A student asked me in class last night, how I “keep up” with changes in technology. Without hesitation I answered “by doing”.
People frequently think there is some magic to being good at something. There isn’t. Whether we’re talking about computer networking, cold-water diving, flying a plane, fixing cars, or anything else in life: The best training is doing it. Not reading a billion magazines. Not doing a billion pull-ups. Not sitting through a lecture and getting a bullshit grade. Doing it. The thing you’re trying to do.
Anything else is a distraction.
This is often hard for novices to grasp. They’ll read a book or pick up a magazine that gives them bullet points on how to succeed at X, and go “aw man, if I check off that list I can do X”. They’ll read a biography about someone they perceive as “cool” and hang on how they succeeded, planning on following that path.
They’re distracted from reality.
Reality is very simple: Do it. Don’t try to do it. Don’t overcomplicate and overplan. DO it. DO it. DO it.
Anything else is a distraction.