[joshvm]

My mantra is normally finding a personal problem, locating the libraries/software/hardware that's needed to fix it and then go about solving the problem using those things. Usually doesn't matter if you have no experience, one of the things you get good at is learning to pick up new technology.

Once you get good at programming it's fairly easy to drop into other languages if you need to.

Having an end goal is exceptionally powerful. Spec out your idea fully and then try to make it real.