how did you learn to work on cars?

Started out with my dads 78 ford pickup when i was 15, helping him out with maintenance on the car, doing a 400 modified engine swap in the truck, then my brother got a 72 dodge dart in highschool, which i currently own now, helped him out on car doing a motor swap from the slant 6 to v8, but he ended up moving to arizona. Then later on i saved up to get myself a 69 mustang coupe when i was 20 and learning how to do things on it from muscle car magazines. Basically parts changing and doing upgrades to the car, then decided to go to automotive school, UTI in arizona, found out my brothers dart had a blown headgasket when he broght it up from california and been sitting for a few years at the apt complex he was staying at so i started getting that car back on the road again while going to school doing an engine and trany rebuild. Hanged around a few guys that had muscle cars going to uti,CHevy guys that had 72 camaro, 72 nova, 69 camaro, and 59 Chevy apache, which we all became great friends and helped each other out on fixing eachothers cars. Graduated from UTI, got what i can from it, sold my mustang, brother gave me his dart for my birthday, did alot of work to the car, redoing wireing, suspension, engine rebuild after engine rebuild, to much hauling ***! lol diff rebuilt and swap, and list goes on!.
NOw that im 29 im restoring a 59 rambler super 6 redoing everything on it, keeping it mostly stock, and im starting to learn how to do upholstry and body work on it on my own. The upholstry, im just doing reverse engineering and getting advise from upholstry shops on how to do it which the ones i went to are very helpful and body work which im barely getting into, im learning thru books and trial and error.
Best way i learned tho was hands on, and watching and seeing how things are put together, trial and error, what makes things tick and people telling me i cant do it which motivates me even more to prove them wrong:D!