Nick HutchisonFounder and CEO, BookThinkers

Without action, great books are mere entertainment.

25 Jun 2026 · 0 min

Watch on YouTube

0:26

In this brief monologue, Nick Hutchison argues that reading great books without applying their lessons reduces education to mere entertainment. He uses a vivid metaphor comparing a person who reads "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" but does not implement its principles to someone who simply plays video games and parties. Hutchison claims that such reading becomes a vanity metric—something to showcase to friends—rather than a catalyst for personal change.

I love telling people this metaphor because I think it really hammers home. Reading a great book without taking action turns education into entertainment. If you read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but you fail to use it to improve your life, there's no difference between Nick who just plays video games and parties on the weekend and Nick who reads 7 Habits. They didn't change. The books become a form of entertainment. They are a vanity metric that we get to show friends.