Reading more books won’t make you successful

Lately I’ve been seeing the same trend everywhere — YouTube, Reddit, podcasts, Twitter:

• “How to read 50 books a year.”

• “How I read 100 books last year.”

• “How to read one book a week.”

You get the idea. Everyone wants to read more books.
And to be fair — I’m someone who actually does read more than 50 books a year.

However… I don’t believe that reading more books will make you successful.
Today, I want to explain why.

There is no magic secret

I used to be the person who believed that if I could just read more books, I’d become smarter, happier, wealthier — finally successful.

The first year I set a goal to read 50 books, I did everything “right”:

• Watched videos on how to read faster

• Created reading schedules

• Tracked my daily page count

And yes, I read more than 50 books that year.
But did my life change? Did I suddenly achieve everything I wanted?

No.

I had fallen for the illusion that books contain a “secret” — that once I find it, everything will click into place.

But here’s the truth:

Your life will not change until you start taking action.

You can’t build a business while you’re reading.
You can’t get fit while you’re reading.
You can’t write a book while you’re reading a book about writing a book.

Reading and taking action are two different modes — and action is where the real transformation happens.

Passive vs. Active Action

This is the critical difference most people overlook.

Passive action: reading books, watching videos, taking courses, researching, listening to podcasts

Active actions: writing the thing, publishing the thing, launching the product, reaching out to customers, hosting dinners, volunteering

Passive action is safe — no risk, no rejection, no failure.
Active action is uncomfortable — and that’s why it creates results.

If you think you need to read more books to achieve your goal, you’re probably afraid of taking actions. You want to hide behind the passive action. You want to hide behind reading books. You tell yourself that unless you read 50 books, you can’t take the first steps, you don’t have enough information. Very often this endless research is just fear. Some people call it perfectionism but perfectionism is, again, just fear.

Recommendation:

Check out this podcast episode with Brooke Castillo. She talks more about the difference between passive and active actions. I like her definition of what it means to be productive. 

Just-in-Time vs. Just-in-Case Information

I have a friend who is wildly successful in his career — and he doesn’t read books. Not even one a year.

Instead:

• He tries things

• He fails fast

• He adjusts quickly

• He learns on demand

When he needs to write a contract, that’s when he studies contracts.
When he needs to negotiate, that’s when he learns about negotiation.

He learns just-in-time, not just-in-case.

Meanwhile, many of us read dozens of business books before we even have a business idea. Why are we learning in advance if we don’t yet need the information?

Because learning is easier than acting.

And the more we read, the more conflicting opinions we find — which creates even more confusion and delays taking action.

Nothing is hidden

One of my favorite Zen teachings is:

Nothing is hidden.

We keep thinking someone else has the secret — the guru, the perfect book, the life-changing course.

But if you start paying close attention, you realize the “secrets” of life are not hidden at all.

You can observe and learn from real-world examples:

• Want to lose weight? Pay attention to naturally thin people.

• Want to learn Facebook ads? Analyze ads that show up repeatedly.

• Want to improve at writing? Study blogs you admire and reverse-engineer their structure.

You don’t need to read more books to discover what’s already happening around you.

So why do I still read 50+ books a year?

I still read a lot — but with a completely different intention.

I read because:

• I genuinely love a beautiful use of language

• Morning coffee + a book is my favourite ritual

• Fiction at night helps me sleep

• Books enrich my writing

• Reading reduces my screen time

I don’t read for success.
I read for pleasure.

And I’m very clear about one thing:

Reading books doesn’t make me successful. Taking consistent action does.

Books inspire me — but action builds my life.

Final Thoughts

Reading books is wonderful. It can:

• Improve your writing

• Expand your vocabulary

• Boost your concentration

• Pull you away from social media

But reading should never replace doing.

If your goal is success — business, health, creativity, finances, or anything meaningful — reading more books will not get you there.

Taking bold, messy, imperfect action will.

If you’re ready to take action…

If you want to stop researching your dreams and finally build them, here is how I can guide you.