Want to build a unique personal brand? Please switch from input thinking to action-oriented output thinking.
★ Want to build your personal brand? Come and sign up for the “Personal Brand Management Practice (opens in a new tab)” online course.
Recently, I have been planning an online course called “Personal Brand Management Practice (opens in a new tab)” and started collecting a lot of information. But when I came back to my senses and looked at the dense information on the screen, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and I recalled many past events.
I still remember that when I worked for a magazine in the past, I adhered to the highest guiding principle of “reading for customers”. Whenever I needed to plan some new cover stories or special features, I would always turn on the computer and start collecting a lot of information, or go to the library to borrow a lot of books for reference.
In the final analysis, this is actually an act of “input”.
After being immersed in the Internet and media industries for many years, I don’t regard collecting information as a chore. I even have some confidence. I have shared my digital work skills with the outside world many times.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with and even praiseworthy efforts to collect information and do your homework. But I later realized that if I get too obsessed with details, I will not only easily get lost in the jungle of digital data, but it may also affect the development of the project and even reduce the overall work performance.
Input is indeed a basic skill, but input without output is in vain.
Just like the Japanese potential coach Chihisa Ikuta (opens in a new tab) in “Mediocre people copy notes fiercely, talented people write diligently: 6 kinds of power to be transformed within 24 hours (opens in a new tab)” mentioned in the book, “In fact, the most important thing is to use information. Follow the rule of “input 20%, output 80%”, and write down your experience diligently.”
Now, I have switched from input mode to output mode (opens in a new tab), so I will take action first. Even if you encounter a big problem, you should break it down into several small tasks, just like Masayoshi Son, the founder of Software Bank taught us (opens in a new tab): Turn a goal that no one believes in into a successful career, and never underestimate small successes in anything you do.
Being able to take into account both input and output is naturally the best; and being able to “multiple outputs” is of course far better than “only input and no output”! Don’t worry about not doing well, I believe in the principle of “diligence can make up for failure”: firstly, we can ask relatives, friends, colleagues or teachers to assist in supervision (opens in a new tab); secondly, there are actually many great [books] on the market (https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010838761?utm (opens in a new tab)_ source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202004), Learning Resources (opens in a new tab) or Courses (opens in a new tab) are available for reference!
Please believe me, you really don’t have to worry too much about your own shortcomings, just act first!
You don’t need to be very good to start, but you will get better if you start first!
Well, let me give you an example. In the past, I always struggled with my poor English foundation. I was always worried that the English sentences I wrote would have grammatical flaws, or that I would not understand what foreigners were saying? But recently I broke through this myth and began to force myself to listen, speak, write, and read everything. I even communicated directly in English with foreign friends I met on Facebook.
To be honest, I am still worried about my broken English (who will help me?) and often get stuck, but when I hear a foreign friend say that she can understand my English, I feel a little happy. Learning a language is naturally a long road, but now I understand the importance of action. In short, don’t be afraid. Yes, just listen more, speak more, write more and read more!
Let me give you another example. I once participated in the “[Dream Morning Reading Meeting]” (https://www (opens in a new tab) .jianshu.com/p/233f5a633126)”, Morning Reading (opens in a new tab) with friends from all corners of the world at 6:30 every morning. We not only listened to Teacher Xiaoliu’s reading of good books one-way, but we also discussed and communicated in the WeChat group called “Peng Xiaoliu’s friends in Jianshu-Golden VIP”.
As Teacher Xiaoliu said (opens in a new tab): “Reading should be a fun thing, and so should getting up early; getting up early and reading can bring you new energy for the day.”
For example, Maizi-245, the chief content shorthand officer who is good at organizing pictures and texts, will help everyone convert the introductory content into long pictures suitable for access and reading every day. Students such as Mao Dou Doudou Doudou 371 and Mo Yanyan 393, who are familiar with hand-drawing, will also help everyone outline the content through mind maps (mind maps). Think about it, isn’t this a very good output?
CEO of American GE Company Imelt (opens in a new tab) (Jeffrey Immelt (opens in a new tab)) once said: “In today’s rapidly changing world, what affects success is not “what you know”, but “how quickly you can get into the situation.”
In this era of information explosion, you can quickly find out the answer with just a Google search. However, it is not easy to get yourself into the situation as quickly as possible and even gain the trust of customers and superiors.
Dear friend, you may wish to think about it: Is your behavior pattern more inclined to input type or output type? No matter which type it is, I want to tell you - just knowing is not enough, we have to take practical actions!
Well, if you want to create a unique personal brand (opens in a new tab), it is not enough to have professional skills. We must also develop good skills of input, thinking and output. Well, let’s work together (opens in a new tab) now!
★ Featured image source: unsplash.com (opens in a new tab)
Further reading
- What to do if you have no inspiration? Six ways to help you do it
- How to write good articles quickly? Start by establishing a writing model and mastering three abilities
- I read “The Highest Learning to Apply”: The way modern people learn starts from input, speculation and output
Next step
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Vista Cheng speaks and runs workshops on AI workflows, writing and content systems for companies, schools and public agencies.
