The Three-Step Work Method

The Three-Step Work Method

Lately, I’ve been applying the “Three-Step Work Method”—and it’s proven deeply effective.

Step 1: Analyze & Research
Conduct thorough analysis and detailed research to grasp the full picture of a subject. Research is foundational—especially early on, you may legitimately spend over 50% of your time gathering information to build sufficient context and insight.

Step 2: Identify the Breakthrough Point
Based on reality, distinguish primary from secondary contradictions. Pinpoint the critical leverage point—and concentrate resources and energy there first. Don’t spread effort thinly; solve what matters most.

Step 3: Systematic Operation
Once the main contradiction is clear, launch sustained, structured operations around it—not one-off actions, but an integrated, iterative process that reinforces progress over time.

Talk More with People Who Get Results

A friend joked recently: “These days, we only discuss growth in multiples—doubling, tripling. Anything less than 100% isn’t even worth studying.”

Conversations with people who deliver results yield rich, actionable details—the kind you won’t find in textbooks or generic advice.

But there’s a prerequisite: you must also bring results to the table. Without tangible outcomes, there’s little meaningful ground for exchanging information or insight.

Friendship, beyond material exchange, thrives on mutual cognitive value—the shared joy of recognizing depth, rigor, and authenticity in each other’s thinking. That kind of bond runs deeper and lasts longer than transactional alliances. It’s not just camaraderie—it’s kinship among those who see clearly.

The Mindset for Live Streaming

1. Treat every live stream like a formal exam—prepare thoroughly and show up fully.
2. When viewers are present, selling courses feels natural and rewarding. When no one’s watching? Treat it as a serious dress rehearsal—not downtime, but deliberate practice.
3. Selling in live streams is fundamentally the art of persuasion. And persuasion has one non-negotiable rule: No control of the room → No selling. If you don’t yet feel confident commanding attention and energy in your stream, pause the sales pitch—and focus instead on building that command.
4. In your live stream, you are the sovereign. Whoever enters your space does so on your terms. Your rules govern the rhythm, tone, and flow.
5. A core truth about human nature: people admire strength. So—even if it’s only within your stream—project strength. Not arrogance, but grounded confidence. Not fluff, but substance: real insights, concrete frameworks, hard-won lessons. That’s what makes people lean in.

Layers of Intelligence

Over lunch with a PhD candidate from Tsinghua University, he suddenly said, “You’re really smart.”

I asked, “Why? How do you define ‘smart’—and where would you place me?”

He paused. “I haven’t mapped it out precisely—but I can sketch a rough hierarchy. At the bottom: people who memorize well and solve routine problems quickly. That’s technical fluency—not yet deep intelligence. At the top: those whose thinking grows richer the longer you talk with them—whose questions cut to the core, whose answers reveal structure beneath surface noise. You’re definitely in that tier.”

I nodded. “Makes sense.”

10,000 RMB in Beijing vs. 10,000 RMB in a Smaller City

A monthly income of 10,000 RMB puts you ahead of >90% of earners nationwide. Even in Beijing, it surpasses roughly 70% of workers.

Yet in Beijing, it’s functionally liminal: not low, not high—just precarious. For many “Beijing drifters,” rent, transport, and daily living costs routinely exceed 10,000 RMB. Survival, not comfort, is the baseline.

In contrast, 10,000 RMB is exceptional in smaller cities—especially tier-4 or tier-5 towns—where such salaries are rare and often tied to specialized roles or remote work.

That gap reveals opportunity: transplanting proven, scalable models (e.g., live-streaming formats, content operations, digital service workflows) from high-cost hubs to lower-cost regions.

Take Beijing versus Tianjin: same salary, same job requirements—but vastly different attitudes. In Tianjin, that “high-paying” role feels precious and hard-won. In Beijing, it barely registers as competitive.

The implication? Low-productivity, low-skill roles struggle in Beijing—not because talent is scarce, but because the cost of entry (time, rent, stress) demands higher returns. Only high-human-efficiency roles—those where individual output scales meaningfully—truly thrive there.

No Control, No Sale

No control of the room → No sale.

Why? Because people follow strength—and control signals strength. In live streaming, that means sensing, in real time: Am I holding the room?

If your intuition says “no”—if energy feels scattered, engagement shallow, or attention drifting—you’re not in a selling moment. You’re in a practicing moment.

So how do you train control? Start by defining your rules—not arbitrary ones, but coherent, consistent principles that shape how your space operates: how you open, how you respond, how you redirect, how you close. Then enforce them gently but firmly—until everyone in the room, knowingly or not, aligns with your rhythm. That’s not domination. It’s leadership, earned.