9-PILLARS TO EXPLOIT YOUR POTENTIAL: A Guide to Self-Improvement

By Charles Barugahare

The ultimate self-improvement ways that are rarely taught in a formal school setting. This book is out of listening to, engaging and inquiring from many different personalities: employees, business people, employers, professionals, parents, and students about what they considered essential to exploit the potential within us. Their feedback, research and personal experiences in this subject led me to write this book tailored on 9 pillars that guide self-improvement. It espouses the self-improvement ways in an easy to follow format.

The book is intended for persons who: are building their career(s), focusing on enjoying their career(s), in doubt about their career choices, are about to finish or have just finished their tertiary education, want to create and achieve their career dreams, like real-life examples, willing to learn through practice; and those that are inspired to exploit their full potential.

It has key take-aways, follow up matters and practical activity questions at the end of every pillar. Please remember to practice the activity questions before moving to the next pillar.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Charles Barugahare
• Release date: Feb 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9789913973908

Book preview

9 Pillars to Exploit Your Potential:

A Guide to Self-Improvement

Charles Barugahare

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any other means —electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission of the author.

All emphasis and interpretation of quotations used are entirely the author’s.

Copyright @2023 Charles Barugahare

Kampala, Uganda

ISBN 978-9913-9739-0-8

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Pillar 1: Influencing a Life-Fulfilling Career

Pillar 2: Attitude

Pillar 3: Self-Awareness

Pillar 4: Continuous Learning

Pillar 5: The Value and Use of Time

Pillar 6: Self-Confidence

Pillar 7: Relationships and Networks

Pillar 8: Communication

Pillar 9: Basic Personal Finance Foundations

About the Author

The book offers life-transforming easy-to-read 9-pillars to exploit your potential, well-articulated with memorable tips for everyone. I love it.

—Rev. Canon. Dr. Johnson Ebong

Easy to read and illustrated with real-life examples. It is a guide to people who want to learn, but more importantly those who are ready to put into practice what they have learned.  It covers the vital skills everyone needs to grow and transform. Each pillar has key take-aways and activity questions to help you put into action what you have learned.

—Francis Mwesiga, Head Strategic Planning and Performance Management - ProAct International, CEO One by One SACCO, and Financial Literacy Trainer

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wife Lyoidah (who has given me great inspiration filled with care and love for the family); and to my children Charlton, Carlin and Carla Clara who are my great pillars in my life. 

Acknowledgments

Sincere appreciation is extended to my family members: my wife Dr. Lyoidah Kiconco Barugahare; and children Charlton Asiima, Carlin Ahairwe, and Carla Clara Atukunda who unwaveringly supported me all through my career and writing process; and passionately endured my absence with utmost patience and understanding.

I also wish to acknowledge the input of my late parents Ponsiano Babigumira and Farazia Batabaruka (may their souls rest in eternal peace): they nurtured, educated, and facilitated my growth into the person I am today.

I recognise too the contributions of the following:

Please accept my heartfelt gratitude to you all.

Dr. Charles Barugahare

Kampala-Uganda

2023

Introduction

Over the years, I have listened to, engaged, and inquired from many different personalities: employees, business people, employers, professionals, parents, and students about what they considered essential to exploit the potential within us. Their feedback, research, and personal experiences in this subject led me to write this book tailored on 9 pillars that guide self-improvement.

Pillar one, espouses the core elements of a life-fulfilling career, which are rarely taught in a formal school setting.

Pillar two, attitude, posits that it is our thoughts and decisions that play a major role in our growth potential: not the advantages or disadvantages around us. It refers to a calling that we must focus our interest and commitment to positive intentions in order to generate the requisite strong mental energy to ignite the required growth potential in us.

Pillar three focuses on understanding your personal unique identity by appreciating your routines, values, habits, impulses, and those reactions that shape your life. This is a commonly known essential pillar which determines who you are, what you know, and what you do not know about yourself. The worst enemy that can ever happen to you is to believe that you are self-aware when you are not.  Remember that according to the Harvard Business School Review Report, only 10-15 % of people are self-aware.

Pillar four accords priority to the continuous acquisition of knowledge and skills; since information and knowledge are powerful tools: they are like food that nourishes our bodies, emphasising that in this era and age, no one cannot afford to remain with an underfed mind.

The extent to which time is valued is examined in pillar five. It is only when you recognise time as a resource; it is then, that you will start a journey to stand out from the crowd. We are responsible for acquiring all the knowledge we need, but more importantly, we are accountable for how we use the knowledge in a timely and appropriate manner.

Pillar six, self-confidence, provides the necessary tools to equip you to enhance confidence. The biggest threat to confidence is the feeling that you know less about something. This ignorance breeds the mental fear of producing or delivering less than expected. You should notice therefore, that if you have not learned or read about something, it will seem new, difficult, and overwhelming to handle, but that once you have detailed knowledge about it, then, you start to handle it with certainty. 

Through building networks and relationships one will easily learn about new career opportunities, the latest global developments, and professional ventures. It is essential therefore, to know that people do business with persons they know, like, trust, and value. These are the ones they have networked or related with before; which underpins the power of relationships and networks covered in pillar seven.

Pillar eight will enlighten you about the power of communication, demonstrate the opportunities and people you can attract, and then delve into the practical ways in which this will impact your life.

Finally, pillar nine, captures how the basic personal finance foundations come into play as everybody (civil servants, officers and men in uniform, students, parents, politicians, etc.) need and use money. Of critical inspiration here, is the fact that money only comes to those who are already rich in the knowledge of the laws of money.—Sunday Adelaja. Irrespective of your background, learning personal finance basics is critical.

The book is intended