[mmac_]

This is solid advice. Find something you're interested in and go from there. If you can't find anything, maybe build something like a weather station. You'll start with a simple task: read the ambient temperature and display it somewhere (on an LCD, in a react app on the cloud etc). You'll then need to start solving problems, like how do you read outside temperature where you'll learn about batteries, wireless technology, water proofing etc.

Don't stress about the electronics and certainly don't be intimidated by text books. When you're starting out you don't need to really know the theory of transistors, but maybe a few youtube videos on the basics won't go astray. Think about if you were learning to code... would you read a book and start stressing about computer architecture? Some people might, but most won't. They'll hit up create-react-app and mess around with that.

When you're learning it's important to get instant feedback. Just learn how to blink an LED and you've completed the hello-world of electronics.

If you can code, you can do electronics. Same for the reverse. The skill sets are closely aligned.