It is vital to market oneself. Some individuals possess a wealth of talent, yet remain unknown, unable to promote themselves, and thus fail to realise their potential value. Any item left unsold in storage, though valuable, cannot be converted into tangible worth. If you can successfully market yourself, you could command a salary of two thousand, four thousand, or even more. Therefore, we must consider how to effectively promote ourselves.

First Point: Skills are Crucial for Self-Promotion

Do not assume that as a believer, I need not promote myself, that a good product needs no advertising. The current era is vastly different; even the finest product will languish without promotion. If you do not promote yourself, others will. Observe closely in the workplace, and you will notice that some individuals occupy positions not because they are significantly more intelligent or capable, but because they are adept at self-promotion. Those who lack this skill may struggle to find employment.

This is not mere superstition. Even if you are a Christian, and God blesses you, you still need to learn to market yourself effectively. What skills do you possess? What value can you create for others? What unique qualities or talents do you have? Some might argue that Apple iPhones do not require promotion, but this is not the case. Their marketing is exceptionally well-executed.

Consequently, whenever Apple releases a new iPhone, it sells out rapidly, often leading to shortages. This is due to effective promotion. Virtually no one can enter the workforce without promoting themselves.

Self-promotion is a critical skill. Some may say, "I am a believer, and I trust God will bless me with a job." However, even then, self-promotion is necessary. Why? Because it effectively presents you to the leaders of the hiring organisation, allowing them to assess your character and qualities.

Packaging oneself is one thing; possessing genuine substance is another. However, having genuine substance without proper packaging is also not ideal.

For instance, would you purchase unpackaged food in a store? If it could potentially sell for $50, without packaging, it might only fetch $10, or even remain unsold. People often prefer to spend $50 on a packaged item rather than $10 on an unpackaged one.

Whether packaging and promotion are equivalent is debatable, but I believe that effective self-promotion requires both inner substance and attractive packaging – genuine quality presented beautifully.

Can you imagine an iPhone wrapped in rags? It is incongruous. Observe closely, and you will notice that the packaging is exquisite, and the contents are meticulously arranged. Therefore, a talented individual must possess both the ability to promote themselves and genuine skills. These two are indispensable.

Second Point: Character is Key to Education

Whether a person has character or not, even with the same skills, the image they project is completely different. Character, when expressed, is very charming. We must change our educational philosophy. With the development of the times, we talk about educational philosophy every day. Although it is not a very popular state, it is precisely because it is not a popular state that we have foresight. We can see that in the future, our educational philosophy may no longer be a novelty in ten or twenty years.

The Core of Character is Confidence

What is our educational philosophy? Character building is the most critical part of the entire education. The core of character is confidence. So we build people's confidence, let them be full of confidence in the future, and then they will show a kind of character, this character is the key to education. With this character, you will find that he still needs to be created in skills.

Experience Comes Before Skill

Educational practice is about shaping character and skills, not knowledge. We used to be educated that "knowledge is power", but later we found that a lot of knowledge is useless and cannot generate power. We often say that this person is experienced, he must be a knowledgeable person, but knowledge does not mean experience.

A person with experience must have skills in this area, and if he has skills in this area, he must have knowledge in this area. Conversely, if he has knowledge in this area, he may not have skills in this area, and if he has skills in this area, he may not have experience in this area.

What is experience? It is the accumulation of using his skills to solve some problems, or using his skills plus his knowledge to solve a problem. The concept of education is to shape children's character and skills. What about experience? Experience should be pushed to the market, or it can be accumulated in school.

Experience is Accumulated from Actual Combat

Actual combat is actual combat. School is not yet a real battlefield, but it would be best if students could be brought into a controlled and managed real battlefield and trained to become experienced people.

So the key to promoting yourself is to show the charm of your character. It is very important what kind of character you show in front of others, character is a kind of charm.

Third Point: Character is an Internal Quality

What is character? It is not just an external thing, but an internal thing. For example, a child has a very strong resilience, and after getting in close contact with him, you will find that his words and expressions are full of that tenacious character. If he has a very confident character, it can be expressed in his way of expression.

So character is a very important component. A person without character basically does not succeed in his promotion.

So how to train character in school, or how to train this character in your own life, is very important. Promoting yourself is promoting your character.

Someone went to an interview, and it was very interesting if he showed a character in the process of promoting himself during the interview. A person's poor test scores represent many things. In fact, a person with character should have good test scores.

Why do many people fail in exams? Because there is something lacking in their character, which leads to a distorted state in their minds, resulting in poor test scores and poor character. Then, in the interview process, they show: Although my grades are not good, this does not mean that I cannot learn. I am very smart, because in the past, I focused on developing my expertise, and these things were ignored.

If others find these explanations and stories acceptable, then that's fine. Some stories are even quite outrageous. For example, a young man encountered some difficulties during an interview. He said: "In the past three years, I made some bad friends, and then I learned to play computer games, but now I want to change completely. In fact, I am not stupid. If I study hard, I can still do it." As a result, he still got the job.

Don't think that if your academic performance is not good, everything will collapse. Academic performance only represents the past. What is needed now is to show a character in front of people.

For example, if someone asks a person why he only has a junior high school diploma, he says: "My family is very poor, and I need to come out to work." Many families are not too poor in this era, but you can still prove your ability. For example, although my family is very poor, I have been self-studying all these years, and I may be stronger than someone with a college degree, because I have practiced a lot of skills in the workplace. This is also a kind of character.

Therefore, in the process of promoting yourself, develop the habit of promoting your character. Character is very charming. For example, being very persevering, very resilient, very focused, or very courageous, being able to make decisions and judgments accurately, this person is more smart and flexible, and in terms of handling interpersonal relationships, his character makes it easy for people to feel intimacy. These are all part of character.

Fourth Point: The Core Competitiveness of Self-Promotion

A famous person once said that many young people today know a lot of things, but their knowledge is very shallow, about an inch deep and a mile wide, which is useless. Because the market needs core competitiveness, which makes the entire society more clear and more detailed in its division of labor and cooperation.

As long as you do this one thing very well, then you are very powerful. But many people panic when they don't have this core competitiveness. Without core competitiveness, what you are promoting is an empty shell. You can't just sell a box without a phone inside, because that's useless.

So today, we must know what our core competitiveness is. A brother once told me that he was going to study for a master's degree, and I told him that it would be good to package himself. But the problem is, if we use the time to study for a master's degree to build our core competitiveness, which one do you think would be better? I think having core competitiveness is very, very important.

Our Chinese society is shifting from an era dominated by diplomas to an era dominated by core competitiveness. That is, you must have skills. If you don't have real skills and just rely on fooling around, you won't be able to keep your job for long. So you still have to introduce your core competitiveness. To build your core competitiveness, you must understand the market. If you don't know the market demand and just build your core competitiveness casually, you will easily be eliminated by the market.

Fifth Point: Know Yourself, Know the Market Demand

We must know that everything is driven by the market. A society driven 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. If there is no market demand, there is no business. So recognizing market demand is a very important key component.

Knowing yourself and recognizing market demand, you will know where you want to develop and what kind of core competitiveness you want to equip yourself with. Then promote your core competitiveness, and you know how to describe your core competitiveness clearly. This is promotion. In terms of the market demand for core competitiveness, I think it is a good habit to do market research, read more books, know more, and understand more.

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 jump into the ranks of market elimination, which is called structural unemployment.

You must know yourself, recognize market demand, and constantly adjust. So sometimes I think people must have a long-term vision. A famous person once said that if I want to look at the next few years, I have to look at 30 years or 50 years first. If you see the market situation 30 or 50 years later, you can plan for these three or five years.

Then, according to the plans for these three or five years, adjust your plans for one month, two months, or even three months. Know what kind of material you are, what you can do, and what you cannot do. To what extent have you accumulated yourself, which aspects are your strengths, and which aspects are your weaknesses, and then recognize market demand, which is very important.

I once ministered to a girl who was already twenty-seven or eight years old, but basically she could be said to have achieved nothing. She studied theology for half a year under the teaching of a traditional church, but ended up accomplishing nothing. Then I pinpointed and poked at her most painful spot. Although she knew that what I said was right, she couldn't listen to it.

Later, she ran to a first-tier city to sell insurance. Does she really understand what the insurance industry is? Does she really know herself? Does she really understand the needs of the market? She doesn't understand. She neither knows herself nor understands market demand.

For example, in the insurance industry, let me tell you how a veteran does it. If you don't have a certain amount of savings that can support you for one to two years, don't do insurance. But many people are borrowing money to sell insurance. Isn't that courting death? Today, unless I say "believe that you have received it and you will receive it", may miracles happen to such children. But the problem is faith is very important, but faith does not mean that we should deny ourselves.

Point 6: Learn the Language of Salesmanship

If the business is not on the right track, the returns will be barely enough to sustain it. Therefore, knowing oneself and understanding market demands are key to selling oneself. How you respond to questions asked is essentially addressing the needs of the market and what you possess, what can satisfy the market. Even if you fabricate a story, it must be credible; you cannot create an unreliable narrative.

Learn to speak, to use the language of salesmanship. Every industry has its own way of speaking. Diplomats have diplomatic language; salespeople have sales techniques; selling oneself has its own linguistic patterns. Cultivate the habit of speaking in this way. So today, we, brothers and sisters, begin to understand how to speak, what kind of words to use. It's not about asking if someone has eaten or had a drink; that is not the language of self-promotion.

The language of self-promotion must be precise. It has a unique characteristic: it never deviates from the core. What else can you talk about? What skills do you have, what problems can you solve, what value can you create, and what market needs can you meet?

I once taught people how to handle job interviews. When asked an irrelevant question, like "What are you reading lately?" and you answer, "I'm reading Water Margin" or "Legend of the White Snake," the interviewer has no interest in that. You must learn to speak. How should you respond? You should say, "I've been researching recently." If you're applying for a job in online marketing, you should be researching online marketing. "I've even written a short article summarizing the key aspects of online marketing." Then, you take out a printed copy of that summary from your pocket.

If you've written a short book, say twenty or thirty pages, on "How to Do Online Marketing," and you print it out, that's the language of salesmanship. Recruiters don't have time to hear about your reading of Water Margin; none of that matters. You need to write your own story. You need to explain what you can do for them. So, what seems like an irrelevant question is actually very relevant. Why? Because you must learn to speak appropriately.

Whether I am serving as a pastor or working as an entrepreneur, I wouldn't say I'm exceptionally good at selling myself, but I think I do a decent job. If I were to look for a pastoral position in an English-speaking country, I believe it wouldn't be too difficult.

For example, during my recent conversation with my pastor in Singapore, I promoted myself quite well. What did I promote? I promoted the books I've written. I mentioned that I've written over thirty books, and I presented him with one. He looked at it, and I highlighted a few key elements: church building, my research findings, or a revelation from the Bible, some insights. A few words moved him.

I was leaving the country the next day, but he still wanted me to meet one of his subordinates that day, to give them some training. Why? Because I had successfully promoted myself. He believed I had genuine talent and knowledge. Whether you have substance or not is one thing, but even if you are knowledgeable, if you can't speak well, you won't be able to sell yourself. So, you must learn to speak, to get to the point.

If you are facing an investor, speak the language of investment. The language of investment involves your industry, whether the industry is on the rise, your business model, your profit model, and your team. This is the language to use when talking to investors. So, you need to understand the language of every industry. You don't need to understand what is completely unrelated to you, but you really need to align yourself with what is relevant to you. You need to learn to speak, not to say irrelevant things.

For example, if an investor asks me, "What are you reading lately?" I would say, "I'm reading The Game of Capital." Why? Because you are talking to an investor. If you are talking to a novelist, what are you doing? "What are you reading lately?" "I'm reading how to write novels." What if you haven't read anything? Then read something.

But if you haven't read anything, what can you talk about? "I heard this book is very good, but I haven't had time to read it." That's also acceptable. I think everyone should develop this habit, to equip themselves to be useful talents in society, to be good citizens.

We Must Equip Ourselves to Become Talents in This Society

I think we should do what we can do and not do what we cannot do. As for systemic issues or institutional problems, there are people in charge of those matters. Let's just be good citizens, equip ourselves well, learn to speak well, and promote ourselves well. You say this is the general social environment? I think China's environment is quite good. Is there a problem with China's environment? There are problems everywhere. Don't be misled by these things.

Look at the amount of chaos and negativity abroad! Many people are pessimistic about China, but I am confident that the next twenty years will be the twenty years in which China becomes a strong, developed nation. China will become one of the leading powers in the world. You need to focus on the big picture. Are there problems? Yes.

Your task is to equip yourself to become a talent in this society. This society needs many stabilizing factors. We must become stabilizing factors in this society. As Christians, we pray, but we don't cause trouble. We put our energy and abilities into doing the right things, learning to speak, learning the language of self-promotion, and learning to equip ourselves.

Point 7: Quickly Equip Yourself, Enhance Your Knowledge, Skills, and Experience

I watched a video of an old farmer sitting on a bench in a park. He's not a mayor, not a Party Secretary, not a county head, not a county Party Secretary. He's just sitting on a bench, and the video is quite long. He's talking about how this should be done and how that should be done. I tell you, this kind of person is just talking nonsense, not taking the time to equip himself properly.

England has a place called Hyde Park where people can say whatever they want. Singapore has also created such a corner where you can say whatever you want.

I think if you have time, quickly equip yourself, enhance your knowledge, skills, and experience. What is experience? It's what you gain after using your knowledge and skills to solve problems. It's the summary of solving problems.

What is a skill? It's having a certain knowledge and then creating something. It's being able to operate. What is knowledge? Knowledge is something from books that you put in your head after reading. You don't know if it works or not. So, quickly equip yourself. If you have the opportunity, equip yourself with experience; if not, equip yourself with skills.

But knowledge is, at best, just understanding! If you don't have experience in that area, if you don't have the skills, if you haven't worked in the market, you can't do it. You can still sell yourself by talking about knowledge.

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 about twenty chapters, including one on direct sales and online marketing. He read the first two chapters and gained a little knowledge of marketing.

Then he went to the interview and got the job. Why? Because he knew how to speak. How do people measure you? Some interviewers are not good at interviewing; some can't see through things. It sounds reasonable, but wouldn't the book be reasonable?

So, quickly equipping yourself allows you to continuously enhance your knowledge, skills, and experience. Perhaps you can seize one or two opportunities. I think today, we, brothers and sisters, need to start learning how to learn. Once you know the market demand and your own situation, you can start equipping yourself with knowledge, then start setting up some topics, researching certain topics, and start improving your skills.

If you have the opportunity, you can gain some practical experience. Today, with computers and the internet, this era has truly changed. For example, circuit design can be done on a computer, and it looks almost the same as soldering. So today, there is too much knowledge and too many skills. There are also NetEase Cloud Classroom. Even if you haven't seen something, you can watch many videos and understand how it works.

Successfully Sell Yourself and Find a Job That Suits You

Some time ago, I took everyone to my office. When we were renovating, we had to sand and paint the wood. We watched some videos, listened to the master craftsman, and did a pretty good job. This is called painting experience. In the past, it was difficult, but today you can quickly equip yourself with practical experience. For example, writing a program only requires a computer, right? Doing a live broadcast only requires a computer and a camera, right? Many things today can be called the era of quickly equipping yourself. If you say you have no experience, no skills, no knowledge, then what are you selling?

So today, you need to start knowing what skills you have, what knowledge you have, what experience you have. When you go out to sell yourself, you can reintegrate these things and convert yourself into something valuable. That's how a person's value is realized. Without promotion, there is no value. I think successfully promoting yourself will lead to a very good job. To summarize, if you want to successfully promote yourself, follow the steps I mentioned earlier. Are there limitations in this process? Yes, there are. For example, if you are a doctor and you haven't performed surgery, that's more difficult. I once saw a Korean movie about training people to perform surgery. How did they train? They used many fish bladders and had people cut them. You couldn't cut the things next to the fish bladder, but you couldn't break the fish bladder. If the fish bladder broke, you failed the exam.

So, successfully promoting yourself, I think, is about finding something that suits you. Some things must be trained in a very limited environment, such as doctors. I wouldn't teach people to do that. So today, there are many things that we, brothers and sisters, can do and many things we can choose. Making a living is almost not a problem. If you are willing to work hard, willing to learn, willing to figure things out, and learn to promote yourself, you will be very successful. I think the path to promoting yourself also requires constantly accumulating experience. If you have the opportunity, go out and promote yourself. Even if you are already working, occasionally send out a resume and go for an interview to see the market conditions. That's not bad either. So today, I want to share with you until here. Next, let's see how God blesses you.

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