I must agree on the point about learning to learn. When I was a kid, instead of memorizing some history text or mathematical formula, I learned to memorize a deck of cards under 3 minutes. From that day on, I didn't need much effort to remember all the texts anymore. Instead of learning how a certain stuff works in certain environment, we should focus on the main idea first!
And also, the thing with a mentor. Till this day I think that you are most likely doomed to fail if you dont have a mentor. No matter if we are talking business or life.