I didn't come from a DIY type of home. My dad didn't have many tools and didn't build much of anything himself due to his job that kept him busy. However, both sets of my grandparents were farmers so I gained a desire growing up to be like them and gain self sufficiency. But desire was all I had at that point.
Then one day a need arose when I was 16 that forced me to figure it out myself. I had wrecked my first car. The front wheel was just hanging on the car. I had no idea how to work on a car, but I knew I couldn't afford to pay to get it fixed on a grocery bagger's pay. So, it was either figure it out or walk everywhere.
I decided I would give it a try. I went to a junk yard and found a car like mine and spent several hours removing the parts that I needed. I had no idea what these parts were or what they did, I just knew the ones on my car were bent and I needed new ones.
I spent the next day in our driveway taking the wrecked parts off my car and replacing them with the junk yard components.
Learning to use a sawmill at my neighbors house
When this worked, and I could drive again I had the best feeling ever. It's hard to explain the elation I felt with not only being able to drive again, but that I did it myself. It was the beginning of me doing all sorts of things myself. After that I ended up with a pickup truck when I was a senior in high school. This was 1990 so of course, I had to lower it myself. I then tinted the windows, built huge speaker boxes and installed and amp, crossover and stereo, etc. All of it myself and all of it without the use of the internet (1990). I just learned to dig in and figure it out.
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Sure there were mistakes, but I considered those wins in figuring out how not to do it. Always try it again and make it better the next time. The progression since has been amazing for a self taught builder- fixer like myself. I built a deck or two, then a shed, then a gazeebo. Each time it was a new experience, but I had little to lose trying it myself and much to gain.
Learning to weld
Finally we bought some property out in the mountains and needed a barn / shed. I was going to hire someone to build it when a friend said, just start it yourself. You can always hire help if or when you need. "It's not hard, just rent and excavator and start digging" he said. With his encouragement I rented a mini-excavator, measured the size for the basement / foundation and just started digging a huge hole. By now there was internet of course so I had to use Youtube videos to learn to drive the excavator. When the delivery guy from the rental place showed up with the excavator, he asked me to drive it off the trailer. I was too embarrassed to tell him I'd never driven one before and was afraid he wouldn't let me rent it if I couldn't drive it off the trailer. So, I held my breath, tried to remember my video training and proceeded to very slowly, but successfully drive it off the trailer. I was really excited at this point.
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It took me several hours to just be able to get a good full bucket of dirt and put it where I wanted it easily. But, I got that basement and foundations dug out! Since then the barn was completed and I've added solar power, plumbing and a rain water catchment system for our plumbing. All with lots of trial and error and figuring out as I went, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
Learning to dig
I learned to drive a tractor the same way and now I'm assembling new sawmill so I can make my own lumber. I'm not saying any of this to impress you. The point is that if I can figure this stuff out without internet, without any experience, without any clue what I'm doing, then you can too. Just dig in and get started. Don't let fear of screwing it up stop you. Even when you make a mistake, you'll learn from it and be better next time. It's not true that you have to have talents and skills. Practice is what you need. Don't stress it, you can do it! All you need it to get started and get that first win under your belt, even if you are forced to do it yourself like I was with my first car.
I still think often about the friend that told me to just rent an excavator and do it. I would have NEVER had done that if he wouldn't have given me the confidence. It really changed my attitude toward everything. So I'm making this post for those of you who haven't taken that step yet. YOU CAN DO IT. Just get started and a whole world can open up to you.