How do you keep up your skills? How do you ensure that you're on top of your game to best serve your users?

There's all sorts of advice out there about how to keep up. Sometimes you need to learn 23 things, other times you need to set aside 15 minutes a day.

My advice is a little different.

In my view, most of learning is a matter of attitude. The biggest problem that I see with my colleagues is their expectation that they be taught a new skill by someone else. They want a class, they want a presentation, they want a curriculum, they want a conference. Sometimes they're not even sure what they need to learn. They're waiting for someone else to tell them, or to confirm to them what they suspect they need to know. They need that final, formal push.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with learning from external sources. In fact, this is a positive good. There are all kinds of scenarios that enhance learning.

But the problem is, people can depend on others too much. What do you do if you have no money to get to a training session, and few of your colleagues are teaching you anything or inspiring you to surpass yourself? The answer: self-reliance. There is no formula for this.

I'm often one of the staff members who trains my colleagues. And nearly everything I've taught I've learned on my own. I've attended a few external sessions over the years, mostly about Web servers and databases. But it's been years since I've done even that. Nearly everything I've learned in order to do my job - and to expand it over the years - I've learned myself.

When I'm training my colleagues, I often wonder if they've stopped to ask themselves who has taught me. In nearly every case, the answer is very simple: I've taught myself.

My colleagues sometimes seem to think that my skills come without much effort. I can tell from the things they say to me, and from the sometimes offhand attitude they have toward my skills. It's almost like magic - I just know things. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Whatever I've learned on my own - nearly everything - has taken research, trial and error, testing, planning, and practice. I can't think of anything less magical.

Whatever we need to learn will differ for each of us. Learning from external sources is fine. But self-learning is essential.

I'm willing to help. Always. I appreciate it most when the effort is a two-way street.