There are several ways to learn - get a good education, read a lot, look around at other people - basically I think that keeping your eyes open and getting your lessons will do. One of the most effective ways is listening and learning from stories - events and experiences that somebody had faced as well as their take from it. Of course the lessons for you may be different than the lessons the one who experienced the story may be. Now, why this intro? Having the "crucible moments" context in mind I find it fascinating reading and thinking through the Mark Cuban's Success and Motivation saga, now at the 4th episode. Cuban is Dallas Maverick's owner and he is one of the persons that apparently started straight from the bottom. If you have half hour to spare read it all: p1, p2, p3 and p4.