Reading vs. doing

One of my favorite blogs is Zen Habits. It's about living a simple life, being organized, and getting things done. So it's right up my alley.
The blog's author, Leo (hey, that's my dad's name!), has a great post last week on reading vs. doing. He says reading is great and can teach you things, but you actually have to put whatever it is you're reading about into practice.

So reading countless self-help articles and books are great — I’ve written a few myself — but remember that it’s only the first step.
You have to put the personal development posts away, get away from the computer or book, and start doing it. Today.
Only in doing it will you actually learn.

Read the whole post for yourself.
I think he's onto something really important. Reading is wonderful, but it's not the same as direct experience. Leo is talking about self-help and organizational books here, but I think it applies other emotional contexts as well. Good food for thought.