buckworks - 9:19 pm on Aug 26, 2008 (gmt 0)

It doesn't matter how thick your skull is as long as what's inside it is teachable.

Back to the original question, Webmaster World is my major source of ideas and insights for web development. Some days there's a lot of dreck to wade through, but every once in a while some nugget of wisdom provides a new how-to, new inspiration, new energy, a new area for investigation.

I can't find it now, but one post by "Claus" three or four years ago created an "Aha!" moment that I consider a turning point in my career as an affiliate. The insights arising from that one post put my whole business on a more solid footing.

Outside of WebmasterWorld, I owe a great deal to a friend/client who is forever pushing me to check out something new he has discovered, and to look at old things in new ways. He views cyberspace through very different lenses than I do, and I have learned a great deal from him. As for concrete value, how do you put a value on a friend who gives you faith in yourself that "I can do this!"?

PubCon has to be on the list as well. Every PubCon I've gone to has taught me something that increased my profits enough to pay for the trip and then some. Some of that even happened in the official sessions!