Table of Contents
- The “Lie”
- My Misguided Path to “Earning by Reading”
- A Conversation with a Friend
- The Truth: How Does Reading Actually Make You Money?
The “Lie”:
- I personally earn $100 every month.
You probably saw a headline like that and thought, “Fake, right? Just clickbait.”
If that’s what you’re thinking right now, you couldn’t be more wrong.
I swear, you really can make money just by reading.
Because I, for one, earn more than $100 every month just by reading.
A year ago, I was scouring the internet for ways to make money with just my laptop.
- Then I stumbled upon a blog post that read: “Writing Can Make You $1000 a Month.”
That’s how I discovered Medium.
I started writing on it, but my articles were basically just explanations generated by ChatGPT.
And I called myself a writer back then.
Days turned into weeks, and I hadn’t earned a single cent.
Then, not giving up, I started spending time looking for another legitimate way to make money. #
And what do you know, I saw another article with the headline: “You Can Make Money Just By Reading.” #
I didn’t even click on that blog post.
The headline alone was so novel to me that I just blindly believed the person who wrote it, without even checking the content.
Suddenly, my goal became incredibly simple: I read, and then I get paid!
With just that thought in mind, I dove headfirst into reading:
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Articles on Medium,
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Various newsletters,
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Substack subscriptions,
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And blogs, books, novels — anything readable, I devoured it all.
So, brimming with the hope of earning, I diligently logged onto Medium and Substack every day, just to read those articles, because, well, they told me I could make money by reading, right?
“Where’s the money?” I kept reading for a whole month, non-stop, and then I asked myself.
No answer.
Frustrated, I started thinking I needed someone to enlighten me.
So after class, I arranged to meet up with a friend. #
It was an autumn afternoon, 4:45 PM. After listening to my dilemma, he just burst out laughing.
I honestly didn’t know how to react. As he laughed like that, I really had to restrain myself from slapping him. 😂
Once he finished laughing, I finally asked him, “What’s so funny?”
He replied, “You’re incredibly naive, my friend.”
“Why?” I asked, a bit defiantly.
He countered, “Do eagles fly?”
“Now you’re just talking nonsense,” I replied.
“Not at all. Just answer my question,” he said, his face serious.
I said, “Of course they do.”
“Have you ever seen an eagle fly without wings?” he asked again.
“That’s impossible. I haven’t—have you?” I shot back.
“Neither have I, but I just want you to understand one thing: eagles fly because of a system.”
I didn’t get his logic, so I asked, “What’s with the eagle analogy?”
“Let me explain,” he said.
“Let’s say you’re an eagle. If you want to fly, what’s the most fundamental thing you need?”
- “Wings,” I quickly replied.
“Alright, then if you want to make money by writing, what’s the most fundamental thing you need to do?”
- “Read!” I replied, surprised and somewhat enlightened.
I told him I’d read an article claiming there were websites where you could make money just by reading.
“Don’t fall for that,” he advised me. #
“If you read for yourself, you’re imbuing your character with new perspectives, new ideas, and new ways of thinking.”
“But those who read just for money, they not only miss out on knowledge, but they also end up earning very little.”
- “Reading as a writer is like growing wings. But reading just for a few bucks is like taking a plane ride,” he explained.
“So what should I do?” I asked him. #
“Read. Because reading truly pays off.”
“Can you explain how it pays off?” I asked.
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“If I read a blog post or a book, I learn something new.”
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“If I read stories, I gain new perspectives.”
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“Most importantly, reading helps me write.”
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“If I want to critique capitalism, I need to understand all its pros and cons.”
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“If I want to advocate for democracy, I should know its benefits and the potential consequences of bureaucracy.”
So, it’s this kind of reading that truly allows a person to make money.
No website will pay you thousands of dollars just for reading to them. But if you do it for yourself, you genuinely can earn thousands of dollars this way.
“I think you get it now,” he concluded. #
So How Exactly Do I Make Money? #
Now, this is probably the question you’re asking.
My answer is incredibly simple:
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Read.
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Read stories on Medium.
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Read blogs.
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Read your favorite authors.
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Yes, read as much as you can.
Because if you want to earn money as a writer just by reading, you have to read ceaselessly—and then apply everything you learn in your work. That’s the only thing that will give you wings, not Red Bull.
And let me tell you, I don’t regret for a second choosing to read for myself instead of wasting my time on those unreliable websites.
- So now, do you understand that you really can make money just by reading?