How to Learn Smarter So AI Can’t Replace You

The Best Way to Learn in the Age of AI:
Why Real Progress Comes from Doing, Not Reading

I realized something important: Trying to gain ability through reading alone is secretly a way of avoiding the real work. It is a mental shortcut disguised as “self-improvement.” And it leads to zero results.

Today I want to talk about a mindset shift that completely changed the way I learn, create, and even make money. And honestly, it might challenge some of your beliefs too.

For a long time, I used to think that reading more books, watching more tutorials, and absorbing more information would naturally make me better. Better at drawing, better at learning languages, better at understanding the world.

But here’s the truth I learned the hard way:

Trying to gain ability through reading alone is actually a subtle form of “laziness.”

It’s the hope that you can skip the hard parts—the frustration, the experimentation, the trial and error—and somehow jump straight to mastery.
At its core, it’s a kind of “wanting results without doing the work.”

And in the age of AI—when information is everywhere and skills can be automated—the only learning method that truly keeps you ahead is not reading. It’s doing.

Let me share how this plays out in my own journey across three areas: drawing, language learning, and making money.

First. Drawing: You only improve when you create with intention

I’ve been drawing for decades. And for a long time, I made the classic mistake:
I thought I could improve just by reading art books or studying techniques.

There’s nothing wrong with reading, but it should never be your primary path to progress. Because passive input without output doesn’t change your ability.

Real improvement only happens when you draw with intention.

For example, when I want to draw a cityscape, I don’t just “look” at it. I think:

How do I draw skyscraper?
How do I show the movement of crowds?
How do I make the lights feel alive?

When you create with a purpose, your input becomes meaningful. The world becomes specific. And your drawings carry your own thinking—not just technical labor.

Second. Language learning: You will never sound natural by memorizing vocabulary or studying textbook

I upload my drawing videos in both English and native language. The English version really forced me to grow—because I had to use the language, not just study it.

When I translate my scripts, I naturally learn the exact vocabulary I need:
words like unpredictability, figurative, ornamentation. Not random textbook words—But the actual words that matter to my message.

And when I record voiceovers, I have no choice but to try, fail, and try again.
My early recordings were stiff and flat. I even tested AI voiceovers, and while they sounded perfect, but they felt lifeless and have nothing to do with me.

So I kept practicing. And slowly, my rhythm, pronunciation, and flow improved—not to native level, but enough to communicate clearly and connect with viewers.

None of this came from reading English books. It came from using the language, publicly, imperfectly, repeatedly.

Third. Making money: Income is a reward for taking deliberate action.

For years, I believed that “reading more books” would help me earn more.
I once forced myself to finish a book every two days on management, investing, finance—you name it.

Looking back… it was naive. Books don’t make you money. Products, actions, experiments, and real-world feedback do.

You can apply the same logic here: Just as drawing improves through purposeful creation, and language improves through speaking…earning money improves through building things, testing ideas, and understanding the market.

Creating videos is, in itself, building a product. Some videos perform well, some fail. Why? Only action reveals the answer.

If you don’t act, reflect, and act again, you’re not improving—you’re just repeating the same day 1,000 times. Money is simply the reward for intentional action.

So what’s the real lesson?

I finally realized something important: Trying to gain ability through reading alone is secretly a way of avoiding the real work. It is a mental shortcut disguised as “self-improvement.” And it leads to zero results.

In the age of AI, reading is cheap. But doing—thinking, creating, trying, failing, iterating—is what actually builds skill and keeps you ahead.

I’m Daisy, a storyteller who records and shares art. If you enjoy this kind of content, feel free to like, subscribe, or leave a comment. And if you’re navigating your own challenges in learning or creating, share them below—I’d love to hear your story.