✍️ Last Updated: October 21, 2025

Hey there! I'm Xiaochang 🌭
It's time for my weekly letter to grow a little together with you!

This week because《7-Day Heptabase Workshop! Build Your Knowledge Management System from Scratch》I got +1,000 new readers directly. Crazy! Let me share with the new Gut fans: besides my writing being wonderfully quirky, the Gut Talk Newsletter layout is very rich and beautiful, because I really value the reading experience. I hope you'll occasionally reply to newsletter emails and interact with me, so you don't miss this newsletter.

Indeed, many newsletter operators say: "Newsletters shouldn't be too fancy or they'll end up in spam," but I'm that one who goes against the grain—truly unique! I want to break this perception and challenge the newsletter market, raising the bar for all newsletter operators haha. Alright, let's get to the topic XD

🦄 Something extremely important in the AI erathing: "Imagination"

Imagine that the first rule for humans and AI to collaborate is that humans need 'imagination'! It's the human ability to 'construct possibilities'—whether you're in entrepreneurship, art, science, future planning, or even empathy, every domain requires this ability. The way I train my imagination has a major premise:

• No matter what the answer is, first prepare your mind with the belief that 'there are always other possible routes'!

You could define this premise as the ability to 'solve problems,' but really it just means keeping your brain turned on, constantly thinking about whether there are more unique possibilities—a small habit that also helps develop critical thinking. Okay, I know you're dying to know how I train my imagination, so try thinking through this question:

Imagine: how many ways are there to get from Taipei to Kaohsiung?

You think there are only high-speed rail, taxis, buses, and planes? When I played this with friends before, I came up with over 200 ways. Let your imagination run wild—ignoring dangers or time limits, would it be possible to reach Kaohsiung if we climbed along telephone poles? If I bounced there using Tigger's springy tail, could I also arrive?

Actually, there are truly many ways to solve a problem. So if you want to use AI to design an employee check-in system, wouldn't there be many possible ways to write the prompt and present it? Maybe it's a webpage, maybe it can be done in Google Calendar, maybe via LINE, maybe you can ask AI to build a check-in app directly—there are really countless possibilities.

I believe that any premise for communicating with AI requires rich imagination.

🕹️ Guess where the 7-Day Workshop applied the 'Octalysis Framework'？

Beyond the sales funnel concept, I designed a lot of gamification elements in this workshop. I wonder if the 80+ students who have already completed their assignments(including those who just wanted to see how I run this workshop XD)noticed these clever designs I created:

1. Epic Meaning & Calling
   • Upload Assignments, Share Wisdom
     I tell students: 'When you upload your work, you're not just helping yourself—you're also helping other students. This is a valuable contribution.' They realize their actions help others, and that KnowledgeGut is a community of meaningful co-learning culture.
     　
2. Accomplishment
   • Daily Quests, Level-Based Unlocks, Progress Bars
     I designed this pattern in both the daily email subject lines and the email subject lines after assignment submissions [2/7] with this kind of format, so students always know where they are and how much is left, preventing this 7-day journey from feeling endless.
   • Step-by-Step Instructions
     Beyond step-by-step video tutorials, I also wrote out steps in the copy so students experience achievement as they complete each small task.
     　
3. Empowerment
   • Creative Freedom
     For each day's assignment, I only give a broad direction—a 'thinking template'—and let students freely create the rest. This creates that pleasure of 'I get to choose freely.'
     　
4. Ownership
   • Learning Curve
     Nobody can master Heptabase instantly, so Day 1 is genuinely super simple—one step that gets you immediate output and self-feedback! Students start thinking 'This is an ability/knowledge I've accumulated myself' and develop the mindset 'I truly own this.'
     　
5. Social Influence
   • Social Proof
     In the assignment submission area, you can see 50+ assignments at once. This 'imitation of others' behavior' makes students feel they're not alone and shows them there are so many different ways to complete the work.
     　
6. Scarcity
   • Limited-Time Incentives
     This time, I applied scarcity to marketing, allowing students to complete assignments and earn discount benefits within a specific time frame, strengthening their learning commitment and progress momentum.
     　
7. Uncertainty
   • Mystery Surprises
     Maybe I have a mischievous personality (laughs), but when recording teaching videos, I always wanted to include easter eggs like singing or room decor changes XD Although it's just a little trick I came up with for fun, I didn't expect it would actually be one of the design methods in the Octalysis framework!

The above is just a preliminary share, but so many people have been asking for more details. I'll hold a sharing session later where I'll explain how I managed to get 1,000 people to unlock the course in just one week, step by step.

👍 Two speech recaps

I collect basic data from every event I organize. I think it's fine to share these numbers with you, so you can grow together with the KnowledgeGut brand. All the replay videos of the following lectures are available at 🔗[Gut Styles] All-Time Lecture Replay Videos are available there. The current offer for readers is NT$800, and the link comes with a discount code!

（In-person）Xiaochang x Digital Nomad Association | "Life Management System" every nomad should have: Notion × Heptabase scenario sharing

1. I didn't provide a feedback form for this event, I need to remember for next time, otherwise it feels like there's nothing after the lecture ends.
2. For the free sharing session, 50 people registered but only 30 showed up. In the future, if I host free events, I should probably set some rules. Otherwise, people who really want to attend won't get the chance to register.
3. When tagging me on IG to receive the slides, if the account is private, I won't be able to see it. The mutual exchange plan can be optimized for next time.
4. I've discovered that many people not only enjoy hearing me share about Heptabase, but also many want to hear me share about Notion! Could that be another development direction? (Just kidding)

One participant that day told me my makeup looked beautiful. I was still laughing about it in the shower when I got home. I'm not sure if it's because they've heard me share on podcast about my insecurities regarding appearanceI'm truly grateful to all of you who are willing to compliment and encourage me! Grateful x 999.

（Online）Orange Fatty x Guts of All Kinds | It's not about taking notes, it's about writing your life — CLAY Practice Workshop (self-developed retrospective note-taking method)

[Gut Styles] Lecture Data for This Session:

• 140 registrations
• 85 people online (peak attendance)
• 59 people (photo participation)
• 28 people completed feedback forms and received slides
• 2 people wanted to sign up as speakers for future lectures

I must say, after organizing events for so many years, Orange Chubbyis the most excellent and conscientious speaker I've ever seen when it comes to respecting everyone's time. Not only did they provide marketing copy and event flow to the organizers before the event, but they even prepared a transcript for the one-hour lecture, which is why the delivery was so smooth with zero stumbles!

In the feedback forms, most people mentioned speaker Orange Chubby, noting how well-organized and appropriately paced the lecture was. They're one of the best amateur speakers I've ever seen. I'm truly grateful that Orange Chubby participated in our monthly free [Gut Styles] lectures ❤️

🎉 Come see how your classmates transformed in the 7-day workshop& Growth

Seeing everyone's assignments & feedback, shouldn't you get moving too? Haha, come on! I'm looking forward to seeing your assignment in the submission area.

🌭 I also want to share my growth insights with you

I never imagined that my passion for a software and certain values could reach at least 2,000 readers. Since I seriously started building my personal brand in December 2024, it's been a year and a half, and I've finally achieved some small wins. Along the way, there were many obstacles and lack of understanding, and even some personal relationships I deeply trusted and actively invested in fell apart in various ways.

But my path to success has been to stay committed to what I love, filter out those negative voices saying "effort doesn't work," and take it step by step toward the lifestyle I want. I hope my approach to content creation will inspire more people: if you love something, let the world see it!

📣 This Week's Heart-Warming Share

📌【Money-saving version】Shared subscription platform PremLogin | Subscribe to ChatGPT/Netflix/Disney+/YouTube Premium/Spotify at the lowest prices

A roommate-matching service platform that's been popular in mainland China for a long time just entered Taiwan this Lunar New Year. I'm thrilled about this service because I've always had trouble finding roommates, and when it's time to renew, people often want to move out—it's such a hassle. This platform directly solves my pain point, and the best part is it saves money too...

When ordering, enter "gut" to enjoy KnowledgeGut's reader discount of 10% off.

📌 Always Feel Like You're Not Good Enough? 3 Ways to Build Confidence ft Xiaochang Life Exit Gathering

Click to listen 〉

📌 Will Girls Be Undervalued If They Take Initiative? Is Initiative Cheap? ft Xiaochang Guigui

✍️ Last Updated: March 13, 2025

💬 One sentence per week #Gut Talk Wisdom

I hope this newsletter helps you learn something, feel more connected to the world, and grow a little!
If you have any feedback, suggestions, thoughts to share, or recommendations for me, please reply to this email. I'll respond to you thoughtfully.

See you next week in "Gut Talk Newsletter" again~ 😘
by KnowledgeGutfounder Xiaochang

---

Xiaochang is meticulous about typography; if you spot typos or formatting issues, please reach out to Xiaochang's IG Contact! All articles come from Heptabase Xiaochang's Second Brain🧠 Content is purely human-written, never AI-generated.

If you have any questions about the article content, or if there are any parts you'd like me to elaborate on, feel free to leave a comment below and let me know～
Some links in the article are "Affiliate Marketing" links. If you click through and make a purchase, Xiaochang receives a tiny little bit of commission (it won't affect the price).




by Knowledge Management Mentor Xiaochang🌭