Can you recommend the materials you used when learning? Books or resources etc.
This was a really interesting read, thanks for sharing.
Well nowadays there's a lot of material online, I did find a book interesting, though: "Make: Electronics", it teaches the basics in a very nice way.
Aside from that the key, I guess, is to start small and incrementally go for more and more complex stuff going towards things you like (video games, robotics, etc). If you consistently achieve small victories I think it's enough to stay motivated. Everytime I managed to overcome something, I took it as a victory (generating the video signal, getting a program to run on the CPU, etc) and this helped me get to the next problem to solve.
I started with discrete logic and an Arduino, went on to programming microncontrollers similar to the one on the Arduino and moved from there to CPUs, RAMs, FPGAs, etc.
Also Youtube channels like EEVblog and GreatScott! are great learning resources.
For what its worth(1), I think that "learn a bunch of stuff -> go build something cool on the first try" isn't quite the right approach. I think you have to set for yourself a series of tasks and then fight like hell to figure out how to accomplish them. Start with a single blinking led. Just google "how to blink an led" and try to do it a few different ways.
In short the only "material" you might use to get started is google, by typing in "how do I..." while chasing modest goals that look like they might be in roughly the right direction. If there is a magic book out there that will "teach you electronics", I haven't found it yet. It sounds a lot like the sort of book that might "teach you astronauting".
"Electronics" is broad enough that it might be more like learning a language than learning a skill.
(1)My own meandering opinion
There might be also some kind of misconception in the way that you're seeing something cool and now also want to get this cool stuff. But if you aren't interested in the fundamentals - in this case electronics - and don't have fun learning these by simple experiments - like you described - then it's neither worthwhile for you nor you will get to the cool projects.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLowKtXNTBypGqImE405J2...
Once you have all that, get the Arduino do turn on an LED when you press a button on the breadboard. Incorporate some kind of sensor, if you want. After that experience, you should be ready to tackle a bigger project. Now that you have a test bed, you can incrementally build circuits from books and the Internet and actually understand what’s going on.
It turns serial signal into parallel output.
They are often found in kits like this: https://www.amazon.com/Smraza-Breadboard-Resistors-Mega2560-... (research a better one than this)
Get a Raspberry Pi (Any controller really, get what you what)
Build something useless like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgnopk1qmkk
There are lots of learning kits available on Amazon. That's how I "taught myself" hobby electronics. I don't know much, but this stuff is magic! So it's impressive to most just to implement a simple shift register! Blinkenlights for the win!