I started programming at the age of twelve. Here's what I think was most important:
- learning to search the web crazy efficiently
- reading classic blogs like Joel on Software
- reading classic books, such as Code Complete, Refactoring, Design Patterns
- learning to use functional programming primitives (map/reduce/fold);
- breaking the habit of abandoning small projects and finally shipping something, and maintaining it for some time;
- maintaining a horribly-written application so I will never repeat that guy's mistakes
- making all sorts of mistakes (permature optimization, premature generalization) so they would come and bite me later, making me more experienced
- having a lot of free time to play with programming: glad I started while still in school
But I realized the most important one was to find a community. If not for internet forums, I would never have learned programming. I started by reading a book about Visual Basic, heading to a local forum and trying to help newbies, while still being newbie myself. That's how I learned. I would absorb the forum culture, discover different tools and languages by participating in flame wars, and later explore them and write articles to help other people. I'd translate articles from English into my native language, learning new concepts along the way.
StackOverflow disrupted this forum culture and I kind of miss it, although I know it was never efficient.