Diana Bunici: Don't be afraid of failure

Diana Bunici is all about “when” and not “if”. This philosophy led the presenter and journalist to leave her comfortable job in RTÉ last year to pursue a career in London.

“I moved over a year ago just to continue chasing my dream. I know it sounds really cheesy, but that was the whole idea behind the move. It was like a full stop and the start of a new chapter,” she says.

London, she admits, was a massive challenge – but not the first she’s faced. At the age of eight, she and her family moved to Ireland from Moldova to start a new life. Despite being told by a teacher she would never work in television because of having a foreign name, Diana went on to land a job straight out of college as presenter of RTÉ Two’s flagship kid’s programme, Elev8. Five years and 700 live shows later, Diana decided it was time to move on.

“I like testing myself. I didn’t know that many people and I had to take the time to start from the beginning again and knock on doors and introduce myself. It’s funny, it doesn’t matter how much experience you have going over, at the end of the day you’re still a new face. You’re competing with the likes of Holly Willoughby for the good gigs,” she adds.

However, the change of location gave Diana time to reflect on her own career and her five years in RTÉ.

“I was in a fish-out-of-water situation, not knowing that many people, and was thinking back over the last few years and how lucky I’ve been,” she says. “I was remembering all the letters and emails I was getting from teenagers, just asking for advice. I wouldn’t say that I was inundated but I definitely got my fair share. I thought, how great would it be to have a book to give people that kind of information in the palm of your hand?”

This thought led to Diana’s first book, The Pursuit of Awesome, a collection of inspirational interviews with a range of well-known Irish personalities, from Hozier to Laura Whitmore and Cecelia Ahern, on their career paths.

“In Ireland, we have so many people who have achieved so much success. They should be applauded and used to inspire the younger generation,” explains Diana.

“My aim was to show people that your background doesn’t matter. If you have a talent and you’re passionate about it, you can do whatever you want. It’s just a matter of persevering and knocking on door after door, because eventually one will open – you just don’t know when.

“Like Derek Landy, who wrote the Skulduggery Pleasant series, had a really bad stammer and a really hard time growing up. He was in his 30s when he had that eureka moment with the idea for Skulduggery Pleasant, sent it off to a publisher and got a massive deal,” she says.

Diana, who came to Ireland without any English and went on to study journalism and French at DIT, says her own experiences as a migrant in Ireland gave her the drive to succeed.

“Ireland is such a welcoming place, and everyone was really supportive and helpful, but it was really scary in the beginning. I had to pick up the language and everything was different. I was born and raised in this small rural community in Eastern Europe, which still had horses and carts everywhere, water from wells … it was like the olden times. Then I moved to what seemed to be a massive, bustling city,” she explains.

“I’ve experienced being unsettled and going from one place to another. It was stressful but there are millions of people across the world going through this. It made me a stronger person and more determined to succeed. If I’m told I can’t do something, I say why not? Just because I have a foreign name it doesn’t mean I’m not going to make it happen.”

Diana praises her parents for deciding to move to Ireland and providing a good life for the family.

“They are extremely strong and very supportive. We were tight with money when we moved here, but they never denied me anything. They just worked extra hours to get more books that I wanted to read or dance classes I wanted to take. I’m very grateful to them,” she says.

Her boyfriend, Steve Garrigan of Kodaline, was Diana’s “rock” during the arduous process of writing the book, which involved hours of transcribing 45 interviews.

“He was there all along the way and was the most supportive person in the world. He helped me in many ways – we brainstormed the name of the book together, he introduced me to Johnny McDaid (of Snow Patrol), who wrote the foreword. Steve was great when I was having moments where I was getting stressed, and there was five hours of an interview to transcribe,” she says, before adding: “But I think he’s glad the book is done so he doesn’t have to hear about it anymore.”

But Diana isn’t the kind of person to take it easy. When we ask about her future plans, she rattles off a list that would terrify the hardest working person.

“I’ve done one or two documentaries and I’d love to continue doing that. I’d love to cover social justice issues and topics that really matter. Because I’ve worked with teenagers and children for so long, I could look at issues that affect them … and I’d love to produce shows. I love travel, so maybe a travel show. I’m just passionate about TV,” she says enthusiastically. “Oh, and I want to write a novel.”

Diana is definitely an impressive character. After interviewing so many inspiring people for her book, we wonder about her own advice for success.

“If you try, you have every chance of succeeding. If you don’t, you have no chance – I’d rather try instead of sitting back and wondering why it didn’t happen for me,” she says.

“Never give up – you won’t get what you want overnight. Don’t be afraid of failure. Every person I interviewed has failed in some way – it’s not something you should fear or be ashamed of. It means the next time you attempt something, you’re going to be a little bit better.”

Full of advice from role models and professionals in the limelight,The Pursuit of Awesome is Diana’s first book and available in bookshops now. www.dianabunici.com