Selling yourself is extremely important. Some people have great talent, yet no one knows about them. They cannot sell themselves, and so they cannot turn that talent into value. Anything that cannot be sold, even if it sits in a warehouse and has value, cannot have that value realised. If you can sell yourself, you may be worth two thousand dollars, four thousand dollars, or even more. So we must consider how to sell ourselves.

First Point: Skills Matter When You Sell Yourself

Do not assume that because I believe in the Lord, I do not need to sell myself—that good wine needs no bush. But the age we live in today is no longer like that. No matter how good the wine is, if you do not market it, it is of no use. If you do not market yourself, others will. Look carefully at the workplace today. You will find people sitting in certain positions not because they are much smarter or more capable than you, but because they know how to sell themselves and therefore get the job. If they do not know how to sell themselves, they will not get the job.

This is not a matter of superstition. Even if you are a Christian and God blesses you, you still need to learn how to sell yourself. What skills do you have? What value can you create for others? What is distinctive about you? What special talents do you possess? Some say that the iPhone does not need marketing. That is simply not true. Its marketing is exceptionally well done.

This is why, whenever a new iPhone is launched, stores sell out, and shortages even occur. That is the result of marketing. Almost anyone who does not know how to sell himself will find it difficult to enter the workforce.

Selling yourself is a very important skill. Some say, “I believe in the Lord, so I trust that God will bless me with a job.” Even then, you still need to sell yourself. Why do I say this? Because selling yourself means presenting yourself before the leaders of the organisation that is hiring. Let them see what kind of person you are and what qualities you possess.

Packaging yourself is one matter; having real substance within is another. Some people have genuine substance inside, but no packaging outside. That is not a very good approach either.

For example, would you buy food in a shop if it had no packaging? If it could originally be sold for fifty dollars, without packaging it might sell for only ten dollars, and sometimes it may not sell at all. People would rather pay fifty dollars than spend ten dollars on something without packaging.

Whether packaging and marketing are exactly the same thing, I will not argue for now. But I believe that to sell yourself, you must have substance within and proper packaging without. You must be genuine, and your packaging must also be attractive.

Can you imagine an iPhone wrapped in a torn piece of cloth? It does not match. If you observe carefully, you will see that the box is exquisitely designed, and the items inside are arranged very well. Therefore, as a capable person, you must have the ability to market yourself, and you must also possess real learning and real ability. Neither can be absent.

Second Point: A Person’s Character Is the Key to All Education

A person with character and a person without character may possess the same skills, but the image they present will be entirely different. When character is expressed, it carries great charm. We must change our philosophy of education. As the times develop, we speak constantly about educational philosophy. Though this is not yet widely embraced, that is precisely why we have foresight. We can see that, ten or twenty years from now, our philosophy of education may no longer be anything new.

The Centre of Character Is Faith

What is our philosophy of education? The shaping of character is the most crucial part of all education. At the centre of character is faith. Therefore, we build a person’s faith, so that he is full of confidence about the future. Then he will display a certain kind of character. This character is the key to education. Once he has this character, you will find that he still needs to be trained in skills.

Skills Come Through Experience

Educational practice is about shaping a person’s character and skills, not merely imparting knowledge. We were once taught that “knowledge is power.” Later, we discovered that much knowledge cannot be used and produces no power. We often say that a person with experience must also be knowledgeable, but having knowledge does not mean having experience.

A person with experience must have the relevant skills. If he has the relevant skills, he must have the relevant knowledge. But in reverse, having the relevant knowledge does not necessarily mean having the relevant skills; and having the relevant skills does not necessarily mean having the relevant experience.

What is experience? It is what a person accumulates after using his skills to solve problems, or using his skills together with his knowledge to solve a problem. The philosophy of education is to shape a child’s character and skills. What about experience? Experience must be brought into the marketplace, though some experience can also be accumulated in school.

Experience Is Built Through Real Practice

Real practice is real practice. A school is not yet a real battlefield. But if students can be brought into a real battlefield within a controlled and manageable environment, and trained to become people with experience, that would be best.

Therefore, the key to selling yourself is to display the charm of your character. The kind of character you show before others is very important. Character is a form of charm.

Third Point: Character Is Something Within

What is character? It is not merely something external; it is something within. For example, if a child has great perseverance, then after you interact with him closely, you will find that even in his words and expressions, he displays that persevering character. If he has a confident character, it will show in the way he expresses himself.

Therefore, character is a very important component. A person without character will basically not succeed in selling himself.

So how do we train character in school, or in our own daily lives? This is very important. To sell yourself is to sell your character.

Suppose someone goes for an interview. During the interview, if he can present a certain kind of character while selling himself, that becomes very interesting. If a person has poor examination results, this represents many things. In fact, a person with character should normally have reasonably good examination results.

Why do many people perform poorly in examinations? Because something is lacking in their character, which produces a distorted state within them. The result is poor examination results and poor character. Yet during an interview, he may say, “Although my grades were poor, that does not mean I cannot learn. I am quick-minded. During those years, I focused on developing one of my particular strengths, and these other matters were neglected.”

If people hear such an explanation and story and find it acceptable, then that is all right. Some stories may sound rather far-fetched. For instance, a young man encountered some difficulties during an interview. He said, “In the past three years, I made several bad friends and learned to play computer games. But now I am determined to change completely. I am not stupid. If I study properly, I can still do well.” In the end, he still got the job.

Do not assume that because you did poorly in school, everything has collapsed. Academic results represent only the past. What is needed now is for you to display a certain kind of character before people.

For example, if someone is asked why he has only a secondary-school qualification, he may say, “My family was poor, and I had to go out to work.” In this age, many families are no longer very poor, but you can still prove your ability. For example, although your family was poor, you continued to teach yourself through the years. You may even be stronger than someone with a college diploma, because you have developed real capability in the workplace. That too is a kind of character.

Therefore, as you sell yourself, you must develop the habit of selling your character. Character is highly attractive. For example, being persistent, resilient, focused, or decisive; being able to make accurate decisions and sound judgments; being quick-minded and flexible; and handling interpersonal relationships in a way that makes people feel close to you—these are all part of character.

Fourth Point: Selling Your Core Competence

A well-known person once said that many young people today know many things, but only superficially—about one inch deep and one mile wide. It is of no use. The market requires core competence, because society is moving towards clearer and more refined division of labour and cooperation.

If you can do one thing exceptionally well, then you are formidable. But when many people do not have core competence, they become anxious and frustrated. Without core competence, what you are selling is an empty shell. You cannot sell a box with no phone inside, because it is of no use.

Therefore, today, we must know clearly what our core competence is. A brother once told me that he wanted to pursue a master’s degree. I told him that it would be good to package himself as well. But the question is this: if we use the time spent studying for a master’s degree to build our core competence, which would be better? I believe that having core competence is exceedingly important.

Chinese society is moving from an era centred on academic qualifications to an era centred on core competence. You must have skills. If you have no real ability and rely only on talk, even if you get a job, you will not last long. Therefore, you must still be able to explain your core competence. To build your core competence, you must understand the market. If you do not know what the market needs and simply build your own core competence at random, you can easily be eliminated by the market.

Fifth Point: Know Yourself and Know Market Demand

We must understand that everything is driven by the market. A society driven mainly by the market is a market economy. The difference between a market economy and a planned economy is that a market economy is driven by market demand. Without market demand, there is no business. Therefore, recognising market demand is a critically important component.

When you know yourself and understand market demand, you will know where to develop and what kind of core competence to equip yourself with. Then you market your core competence. You know how to describe your core competence clearly. That is marketing. As for market demand for core competence, I believe you must conduct market research. Reading more, meeting more people, and learning more are good habits.

For example, if you read the book Industry 4.0, you will know that many industries will gradually disappear in the coming years. If this is true, then we must be careful not to join the ranks of those eliminated by the market. This is called structural unemployment.

Know yourself, understand market demand, and keep adjusting. Sometimes, I believe people must take a long-term view. A well-known person once said, “If I want to look at the next few years, I must first look thirty or fifty years ahead.” Only when you can see the market conditions thirty or fifty years from now can you plan for the next three or five years.

Then, based on your three-year or five-year plan, adjust your plan for the next one month, two months, or even three months. Know what kind of material you are made of; know what you can do and what you cannot do. Know how much you have accumulated, where your strengths lie, and where your weaknesses lie. Then understand market demand. This is very important.

I once ministered to a girl who was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, yet she had basically achieved nothing. Under the teaching of a traditional church, she studied theology for half a year, but accomplished nothing. Then I went straight to the most painful point in her life. Although she knew what I said was right, she could not accept it.

Later, she went to a first-tier city to sell insurance. Did she really understand what the insurance industry was about? Did she really know herself? Did she truly understand market demand? She did not. She neither knew herself nor understood market demand.

For example, let me tell you how an experienced person approaches the insurance business. If you do not have sufficient savings to support yourself for one to two years, do not go into insurance. Yet many people borrow money to sell insurance. Is that not courting disaster? Today, unless I say, “Believe that you have received it, and it will be yours,” may miracles happen in the lives of such people. But the issue is this: faith is very important, but faith does not mean that we should deny reality about ourselves.

Sixth Point: Learn How to Speak the Language of Selling

If a business is run in the wrong direction, its returns may still barely hold up for a while. Therefore, knowing yourself and knowing market demand are the keys to selling yourself. When people ask questions, how you respond should essentially address market demand: what you have, what can meet the market’s needs. Even if you tell a story, it must be credible. You cannot fabricate a story that does not stand up.

Learn to speak. Learn to speak the language of selling. Every profession has its own way of speaking. Diplomats have diplomatic language; salesmen have their way of speaking; and those who sell themselves need a language pattern for selling themselves. Develop the right habit of speaking. So today, brothers and sisters, begin to understand how to speak and what to say. Do not merely ask, “Have you eaten?” or “Have you had something to drink?” That is not the language of selling yourself.

The language of selling yourself must hit the mark. It has a distinctive characteristic: though circumstances may change in countless ways, the central principle remains the same. What is that principle? What skills do you possess? What problems can you solve? What value can you create? What market needs can you meet?

I once taught someone how to handle an interview. The interviewer asked what seemed to be an unrelated question: “What books have you been reading lately?” He answered, “I am reading Water Margin. I am reading The Legend of the White Snake.” In fact, the interviewer has no interest at all in these books. When someone asks you what you are reading, you must learn how to speak. How should you respond? You should say, “Recently, I have been researching...” If you are applying for a job in online marketing, then you should be researching online marketing. You may add, “I have also written a short article summarising several key points in online marketing.” At that point, take out from your pocket a printed copy of your short summary.

If you have written a twenty- or thirty-page booklet entitled How to Do Online Marketing, print it out and bring it along. That is called the language of selling. When employers are hiring, they have no time to discuss whether you have read Water Margin or any other “legend.” You need to write your own story. You must explain what, precisely, you can do for them. What seems to be an unrelated question is, in fact, very relevant. Why? Because you must learn to speak without talking past the point.

Whether I serve as a pastor or work as an entrepreneur, I would not claim that I am exceptionally good at selling myself. But I think I do reasonably well. If I were looking for a pastoral position in an English-speaking country, I do not think it would be very difficult.

Let me give you an example. This time, when I spoke with my pastor in Singapore, I sold myself quite effectively. What did I promote? I promoted the books I had written. I told him I had written more than thirty books. I took one out and gave it to him. He looked through it, and I explained several key points: church building, my research findings, insights from the Bible, and certain revelations. A few sentences were enough to move him.

I was due to leave the country the next day, yet on that very day he still wanted me to meet one of his subordinates and provide training for him. Why? Because I had successfully sold myself. He felt that I had real substance. Whether one truly has substance is one matter. But even a person with substance cannot sell himself if he does not know how to speak. Therefore, learn how to speak, and speak to the point.

If you are speaking to an investor, then speak the language of investment. What does the language of investment involve? It involves your industry: is it on a rising trend? Then explain your business model, your profit model, and your team. That is the language used when speaking with investors. Every field has its own language, and you need to understand it. You do not need to understand things wholly unrelated to you. But where something concerns you, you must understand it. You must get yourself right. You must learn how to speak. Do not say irrelevant things.

For example, suppose an investor asks me, “What books have you been reading lately?” I might say, “I have been reading The Game of Capital.” Why? Because I am speaking with an investor. If you are speaking with a novelist and he asks what you have been reading lately, then say, “I have been reading about how to write novels.” What if you have not read it? Then go and read it.

But if you have not read it, what can you say? You can say, “I have heard that this book is very good, but I have not had the time to read it.” That is acceptable too. I believe we all need to develop this habit: equip ourselves to become useful people in society and good citizens.

We Must Equip Ourselves to Become Talents in Society

I believe we should do what we are able to do and not do what we cannot do. As for questions of systems and institutions, there are people whose responsibility is to deal with such matters. We should simply be good citizens: equip ourselves well, learn to speak well, and learn to sell ourselves well. Some may say this is about the wider social environment. I think China’s environment is quite good. Does China have problems? Of course. Every place has problems. Do not be misled by all this noise.

Look at the chaos in many foreign countries. There are many people who speak negatively about China. But I have confidence in China. I believe the next twenty years will be twenty years in which China becomes a strong and developed nation. China will become one of the foremost powers in the world. You must look at the big picture. Are there problems? Yes, there are.

Your task is to equip yourself and become a talent needed by society. Society needs many stabilising forces, and we must become stabilising forces in society. As Christians, we pray, but we do not stir up trouble. We devote our energy and ability to proper work. Learn how to speak. Learn the language of selling yourself. Learn how to equip yourself.

Seventh Point: Equip Yourself Quickly in Daily Life and Improve Your Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

I watched a video of an old farmer sitting on a bench in a park. He was not a mayor, not a municipal party secretary, not a county magistrate, and not a county party secretary. Yet he sat there for a long time, and the video recorded him speaking at length. He kept saying how this matter should be handled and how that matter should be handled. Let me tell you: such a person is merely talking nonsense. He has not spent his time properly equipping himself.

In Britain, there is a place called Hyde Park, with a corner where people may speak freely and say whatever they like. Singapore has also created such a place in one area where people can go and speak freely.

I believe that if you have time, you should quickly equip yourself and improve your knowledge, skills, and experience. What is experience? It is what you gain after using your knowledge and skills to solve problems and then summarising what you have learned from solving them.

What is a skill? It is the ability to use a certain kind of knowledge to produce something. It means you can operate and apply it. What is knowledge? Knowledge is something found in books. You read it and put it into your mind. But after reading it, you may not know whether it works or not. Therefore, equip yourself quickly. If you have the conditions, equip yourself with experience; if you do not, equip yourself with skills.

As for knowledge, at most it gives you an understanding. If you have neither experience nor skill in a particular field, if you have never worked in that market or done that work, then you cannot do it. Still, even knowledge can help a person sell himself.

There was a young man who studied computers and engineering. Later, he wanted to find a job in marketing. I told him to read Philip Kotler’s Marketing Management. It has more than twenty chapters, including a chapter on direct marketing, online marketing, and related subjects. After reading the first and second chapters, he had acquired a little knowledge of marketing.

Then he went for an interview and got the job. On what basis? On the basis that he could speak. How do interviewers measure such things? Some interviewers are not experts in the field themselves. Some do not really know what they are looking at. But what he said sounded reasonable. And what is written in a textbook is likely to sound reasonable.

Therefore, if you equip yourself quickly, you can continually improve your knowledge, skills, and experience. Perhaps you may seize one opportunity, or even two. So today, brothers and sisters, begin to learn how to learn. Once you understand market demand and know your own condition, begin equipping yourself with knowledge. Then set research topics, study specific subjects, and begin improving your skills.

If you have the opportunity, gain some practical experience. Today, with computers and the internet, this age has truly changed. Take circuit design, for example. You can do it on a computer, and it is nearly the same as building and soldering it physically. Today there is an abundance of knowledge and skills available. There are online learning platforms such as NetEase Cloud Classroom. Even if you have never seen something before, watching many videos can make you quite capable; at least you will understand how it works.

Sell Yourself Successfully and Find Work That Suits You

Some time ago, I brought everyone to my office. During renovation, we had to sand the wood and apply oil. We watched videos and listened to a master explain the process. In the end, we did a fairly good job. That is experience in applying oil. In the past, it was difficult to gain such experience. But today, you can very quickly equip yourself with practical experience.

For example, if you want to write software, is not one computer enough? If you want to do livestreaming, one computer and one camera are enough to start broadcasting. Many things in this age make it possible to equip yourself quickly. If you say, “I have no experience, no skills, and no knowledge,” then what do you have to sell?

So today, you must begin to know what skills you possess, what knowledge you have, and what experience you carry. When you go out to sell yourself, you can reorganise these things and turn yourself into something valuable. This is how a person’s value is realised. Without selling yourself, your value will not be recognised. I believe that if you sell yourself successfully, you will find a very good job.

Let me summarise. If you want to sell yourself successfully, follow and implement the series of steps I have explained. Are there limitations in applying them? Yes, there are. For instance, if you want to become a doctor but have never performed surgery, that is more difficult. I once watched a Korean film showing how people were trained to perform surgery. How did they train? They used many fish bladders. You had to cut them without cutting the tissues around them, and without bursting the fish bladder. If you burst it, you failed the examination.

Therefore, when it comes to selling yourself successfully, I believe you should look for work that suits you. Some things must be learned through training in a very limited and specialised environment. Medicine is one example. I would not teach people to do such work, nor can I.

So today, brothers and sisters, there are many things you can do and many choices available to you. Making a living is hardly a problem today. If you are willing to work, willing to learn, willing to act, and willing to learn how to sell yourself, you can become very capable. The path of selling yourself also requires continual accumulation of experience. Whenever you have an opportunity, sell yourself. Even if you already have a job, occasionally send out one or two résumés and go for an interview to see the state of the market. That is not a bad thing.

This is what I want to share with you today. From here, let us see how God will bless you.

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