Bring main character energy to your career
Could seeing your personal brand as the main character in your movie of life be your secret weapon for success?
As much as even the most righteous and selfless among us would idealise otherwise, you are the main character in your own life. You spend every minute of your day with yourself, your thoughts, and your aspirations more than anyone else on this planet. So, how much do you bring that same main character energy to your career and personal brand?
Research into alter egos, for example, has shown that children who associated with their favourite characters in the third person outperformed those who associated with themselves in the first and second person. Use the psychology of seeing yourself as a main character to give your personal brand that competitive edge in the marketplace.
As I’ve come to discover through my work with my personal brand coaching clients, the biggest problem in personal branding is not the supposed ‘self-obsessed’ - it’s that so many lack the self-confidence to believe in their self-worth and potential. The research supports this and shows that a lack of self-esteem leads to underemployment. So, rather than obsessing over the ‘self-obsessed’, we should be helping more professionals who lack self-confidence build their own main character energy for their personal brand.
Like in your favourite movie, TV show or novel, start embracing your main character energy for your career and personal brand potential.
1. You attract the energy you create
Popularised by Neville Goddard, a mystic and lecturer, The Law of Assumption states that your assumptions about yourself and the world around you shape your reality. In other words, what you believe to be true about yourself and your circumstances will ultimately determine what you experience in your life.
You attract the energy you create. This principle underpins ancient teachings worldwide.
For example, the Bible verse states:
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" - Proverbs 23:7
Buddha said:
"The mind is everything. What you think you become.”
If you prefer to fast-forward to the Industrial Revolutionists, like Henry Ford, who said:
"Whether you think you can or think you can't—you're right.”
The best in the business also understood The Law of Attraction. Napolean Hill famously spent 20 years interviewing the most successful 500 people to write the classic Think and Grow Rich, but it was already inspired by the simple science that preceded it in Wallace D Wattles’ book The Science of Getting Rich.
In The Science of Getting Rich, Wattles says:
“There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.
A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.
Man can form things in his thoughts, and by impressing his thought upon formless substance can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.”
If you’re already the main character of your own life, write the story you want to live.
2. Embrace the plot twists
As a child, I remember watching the movie Groundhog Day and feeling distressed by it. Perhaps my young mind didn’t understand it fully, and admittedly, I haven’t revisited it since. But all I recall is the feeling of Billy Crystal’s character waking up to the same thing every morning. Even as someone obsessed with habits and routines, I love change. Change changes your comfort zone.
The Law of Attraction may not always give you what you ask for in your career and personal life, but it will give you what you, as the main character, were meant for. So, embrace the plot twists.
As Tam Kaur shares in her book Buy Yourself the Damn Flowers:
“Remember that you are the main character, your life is like a movie, and if things stayed the same with zero plot twists – well . . . who would want to watch that?”
3. Be the hero, not the victim
Choose to be the hero, not the victim - it’s the real path to winning.
This was a lesson I couldn’t unlearn when I read Donald Miller’s book Hero on a Mission. When you play the victim, you’re doomed to fail. The victim’s purpose is to make the hero look good. Consider every plotline of every movie or book you’ve loved. Yes, there are true victims in the world - the people who have no control over their circumstances and are truly trapped. Learning this distinction separates your victim mentality role from the true victims.
When you adopt a hero mindset, you rewrite your victim mentality. You free yourself from a fate of doom. You free yourself to focus on leaving a legacy you can be proud of.
4. Take up space
In the spirit of the main character's energy for your personal brand, don’t be afraid to take up space.
Embodied cognition is the idea that the mind and the body influence each other. Just like smiling is said to make you feel happier.
Amy Cuddy’s viral TED Talk - one of the most viewed TED Talks ever - championed the power of ‘power posing’ and its ability to set your mind in motion. Within minutes, powerful poses can create confidence. Once your mind is triggered, it doesn’t matter what the trigger was. Meaning that through your body, you can actually fake it till you make it.
Be intentional about all aspects of your body; you can project nerves and insecurity, or you can project poise and champion confidence. You can promote trust, appear powerful, or be relatable. So, what is your body saying about your personal brand?
5. Have a makeover moment
If you’re a natural shrinking violet, who can’t imagine simply waking up one day and taking up space, cue the instant makeover moment of some of your favourite movies. There are only a few overnight wins in personal branding, but a quick glow-up can be one of them. Simple, small changes can change your mind and the way people perceive you.
My husband and I recently rewatched the movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. While navigating his divorce, the awkward character Cal, played by Steven Carell, is transformed by the ultra-suave Jacob, played by Ryan Gosling. But, as his young son puts it, he’s still the same person; he just dresses better.
When it comes to a makeover for your personal brand, just remember: don’t lose yourself in the process. If you’ve seen The Devil Wears Prada, you’ll know what I mean.
If your confidence needs a quick boost to signal a change in your main character's energy, try reinventing or amplifying some elements of your visual personal brand. What is the wardrobe, hair and overall look and feel of the main character you aspire to be for your personal brand? You can learn more about rebranding your visual personal brand in my previous blog.
6. Be the Guide
We can’t talk storytelling without a plot twist. Main character energy can boost your confidence in showing up as the full potential of your personal brand. But, when it comes to your professional personal brand, position yourself as the most valuable character of all - The Guide. As Hero on a Mission highlights, the Guide uses their experience to help pave the way for the heroes. They make the other main characters shine.
Use your personal brand to not simply become the star of your world but help others be the stars of theirs. When you focus on the value you create, your personal brand will always be valuable to the marketplace.
