Build skills capable of relieving real problems.

Skills chosen for their appeal and skills chosen for their usefulness diverge more than people expect. The second kind gets used, gets better through use, and connects you to people who needed something. The first kind often stays theoretical and quietly fades.

When picking what to learn next, ask what problem it would let you solve for someone. If you cannot name one, that is worth pausing on. Skill with a use attached develops much faster than skill without.