DITTO to everything above...
Also, do the basics yourself: do your own routine maintenance (oil changes, plugs and wires, grease fittings, timing belts, blah blah blah). And then help out your sisters with their cars, your friends with their cars, your old lady neighbor.
Just go get your hands dirty. Read everything you can when you can, too. But, honestly, for me it is just about getting my hands dirty. Get in there and do it. More often than not its simply a matter of just doing it. The "HOW" and "HOW TO" just sort of line up. Pay attention and label random parts with masking tape.
Just don't be afraid to get dirty, to get bruised, to bleed a little, and to sweat a lot. You can have SO MUCH FUN that way.
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