Main Character Energy

INTRODUCTION

As a kid growing up, I thought by 25 I’d have my whole life together. Kids, married, dog, white picket fence . . . you know, that kinda thing. My parents met when they were 15 and 17. They were teen parents and had their last kid (my brother) when my mum was 25. To me, this was a realistic concept. I thought 25 was OLD. I thought that if you had reached that age and were in a relationship, you were doing life right!

Now that I am writing this in my late 20s, I don’t align with that thinking at all – for me personally, anyway. But maybe you do, and you’re living the life I thought I would. To be honest, that’s the point! No two lives are meant to be the same. Our versions of happiness, success and our lifestyles are all different. In today’s world, this is a big part of what it means to be human. 

So, now that my childhood ideals have been shattered, what does my life look like in reality today, as a late 20-something? Well, in the last few years I’ve lived in three different cities and, right now, I live alone in one of the most expensive cities in the world, paying someone else’s mortgage and working across multiple industries. I’ve spent the last five years working for myself, and . . . oh, I’m single.

I love talking, drinking coffee, eating, hanging out with animals,being around my family and friends and, most of all, I love myself.I say this in a non-egotistical, non-narcissistic way. It took me along time to love the person I see in the mirror, and as you read my stories you’ll see how my journey to self-love unfolded. It took me a while, but these days I feel as if I have fully stepped into my power and I’m finally confident that I am the main character in my life. By sharing my story, I hope this book can show you that you, too, are the main character in yours.

What is main character energy?

But wait, hold up a minute. What exactly do I mean when I talk about being the main character of your life? Especially since how a main character ‘looks’ and ‘performs’ is different for everyone. 

For the purpose of this book, I use main character in the same way a movie or book does. We all know there can be multiple main characters in a good story – I mean, a rom-com needs at least two, and if it’s an action flick it needs both villains and heroes, yeah? In the same way, we act as heroes and villains in other people’s stories. Sometimes we’re even less important – we might just be a sidekick, an extra, a seasonal character or even make a cameo. We play a variety of roles in life – in our careers, relationships, hobbies and community.

If you’re anything like me, at times you might find yourself swept up in other people’s stories and, for a while, forget your own. But no matter what other roles we play, it’s important that we remain the main character in our own life. If you’re familiar with the saying, ‘Do it for the plot’ you might understand what I am getting at. Essentially, as the main character of your life, you have your own plot points – major things that develop your life, such as getting an education, going travelling, moving interstate, having a family, getting a partner, making new friends, etc. But sometimes, as we’re participating in these major life moments, aka plot points, we can find ourselves putting so much energy into other people and their journeys that we forget to look after ourselves.

So here’s where we go off script – because as much as Hollywood’s tried to condition us to think it is, life is not a movie. We don’t have the perfect life plan all laid out in front of us that guarantees, if we follow it to a tee, we will end up rich, in love and live happily ever. What other people believe for us and want for us – even if it’s meant with the best of intentions – may not always be what’s right for us. What’s more, being a main character doesn’t mean you need to be the loudest, brightest, prettiest, most educated or most successful person in the room, either.

The real strength of being the main character of your own life is understanding who you are, what makes you tick, what’s important to you, and making decisions that honour that. It’s knowing that YOU are in charge. It’s not being afraid to take risks and try new things; it’s being okay with failure and having fun along the way. It means not following what someone else’s dreams or ideas of you should be, but instead, being true to who you are. It means ensuring that you are one of the most important people in your life and putting yourself first when it comes to self-care and self-development. It means walking into a room with main character energy – as if your ancestors placed you there. This is your one life. Own it. 

Is this book for you?

Look, I’m not going to promise you that this book will be life-changing. And you should know that if you’re looking for a book to tell you ‘how to do your 20s and 30s right’ – this isn’t it. But what I can promise you is that this book will challenge your thinking and remind you that no matter what your age, you don’t need to ‘have it all together’. This book is here to remind you that life really is a journey and to take each day head on – to let every moment mould and shape you, and to take charge of that process.

This book is for the go-getters and for those who may need a bit of motivation. It’s for the ones who want to challenge the status quo and for those looking for some tools to take their lives to the next level. It’s for me and for you. Honestly, writing then re-reading this book through all its stages reminded me of some pretty important home truths – stuff that’s easy to forget when you’re living each day.

We are all in different chapters of our lives, experiencing different things, travelling along paths that others may not. We are all here to achieve our own life mission – whether that’s happiness, success, fame, love, peacefulness . . . the list goes on. But with all the noise and action, sometimes it can get hard to remember what’s important to you and to focus on that. This book will help.

It will offer you challenges, insights and hopefully points ofreflection and conversation. It’s the book I was looking for when I was learning to become the main character in my own life. I hope you enjoy what you read in here and if you don’t that’s okay too. Having main character energy is subjective, and no two people willhave the same experiences or journeys to get there. However you take it, I am so grateful that you are here reading this now. Little Bianca would have never imagined writing a book like this, so it is a privilege to have you as a reader and for you to be reading my first ever non-fiction book.

To make it easier, I’ve broken it into three sections: part one is about energising yourself, part two is about standing on your business and part three is about navigating your world. As a Gemini, I tend to tell stories with tangents so you may have already noticed I have some footnotes that aren’t referencing anyone but me or adding in extra information. That’s on purpose and, well, because I couldn’t help myself! Read it in order, out of order, by chapter; it really doesn’t matter. What I want you to do is make it work for you.

Who am I to tell you how to be?

You might be thinking, who’s Bianca Hunt and what makes her qualified to write this book – especially since, although I’m the daughter of two uni graduates and am now one myself, in school I wasn’t particularly academic. And although as a kid I had an idea of what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up’, as the years went on I suppressed my dreams for the sake of fitting in. The older I got, the less clear I became on what my ‘dream job’ or career path should look like.

We weren’t wealthy from a monetary point of view, so I didn’t get to spend my free time doing the things I wanted to do – like taking classes to dance, sing or act. Nonetheless, I always believed in myself, even when others didn’t. Despite being told I couldn’t or shouldn’t by so many people, I ignored them. My intuition told me to apply for things and accept opportunities that others said were not meant for me. Because I believed in my heart that they were, I’d apply anyway. Often, I’d get in.

If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that no one is going to hand you success on a platter – you have to get out there and create it for yourself. That kind of self-belief is main character energy and if you don’t have it yet, it’s the kind of power I want you to fully step into by the end of this book. Since I’ve had to learn to grow mine exponentially, I reckon I have a few tips to share. By no means do I have all the answers in life – in fact, I’d suggest that it’s safer to follow your own path – but I hope some of my stories will hype you up and help you see that the more you back yourself, and the more you put into following your dreams, the more they’ll come true.

I want it to inspire you to pour your energy into being the person you want to be, and into living the life you want to live. After all, you are the main character of your own life, just like I am in mine. Please grab my hand as we step into the limelight.