--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hustling is to work what surfing the…" description: "\"“Hustling is to work what surfing the Internet is to reading. If you add up how much you read in a year on the Internet—tweets, Facebook posts, lists—y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/trevor-noah-1603_books_hustling-is-to-work-what-surfing-the-int_935161.jpg" --- # Hustling is to work what surfing the Internet is to… ![“Hustling is to work what surfing the Internet is to reading. If you add up how much you read in a year on the Internet—tweets, Facebook posts, lists—you’ve read the equivalent of a shit ton of books, but in fact you’ve read no books in a year. When I look back on it, that’s what hustling was. It’s…” quote by Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/trevor-noah-1603_books_hustling-is-to-work-what-surfing-the-int_935161.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/trevor-noah-1603_books_hustling-is-to-work-what-surfing-the-int_935161.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d25/trevor-noah-1603_books_hustling-is-to-work-what-surfing-the-int_935161.jpg) > ““Hustling is to work what surfing the Internet is to reading. If you add up how much you read in a year on the Internet—tweets, Facebook posts, lists—you’ve read the equivalent of a shit ton of books, but in fact you’ve read no books in a year. When I look back on it, that’s what hustling was. It’s maximal effort put into minimal gain. It’s a hamster wheel. If I’d put all that energy into studying I’d have earned an MBA. Instead I was majoring in hustling, something no university would give me a degree for.”” [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hustling is expending great effort for trivial returns, like skimming endless online content instead of deep learning. **In simple terms:** Busy work yields little real progress. Key Takeaway Focus on meaningful study over endless scrolling. Themes productivity effort learning distraction Mood reflective critical motivational Type advice commentary humor When to use this quote - career development - personal growth - digital habits - education choices Key Concepts opportunity cost shallow consumption time management Questions to Reflect On - What activities give you true growth? - How can you replace shallow scrolling with deeper learning? A Different Perspective Hustling can feel rewarding but may mask lack of substantive achievement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hamster wheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hamster-wheel/) [Hustling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hustling/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) ## Related quotes > [“look back on it, that’s what hustling was. It’s maximal effort put into minimal gain. It’s a hamster wheel. If I’d put all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/look-back-on-it-that-s-what-hustling-was-it-s-maximal-effort-put-into/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“Users scroll through their feeds and look for something that isn’t there— what a perfect hamster wheel: unlimited content for a lonely soul. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kristian-flores/users-scroll-through-their-feeds-and-look-for-something-that-isn-t/) [Karl Kristian Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kristian-flores/) > [I know what the intimidation level of high school is. You're on a hamster wheel, running, running, running, trying so hard to fit in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-know-what-the-intimidation-level-of-high-school-is-you-re-on-a/) [Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/) > [Adrenaline kicks you in when you’re starving. That’s what nobody understands. Except for being hungry and cold, most of the time I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/adrenaline-kicks-you-in-when-you-re-starving-that-s-what-nobody/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“When my heart is a hamster wheel, my inner life becomes a blur.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-fadling/when-my-heart-is-a-hamster-wheel-my-inner-life-becomes-a-blur/) Alan Fadling > [“We do this to ourselves. Society is a poisonous hamster wheel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-beukes/we-do-this-to-ourselves-society-is-a-poisonous-hamster-wheel/) [Lauren Beukes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-beukes/) > [As much as I love scores of wonderful sites across the web, most of them are driven by the daily grind of the display/pageview…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/as-much-as-i-love-scores-of-wonderful-sites-across-the-web-most-of/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [It's for the hamster that I'm gonna buy! This is so perfect! (after opening a hamster wheel at Christmas)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/it-s-for-the-hamster-that-i-m-gonna-buy-this-is-so-perfect-after/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [“The more Amy struggled, the faster she sank. 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It meant I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-giddens/if-i-wasn-t-touring-i-wasn-t-making-money-when-i-got-the-macarthur-i/) [Rhiannon Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhiannon-giddens/) > [“Plan B” is nonsense. Successful people come up with plans A, B, C, D . . . all the way to Z. That’s how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hurdle/plan-b-is-nonsense-successful-people-come-up-with-plans-a-b-c-d-all/) [Amber Hurdle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hurdle/) > [“Here is the sweet paradox in how God works. He blesses those who admit that they need help: The poor in spirit are blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/here-is-the-sweet-paradox-in-how-god-works-he-blesses-those-who-admit/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [I don't think young people are prepared for the moment of reckoning at the end of college - if you even go to college…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-welteroth/i-don-t-think-young-people-are-prepared-for-the-moment-of-reckoning/) [Elaine Welteroth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-welteroth/) ## More by Trevor Noah > [“My family had been denied the things his family had taken for granted. I had a natural talent for selling to people, but without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/my-family-had-been-denied-the-things-his-family-had-taken-for-granted/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [When you see someone as a human being, you begin to understand most people are doing what they believe is right. 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Normally, let's say in the U.K. for instance, newspapers might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/it-s-very-rare-to-find-a-place-where-news-itself-has-a-political-bent/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [ I was lucky to come along for the ride. \[My mother\] really is an amazing woman. And the world we lived in in South… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-was-lucky-to-come-along-for-the-ride-my-mother-really-is-an-amazing/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [When I first came to the U.S. - because I do accents and I've traveled the world. I have friends of almost every single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/when-i-first-came-to-the-u-s-because-i-do-accents-and-i-ve-traveled/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [If the police believed that they were planning any form of resistance against the state, then you were just gone. Nobody knew where you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/if-the-police-believed-that-they-were-planning-any-form-of-resistance/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“I remember the thing that caused the trauma, but I don't hold on to the trauma. I never let the memory of something painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-remember-the-thing-that-caused-the-trauma-but-i-don-t-hold-on-to/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“Language brings with it an identity and a culture, or at least the perception of it. A shared language says “We’re the same.” A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/language-brings-with-it-an-identity-and-a-culture-or-at-least-the/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [My mom would spend a week in jail. She would spend a day in jail here - a week again, a week and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/my-mom-would-spend-a-week-in-jail-she-would-spend-a-day-in-jail-here/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [I knew of like - I remember, for most of my life, I grew up, and "Knight Rider" was, you know - David Hasselhoff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/i-knew-of-like-i-remember-for-most-of-my-life-i-grew-up-and-knight/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“The hood was strangely comforting, but comfort can be dangerous. Comfort provides a floor but also a ceiling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/the-hood-was-strangely-comforting-but-comfort-can-be-dangerous/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) [Explore all 224 Trevor Noah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hustling is to work what surfing the Internet is to reading. If you add up how much you read in a year on the Internet—tweets, Facebook posts, lists—you’ve read the equivalent of a shit ton of books, but in fact you’ve read no books in a year. When I look back on it, that’s what hustling was. It’s maximal effort put into minimal gain. It’s a hamster wheel. 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