Both you and Kevin touch on a very key point : learning * how* to learn. I've often thought that our whole educational system is pointed the wrong way - teaching information in a "learning environment" structured by the "educators" ( wow, did I just do air quotes ?? eeeuuw...) Anyway...

Ideally, education should be about helping someone discover how to be a autodidact, since ultimately all learning is self-learning. If you develop skills at learning - the learning part is easy.

Of course then there is the issue of the motivator - curiosity. People can be exposed to things that may stimulate it ( probably best done in small children where it is natural and will probably developed if not stifled ) but it seems that in adults it is the one commodity that is not only in short supply but seems to have a wildly uneven distribution.

I agree...some people just have good "study habits". I teach people in a 12 week program on T-SQL, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS, MDX, etc. For as much detail as I cover with students, my bigger goal is really to motivate them to "keep the motor running" after they're done.

I was lucky...my first boss (who was initially a teacher) was Mike Antonovich, a former Fox author....for every single concrete item he taught me, he also taught me much larger lessons that paid dividends in later jobs.

On the motivation side...I agree....and that's a very complex subject. Some of that comes down to behavior. Some are motivated by necessity, some by natural intellectual curiosity and passion for the industry in general, and a few are just tenacious to the point of irritating the bejeezus out of everyone...I hope I don't pass that trait to my daughter. :)