Beginners usually ask the wrong questions. A guy who doesn’t have a clue about women usually asks what to say to a girl, when he should be focusing more on his mindset, beliefs, presentation, and basic social skills. An aspiring programmer usually asks what other programming language should be learnt next, when he should focus on one kind of technology and learn software development through that technology. A new yogi usually asks about what other fancy poses should be practiced, when it’d better if he’d just focus on perfecting the basic poses first.

When you’re a beginner, more often than not, you wouldn’t know where you should be headed. Fortunately, most of the time, there will be people who have more experience than you. And with the internet, coming into contact with such people is not that hard. When you meet those more experienced people or when you try to search guidance from the internet, ask these questions:

  • What should a beginner in this field learn first?
  • What common mistakes beginners usually make?

I’m sure there are other simple and short questions that can help you quickly get out of the fog of being a newbie. Unfortunately, the few questions above are what I currently remember. However, I use them constantly when learning new things, and let me assure you that they have serve me very well.