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

First Point: Skills are Crucial in 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 far removed from such notions. No matter how excellent the product, it will not sell without promotion. If you do not promote, 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 statement should not be dismissed as mere superstition. Even if you are a Christian, blessed by God, you still need to learn to market yourself. What skills do you possess? What value can you create for others? What unique qualities or talents do you offer? Some might argue that Apple iPhones require no promotion, but this is not the case. Their marketing is exceptionally effective.

Consequently, in Apple stores, each new iPhone model sells out rapidly, often leading to shortages. This is due to promotion. Virtually no one can enter the workforce without promoting themselves.

Self-promotion is a vital 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 do I say this? Because self-promotion essentially presents you to the leaders of the hiring organization, allowing them to assess your character and qualities.

Packaging oneself is one thing; possessing genuine substance is another. Some individuals possess genuine substance but lack external packaging, which 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 self-promotion requires both inner substance and attractive packaging – genuine quality coupled with appealing presentation.

Can you imagine an Apple iPhone wrapped in rags? It is incongruous. Observe closely, and you will notice that the packaging box is exquisitely crafted, and the contents are meticulously arranged. Therefore, as a talent, one must possess both the ability to promote oneself and genuine skills. These two are indispensable.

Second Point: Character is Key to Education

Whether one possesses character or not, even with the same skills, the image they project differs significantly. Character, when expressed, is highly engaging. Educational philosophies must evolve. As times change, we constantly discuss educational philosophies. While not yet universally adopted, this lack of widespread acceptance allows us to be forward-thinking. We can foresee that in ten or twenty years, our educational philosophies may no longer be novel.

The Core of Character is Confidence

What is our educational philosophy? Character development is the most crucial aspect of education. The core of character is confidence. Therefore, we build people's confidence, instilling in them a sense of optimism about the future. This, in turn, manifests as a particular character, which is key to education. With this character, you will find that their skills still need to be honed.

Experience Precedes Skill

Educational practice shapes character and skills, not just knowledge. We were once taught that "knowledge is power," but we later discovered that much knowledge is unusable and does not generate power. We often say that someone is experienced, implying they are knowledgeable, but knowledge does not necessarily equate to experience.

An experienced person undoubtedly possesses skills in that area, and with those skills, they certainly have knowledge. Conversely, having knowledge in an area does not guarantee skills, and having skills does not necessarily mean they have experience.

What is experience? It is the accumulation of using one's skills to solve problems, or using skills combined with knowledge to resolve an issue. The educational philosophy should focus on shaping a child's character and skills. What about experience? Experience should be tested in the market or accumulated to some extent in school.

Experience is Gained Through Practical Application

Practical application is practical application. School is not yet a real-world battlefield, but if students can be brought into a controlled and managed practical environment, where they can be trained to become experienced individuals, that would be ideal.

Therefore, the key to self-promotion is to showcase the appeal of your character. The kind of character you project to others is crucial; character is a form of charisma.

Third Point: Character is an Intrinsic Quality

What is character? It is not merely an external attribute but an intrinsic quality. For example, a child with great resilience will exhibit that resilience in their words and actions upon closer interaction. Similarly, a confident character will be evident in their manner of expression.

Therefore, character is a vital component. An individual lacking character is unlikely to succeed in self-promotion.

Thus, how to cultivate character in school or in one's personal life is of utmost importance. Promoting oneself is promoting one's character.

When someone goes for an interview and promotes themselves, it is fascinating to observe the character they display. A person's poor exam scores can indicate many things. In fact, a person with character should generally have decent exam scores.

Why do many people struggle with exams? It is because their character lacks something, leading to a distorted state that results in poor exam scores and an undesirable character. In the interview process, they might explain, "Although my grades are not good, it does not mean I cannot learn. I am resourceful because I have focused on developing my expertise in a particular area, and these aspects have been overlooked."

If the interviewer finds these explanations and stories acceptable, then it is fine. Some stories can even be quite far-fetched. For instance, a young man encountered difficulties during an interview and said, "I fell in with some bad company in the past three years and learned to play computer games, but I am determined to change. I am not unintelligent, and I can still do well if I study diligently." He still secured the job.

Do not assume that poor academic performance means everything is ruined. Academic performance only represents the past; what is needed now is to display a certain character to others.

For example, if someone is asked why they only have a junior high school diploma, they might say, "My family was poor, and I needed to work." Many families are not impoverished in this era, but you can still demonstrate your abilities. For instance, despite coming from a poor background, you have been self-studying and may even be more capable than someone with a college degree because you have honed your skills in the workplace. This is also a form of character.

Therefore, in the process of promoting yourself, cultivate the habit of promoting your character; character is highly appealing. For example, being persevering, resilient, focused, or decisive, making accurate decisions and judgments. A person who is resourceful, adaptable, and skilled in interpersonal relationships has a character that easily fosters a sense of connection. These are all parts of character.

Fourth Point: The Core Competitiveness of Self-Promotion

A famous figure once said that many young people today know a lot of things, but their knowledge is shallow, about an inch deep and a mile wide, which is useless. Because the market needs core competitiveness, which makes the entire society more clearly defined and more finely divided in its cooperation.

If you can do just one thing exceptionally well, you are remarkable. However, many people become frustrated when they lack this core competitiveness. Without core competitiveness, you are promoting an empty shell. You cannot just sell a box without a phone inside, because that is useless.

Therefore, today, we must know what our core competitiveness is. A brother once told me he was going to pursue a master's degree, and I told him it would be good to package himself. But the question is, if we use the time spent pursuing a master's degree to build our core competitiveness, which would be better? I believe having core competitiveness is extremely important.

Our Chinese society is shifting from an era dominated by diplomas to one dominated by core competitiveness. You must have skills; without genuine abilities and relying only on bluffing, even if you find a job, you will not last long. Therefore, you must introduce your core competitiveness. To build your core competitiveness, you must understand the market. If you do not know the market's needs and build your core competitiveness arbitrarily, you are likely to be eliminated by the market.

Fifth Point: Know Yourself, Know the Market Demand

We must understand that everything is driven by the market. A society driven primarily 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, recognizing market demand is a crucial component.

Know yourself, recognize market demand, and you will know where to develop and what core competitiveness to equip yourself with. Then, promote your core competitiveness; know how to clearly describe your core competitiveness, and that is promotion. Regarding the market demand for core competitiveness, I believe it is a good habit to conduct market research, read more books, and gain more knowledge and understanding.

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 those being eliminated by the market; this is called structural unemployment.

Know yourself, recognize market demand, and constantly adjust. Therefore, sometimes I feel that people must have a long-term vision. A famous figure once said, "If I want to see the next few years, I must first look at 30 years, 50 years. Only by seeing the market situation 30 to 50 years from now can you plan for these three to five years."

Then, based on these three- to five-year plans, 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. Know what level you have accumulated, which aspects are your strengths, and which aspects are your weaknesses. Then, recognize market demand; this is very important.

I once ministered to a girl who was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight but could be said to have achieved nothing. She studied theology for half a year under the teachings of a traditional church, but she accomplished nothing. Then, I pinpointed and addressed her most painful areas. Although she knew I 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 is? Did she really know herself? Did she really understand the market's needs? She did not understand. She neither knew herself nor understood market demand.

For example, regarding the insurance industry, let me tell you the approach of a veteran. If you do not have certain savings that can support you for one to two years, do not sell insurance. But many people borrow money to sell insurance; is that not 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 that faith is important, but faith does not mean we should deny ourselves.

## Point 6: Learn the Language of Salesmanship

If a business is not on the right track, its returns will be barely enough to sustain it. Therefore, **knowing oneself and understanding market demands are key to marketing 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 concoct an unreliable tale.

Learn to speak, to use the language of salesmanship. Every industry has its own way of speaking. Diplomats have diplomatic parlance; salespeople have their sales pitches; marketing oneself has its own linguistic patterns. **Cultivate the habit of speaking** in this way. So today, we, as 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 always revolves around the same core. 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 someone how to respond during a job interview when asked an irrelevant question, such as, "What are you reading lately?" If 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**..." 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 twenty- or thirty-page booklet titled *How to Do Online Marketing*, that works too. This is 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 legend**. You need to explain what you can do for them. So, what seems like an irrelevant question is actually relevant. Why? Because you must learn to speak pertinently.

Whether I am serving as a pastor or working as an entrepreneur, I wouldn't say I'm exceptionally good at marketing myself, but I think I do a decent job. If I were to seek 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 marketed myself quite effectively. 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. After looking at it, 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 scheduled to leave the country the next day, but he still wanted me to meet with one of his subordinates that day to provide some training. Why? Because I had successfully marketed myself. He believed I had genuine talent and knowledge. Whether one is truly capable is one thing, but even a capable person who cannot articulate their abilities will fail to promote themselves. Therefore, **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 speaking with investors. You need to understand the language of each industry. You don't need to understand what is irrelevant to you, but you must understand what is relevant. You really need to align yourself correctly; you need to learn to speak, to avoid saying 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 about 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've heard this book is very good, but I haven't had time to read it." That's acceptable too. I think everyone should cultivate this habit, equipping themselves to be useful members of 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, those are for others to manage. **Let us be good citizens, properly equipping ourselves, learning to speak well, and marketing ourselves effectively.** You might say it's the broader social environment. I think China's environment is quite good. Does China's environment have problems? Everywhere has problems. Don't be misled by these things.

Look at the chaos and disorder in foreign countries! 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 must **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 do not cause trouble. We focus our energy and abilities on positive endeavors, learning to speak, learning the language of self-promotion, and learning to equip ourselves.

## Point 7: Rapidly Equip Yourself, Enhancing 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, a Party Secretary, a county head, or a county Party Secretary. He's just sitting on a bench, and the video is quite long. He's pontificating about how this should be done and how that should be done. I tell you, that's pure nonsense. He doesn't spend time properly equipping himself.

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

I believe that if you have time, **rapidly equip yourself, enhancing 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 result of solving problems.

What is a skill? It's possessing a certain knowledge and then creating something with it. It's being able to operate something. What is knowledge? Knowledge is something from books that you store in your mind after reading. You don't know if it's practical or not. So, rapidly 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 those skills, if you haven't worked in the market, you can't do it. Even if you just talk about knowledge, you can still market yourself.

There was a young man who studied computer 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 for an interview and got the job. Why? Because he could speak well. How do people evaluate? Some people who conduct interviews don't know how to interview, and some interviewees can't tell what's what. It sounds reasonable, but wouldn't the book be reasonable?

So, **rapidly equipping yourself allows you to continuously enhance your knowledge, skills, and experience.** Perhaps you can seize one **opportunity**, or even two. I think today, we, as brothers and sisters, should begin to learn how to learn. Once you understand market demands and know your own capabilities, you can start equipping yourself with knowledge, setting up research topics, and enhancing your skills.

If you have the opportunity, you can gain some practical experience. Today, with computers and the internet, the era has truly changed. For example, circuit design can be done on a computer and looks almost the same as a soldered circuit. So today, there is so much knowledge and so many skills available. There's also NetEase Cloud Classroom. Even if you haven't seen something before, you can watch many videos and become quite proficient, understanding how things work.

### Successfully Market Yourself and Find a Job That Suits You

Some time ago, I took everyone to my office. We were renovating, and we had to sand and paint the wood. By watching videos and listening to the master craftsman, we did a pretty good job. That's called painting experience. In the past, it was difficult, but today you can quickly equip yourself with practical experience. For example, to write a program, all you need is a computer, right? To do a live broadcast, all you need is a computer and a camera, right? Many things today can be done in this era of rapid self-equipment. If you say you have no experience, no skills, no knowledge, what can you sell?

So today, you need to know what skills you have, what knowledge you have, and what experience you have. When you go out to market 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 marketing yourself will lead to finding a very good job. To summarize, if you want to successfully market yourself, follow the steps I mentioned earlier. Are there limitations in this process? Yes, there are. For example, if you're a doctor and you haven't performed surgery, that's quite difficult. I once saw a Korean movie about training people to perform surgery. How did they train? They used a lot of fish bladders and had people cut them. You couldn't cut the tissue around the bladder, but you couldn't puncture the bladder either. If you punctured the bladder, you failed the exam.

So, successfully marketing yourself means finding something that suits you. Some things require training in a very limited environment, like doctors. I wouldn't teach people to do that. So today, there are many things that we, as brothers and sisters, can do and many things we can choose. Making a living is hardly a problem today. If you are willing to work hard, learn, and figure things out, and if you learn to market yourself, you will be very successful. I think the path to marketing yourself also requires continuously accumulating experience. If you have the opportunity, go out and market yourself. Even if you already have a job, occasionally send out a resume and go for an interview to see what the market is like. That's not bad either. So today, I want to share this with you. Next, let's see how God blesses you.

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