My guaranteed* 100% way to learn new things and be successful

[Paul Carpenter]

Buy my program today! Only $39.95!


OK, just kidding. I've spent quite a few years doing a variety of things, and over that time I've determined that a good way to actually add a new skill to your repertoire is the following. Now, this works great for me and some folks I've trained, but maybe won't fit you as well. Still, it's worth a try.


Step 1:


This is, by far, the most important step and one that cannot be skipped. This is of core importance. It's a pretty simple one, however. Here it is: Think up a REAL project for yourself. Something you actually want or need. Don't follow tutorials. Don't just read a book. THINK of something (whether that's a drawing, a website, whatever) that you actually want to use in real life. This will give you the incentive to actually create something real, which is incredibly more valuable than running through someone else's material. Once you have this idea, then you can move on.


Step 2:


Work out the details. Write things down, make lists, organize the usage pattern, note down similar things you can take inspiration from, Google competitors, look at source code, see how other people accomplish similar tasks. Without some kind of clear plan or vision, you'll just be wandering around in the dark.


Step 3:


Assemble your tools. Maybe this is software. Maybe a camera. Maybe pen and paper. Get the tools you need. If you are young and poor, perhaps you can, um, "borrow" something for a little while. I'm sure you know where to look.


Step 4:


JUMP IN. Don't mess around with drawing circles or typing in your name. If you have a plan, you know the tasks you need to create. Google them all. "how to add a pattern overlay to a layer in photoshop"  Do this every time you get stuck. If searches don't seem to find what you are looking for, reword it. I still do this, almost everyday.


Step 5:


Keep at it until you are done. Maybe it will suck. Maybe it won't work. Maybe it looks terrible. Whatever. You learned something in the process, and numero 2 will be all the better.




Now repeat those 5 steps about 8,321 times over a span of decades and you will be awesome. Go!

[Kanped]

I think this is some really solid advice.  Especially step one; you learn so much faster when it's something you want to do; in that situation, it never seems like a chore, or that it's taking you away from your free time.

[AceGambit]

Step 1 is the MOST IMPORTANT step.  That's how I learned most of what I know, especially programming.  I went to school for it, but I learned so much more when I came across a piece of software I wanted that nobody had written yet.

[Overflight]

I'm not disagreeing with this advice but I would advise caution in defining the scope of the project in question. If you're like me, if you decide to make something rather ambitious, you can get discouraged rather quickly if you don't know what to start. If you do define a "grand project" it's best to either break it up into small steps or make an extremely basic stripped down version of it and gradually add to it.

[cosmicsecret]

If you got a good mindmap drawn of your project then it´s easier to split the big goal into smaller and more reachable goals.
Sometimes it can be overwhelming to stand in front of a big goal and don´t know where to start.
That´s why splitting the big goal into many small goals better.
You write to every smaller goal a way how you can reach this goal in example our big goal is a driving license.
What do we need to complete this goal?
Smaller goals would be now :

earning Money -> get a job or ask your parents

signing up to the driving school -> make phonecalls to every driving school and see which one has the best offer

learn for the license -> When do i learn? -> make a plan up for the week like on every monday/tuesday & friday i will learn 1 hour

set yourself a time frame - I will succed this big goal on 30th of May 2012
 
and so on....draw this on a piece of paper and circle each goal.so everytime you get lost in what to do - look at your mind map to see what you can do to step forward in process.

Everytime you complete on of the smaller goals, it gives you a experience of success...which you can use as motivation for the next smaller goal.
Hope that makes sense to you.


Here is a template for a mind map


Just google for pictures called "min map" too see how other people drew their mind maps

It really helps!

[dmbaggs]

Hahaha I grew up on mind maps! My dad would always make me draw those out for my projects and I hated them. Now i realize how much they help. If you are going to start a large project on photoshop or illustrator then I would use one. I learned the basics by just teaching myself and then slowly worked my way up. That was a fun way to get into the mix back in the day.


One important thing to note is that you won't become a pro overnight. Working with these programs takes a long time to master, and even then there are probably things you can learn. I know I'm still learning nifty tricks and I try to always have fun doing it! So jump and get going