After studying politics, Russell Amerasekera went on to put on a suit every day for 17 years and work in the City. He says it was a career that measured success with cars, houses, money and titles. He was living a life that he felt was defined by others and left him feeling trapped by the rules around him. 

So, he took a chance and decided to quit to start a new career that saw him being true to himself.

Fast-forward to today and Amerasekera is a presenter, presentation coach, image stylist and life & career expert. He lives by the new foundations that he set for himself: self-love, self-respect and self-care. 

These sound like the sort of rules that we could all remember to live by in daily life. So, with that in mind, Stylist Live LUXE invited Amerasekera to speak to us on Sunday (10 November). 

Taking to the stage, the life coach gave a fascinating talk called Be You. As part of his wise and empowering words, he shared the seven questions that we should always ask ourselves.

Amerasekera started by explaining that everything good that has happened in his life has had nothing to do with money.

“When I’ve listened to my heart and spirit and creative energy, I’ve gone out and tried to make things happen,” he says. “So I’m going to leave you with a few questions that I asked myself after 17 years of getting trapped in that career, and that changed my life by giving me insight.

“I’ll ask you to think about them in the context of your own lives…”

Seven questions to ask yourself today

1. What do you love most about your life?

2. What is it you do better than anyone else?

3. What would you do with your life if money was no object?

4. What is the picture of the life you want in the next three years?

5. What will it take to realise your true potential?

6. What will you do to unlock who you really are and what will that take?

7. What are you going to do about it in order to develop yourself?

Managing your energy levels effectively 

Amerasekera also explained why it’s so important for us to manage our energy by listening to our energy frequencies.

“My life now is about managing my energy. It used to be around how busy I can be. Because if you think about it, today, being busy is worn as a badge of honour.

“When my clients say to me, ‘Oh, I’m too busy’. I ask: busy doing what?

“Because our lives are absolutely filled with activity. So I asked [myself] what is the best way to manage my life? I need to think about this [energy] being a resource and how to use it in the most effective way.”

Recharging your brain every 90 minutes

Amerasekera then went on to expain why we should recharge our brains every 90 minutes. 

“The brain is a muscle and it’s not designed to go at full power for more than 90 minutes maximum,” he says.

“Then you need to rest it and recharge and re-energise it, just like an athlete would deliver a top performance to win a gold medal. What we do is constantly turning and we’re constantly on the go – we’re abusing our greatest asset. So my day is arranged around 90 minute cycles. 

“And then, I recharge.”

You can follow Amerasekera on Instagram for more life tips an guidance.

Images: Bronac McNeil