My experience in woodworking started back when I was little.  My dad and his dad both enjoyed woodworking and taught me at a very young age about different species of wood, how to use various tools and then provided lots of guidance until I went off to college.  Today I've taking those basic principals and pursued a desire to grow my skills through many books and magazine subscriptions.  Those aren't enough however, a willingness to make mistakes has helped me more than anything.  Trial and error can't be beat in my opinion!  Obviously there are many construction techniques a person needs to do things right, but if I weren't willing to "mess up" I would never get started.

Thanks dad and grandpa for encouraging and helping me get started with this hobby.