Intro and Personal Story

Growing up, I felt like most skills were beyond me.

Learning how to draw? That’s for artists. Learning how to code? That’s for computer guys. Learning how to make websites? That’s for designers and developers. Learning how to run a company? That’s for business people. Learning how to make beautiful environments in 3D? That’s for 3D artists. I would box everything into “that skill is for someone else.”

To give a personal story, my all-time favorite game as a child was Banjo Tooie. I was amazed at the level of detail in each world and how everything was magically interconnected. Characters would move between worlds, and there always felt like there was a new secret area to discover. My brain was so full of awe and wonder every time I played. It hit something deep within me, even at a young age. Playing that game awoke a desire to be a part of something amazing, inspiring, and beautiful.

But then I always said to myself… “There’s no way that you could create anything great like this. How could you ever be involved with something so great?”

That… is the greatest lie that I want to address today. I opened with that short childhood story because I want to dismantle that major lie.

Let me be very clear: you can learn how to do anything as long as you work hard for it. You know that list I lead with above? I’ve learned how to do every one of those things, all while being self-taught. Granted… some of my abilities are stronger than others. For example, I’ve only recently gotten serious about drawing. I’m very new and not super great yet! But that’s also part of the process.

Learning a new skill takes a lot of time, and you can always improve. The point I’m making is this: developing a new skill is a journey that anyone can embark on!

Start with the right mindset

Before you begin learning your new skill, you need to get your head in order. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed and feel like quitting almost right away when trying something new. The truth is that learning something new requires a little faith. There are four key things that I have kept in my head to keep going.

First, have faith that you can learn a new skill. To be clear, this isn’t about manifesting, positive affirmations, or anything like that. This is strictly about believing that it is possible to learn a new skill because other people have done it too. Therefore, why should it be impossible for you to learn? It’s a strictly logical train of thought.

Second, it is important to believe that there is a solution to your current problem. It is basically guaranteed that you will be dealing with problems on top of problems on your journey. In order to stay sane and focused, you must believe that a solution exists.

However, here’s the tricky part… there actually might not be a solution to your problem. The tool you need might not exist. The technology might not have been created yet. You could have done something wrong that doesn’t have an easy undo button.

So then, why believe a solution exists if it clearly might not? Here’s the thing. When you are learning something new, you don’t know what you don’t know. You are far, far too early in your journey to be coming to quick solutions about whether your current problem has a solution or not. Even experts in their craft can get surprised and learn something new. Therefore, you must search as if a solution exists, even if it might not.

Third, engage in the lifelong learner mindset. This is jumping off the back of the previous point, and it will keep you growing for years to come. Stay humble. Be honest that you don’t know what you don’t know. Ask stupid questions. Even after you get a degree, a fancy job, or practice your skill for years, you must always return to having a child-like humility and wonder. Relearn the basics from time to time. You might surprise yourself with what you’ve missed or forgotten!

Fourth, never give up. Starting from zero is always hard, but the difficulty should never be what causes you to quit. You can only achieve great things if you work hard. Now, there can be some good reasons to put something down. Perhaps, you have other things you care about more, or you don’t have finances, etc. Maybe this skill just doesn’t interest you as much as you thought it would. Those reasons are fine, but be sure that you never quit because it got too hard.

Getting Practical – Project-Based Approach

So you’re finally ready to start learning and practicing? Let’s get actionable. The secret to learning everything is… a project-based approach. Yes, there is a clear-cut answer to this problem, and no, it is not too good to be true. I’ve been using it my whole life.

The hardest part of starting a new skill is starting. Everyone says that, and it’s true for a reason. The goal is to enter a loop of working on project after project. However, in the beginning, since you have (assumingly) no point of reference, you can’t exactly just jump right into doing project after project. That might be too large of a leap, and you might not even know what a good project would be.

When you’re first starting, follow tutorials and Google generic questions. Let’s look at some examples.

• Code
  • How to create a basic console application in C#
  • How to make a game object move in Unity
  • How to use a Rigidbody component in Unity
• Drawing
  • How to draw a box
  • How to draw a cat
  • Do I draw from my wrist, elbow, or shoulder
• Business
  • How to start a business
  • What are all the different departments of a business
  • What are the types of businesses

With each example, you start with the most basic question you can possibly formulate. It might sound stupid to say it out loud or type it, but that’s where you have to start! The thing is, this basic question will lead you to more sophisticated ones.

Let’s look at coding for example. I’d personally recommend creating a basic console application in C#. But of course, there are many great first coding projects. By Googling how to make a console application, you’ll learn a LOT of things. You’ll get a code editor set up. You’ll learn the basic syntax of a language. You’ll learn the essence of what coding is and what it can do. That’s a pretty good start! What you have just learned will lead you to more sophisticated questions. These questions you can then re-Google, and start practicing.

The summary for starting is this: find easy, beginner-friendly tutorials and follow them to a T. Follow every keystroke. Follow every movement of a pen. Arrange your windows in the same order. Use the same tools (if you can).

With any skill, the beginner stages should probably last you between 3-6 months before you can start choosing projects on your own. That time frame will vary per person, but it shouldn’t need to be longer than a year. That does not mean you’ll be even remotely good in 3-6 months! That means that you’ll know just barely enough to be able to choose small projects for yourself.

Here’s the loop. Set a project before yourself of something you want to accomplish.

• Code: Think of a program you could write or a game system you could code.
• Drawing: Think of a simple object you could practice drawing and possibly render.
• Website: Think of a fake company you could try to design for.

Scope your project relative to your skill level. If you want to make a game but you’ve never made one before, make a tiny game or just make one system for a game. If you’ve only been sketching, try rendering and polishing a single simple object or character. If you have never made a website, start by just making the home page.

The important thing is to be able to complete your project. Don’t start another project until your current one is done, and make sure it’s achievable. Once you complete it, celebrate! Enjoy your work! Do a little dance or order some pizza.

After you celebrate, you’ll have learned a lot about how much you don’t know. This is great news! You can then focus on improving specific gaps in your knowledge by asking more sophisticated questions or returning to learning the fundamentals. Practice improving those gaps, then pick a new project.

Each project should always be a little bit more challenging than the last. If your last project was way too hard, then maybe you should scope down for this project. Regardless, try and set an upwards trajectory of challenge that forces you to learn new things and grow. This is the key to growing for the rest of your life. Always set your sights on a milestone that is just barely out of reach and push yourself to get it.

How to keep going

Once you’ve secured the right mindset and you’ve started practicing, how do you keep the momentum going? How do you avoid burnout? How do you fight the urge to quit?

This comes in many words, but it’s all about love or passion for what you are doing. Stop to celebrate your accomplishments! Put down the pen, get off your chair, and do a little dance! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten so excited by what I accomplished that I either started giggling or dancing in my room. It sounds silly, but it’s important!

Remember to love what you’re learning. Focus on finding the fun and joy of it. It’s easy to get sucked into the mindset of always improving and have your joy stolen. Take pleasure in the simple things. Be satisfied that you wrote a small class, and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Be satisfied that you drew that one line really well. Be satisfied that the CSS animation on your website turned looks super smooth.

Find joy, fun, and satisfaction in the little things, or you’ll never find them in accomplishing the big things.

Happy learning! 😀