Here's another example of the "daily practice" approach from a different domain. A self-taught designer callled Mike Winkelmann has been posting his "everydays" on his website. From his site's description:
"Originally I started out drawing and did that everyday for a year. Then I decided I'd like to learn a 3D animation package so I did a render using Cinema 4D every day for two years. Then I did some photography and also Adobe Illustrator for a bit..."
http://www.beeple-crap.com/everydays.php
Edit: Just to add, another great post on the idea of practicing everyday from a motion graphics designer. I think it's applicable to any field: