[bonoboTP]

For me it was PythonChallenge.com

It's not as math heavy and quite engaging.

> If you really need shooting, explosions and fancy graphics to keep you motivated then I don't think programming as a career is for you.

It can come later. For example when I started out programming, I first build websites and then found out that Javascript exists and without having the slightest idea what I was doing, I built things based on examples, like animations etc. It gave me a foundation and interest in programming other stuff, like generating things for modding games in Python, deciphering the format where games store strings and writing a program to translate them to my native language and similar hobby projects.

If you have your own goal and interest in it, it's much much easier to reach an advanced level than by learning in a linear fashion with boring artificial tasks.

Later on I took proper university courses as well, but I think it helped me a lot in staying motivated that I already associated programming with fun because of the prior experience of playing around (without too much understanding).