribe free: www.patmiller.net/newsletter

What happens when you discover your father was a footnote in mob history and it's your own name in the index? In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Glenn Wichinsky, a distinguished gaming and business law attorney licensed in Florida and Nevada and author of Things Left Unsaid: My Dad, The Mob, and Growing Up in the Nevada Gaming Industry. His memoir, recently featured at the London Book Fair, traces his journey to understanding the truth about his father, a man whose life intersected with organized crime, the early Nevada casino world, and the formative years of a now-global industry.
Glenn shares the extraordinary story of stumbling on his father's name in a book by Danielle Gomes, daughter of a Nevada Gaming Control Board investigator, and how that discovery led him to review sealed FBI and military records that finally connected the dots on a lifetime of unanswered questions. He talks about growing up around unexplained moments and surveillance in a wedding parking lot, photos pulled from albums, warnings at customs, and how his father, despite his associations, worked hard to shield his son from that world entirely.
What You'll Learn
How Glenn uncovered his father's hidden past through a stranger's book and sealed archival records

Why his father pushed him toward law and away from the family business

How gaming law emerged as a brand-new legal specialty in the 1980s, and how Glenn became one of its pioneers

The story of rebuilding his career and finances from scratch at 51 after an unexpected divorce, including running a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, while living in a $15-a-night motel

How an unplanned pivot into international business and marketing became one of his greatest professional skills

Why trusting your gut and acting on opportunity quickly matters more than overthinking it

How the gaming industry has evolved from handshake deals to heavy regulation, and what problem gambling looks like in the online era

Why Glenn now teaches gaming law and established a scholarship in his father's name for students entering the field

 
About Glenn Wichinsky
Glenn Wichinsky is a distinguished gaming and business law attorney licensed in Florida and Nevada and the author of Things Left Unsaid: My Dad, The Mob, and Growing Up in the Nevada Gaming Industry, a memoir recently featured at the London Book Fair. Glenn originally set out to become a meteorologist before moving to Las Vegas to work alongside his father and later attended law school, where he went on to become one of the pioneers of gaming law as a legal specialty in the 1980s. His career has included running a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, serving as president of a gaming cabinet manufacturing company, and practicing gaming law with a national law firm. Glenn has been teaching gaming law and regulation as an adjunct professor at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, for nine years and established a scholarship in his father's name for students pursuing careers in gaming law. 
Connect with Glenn Wichinsky
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenn-e-wichinsky-attorney-98b460
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories, lessons, failures, and successes behind building thriving businesses. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, leadership, business growth, entertainment, and personal development, this podcast is designed to help you build your dream.
New episodes are released regularly.

What do shoveling coal in Pittsburgh, working on the set of Ocean's Thirteen, and helping companies use AI have in common? They're all chapters in the story of Maury Rogow. In this episode of From Underdog to Entrepreneur, Pat Miller sits down with Maury Rogow, CEO of RIP Media Group and author of Sell Your Superpower in an AI World. Maury has produced over a thousand brand films, teaches more than a hundred thousand students on LinkedIn Learning, and has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Success Magazine. 
Maury shares his winding path from a cold childhood in Pittsburgh to sales roles at AT&T and Lucent to helping build a startup that sold to Cisco for over a billion dollars, only to lose it all when the market crashed in 2001. That setback pushed him to reinvent himself, this time moving to Hollywood to work on major film sets before ultimately combining his sales background, storytelling instincts, and love of authenticity into the marketing and AI consulting work he does today.
What You'll Learn
Why the "underdog story" is one of the most powerful tools in sales and marketing

How real, authentic storytelling helps businesses stand out instead of competing purely on price

Why most people using AI are only scratching the surface and how to actually put it to work

How to set up AI "projects" with clear rules, knowledge bases, and no fluff to get sharper, more useful answers

Why businesses need to protect their intellectual property and privacy settings when using AI tools

How live streaming and video add authenticity that helps entrepreneurs build trust with potential clients

Why companies like Blockbuster and Borders failed to adapt and what business owners today can learn from it

The importance of following up after losing a bid or deal to learn and improve, rather than taking it personally

 
About Maury Rogow 
Maury Rogow is the CEO of RIP Media Group and the author of Sell Your Superpower in an AI World. He has produced over a thousand brand films and teaches more than a hundred thousand students through his LinkedIn Learning courses, with features in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Success Magazine. His path took him from sales roles at AT&T and Lucent, through a startup sale to Cisco, to working in Hollywood before shifting into marketing and AI consulting. He also serves as Chief Marketing Officer of the Applied AI Association.
Connect with Maury Rogow 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauryrogowofficial/
Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/MauryRogowOfficial/
Connect with Pat Miller
Follow Pat Miller for more conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories behind building successful businesses.
Website: https://patmiller.net/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepatmiller11
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thepatmiller11/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepatmiller11/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePatMiller11/
Subscribe to From Underdog to Entrepreneur: Building Dreams with Pat Miller for weekly conversations with entrepreneurs who share the real stories, lessons, failures, and successes behind building thriving businesses. If you're passionate about entrepreneurship, leadership, business growth, entertainment, and personal development, this podcast is designed to help you build your dream.
New episodes are released regularly.