>it is really hard to make a leap in improvement in technical skills.
It is not supposed to happen that way. Only in dreams or under the right stellar constellation matching optimal circumstances. In other words: when being lucky.
Mastering knowledge is a long process. Knowing a technique is one thing, applying properly in practice on a daily basis in combination with other aspects is the next, knowing when not to use it or in what combination or in place of something else in a given messy situation having specific set of resources and time limits is the ultimate one. But that ultimate one is unique and we will find no recipe for that, it is our task to come up with it.
Guides, wisdom, advises, tips and tricks coming from books and others are inherently limited to the scenario where those led to success, they have their limits of applicability not always captured properly and explicitly - actually very seldomly done so - and may not be relevant anymore as the world evolves. We have to try to apply it ourselves, apply, check, repeat, improve. This is lengthy an can only be done in practice in real (typically messy) situations.
I did some 'soul searching' before like the author of the article, had ideas and plans what to complete and master, but those had weak results due to two facts: - we never make things alone, each achievement is carried out as a team effort, - to reach a practically suitable level of knowledge it must be acquired in practical situations, hypothetical scenarios in trainings, be it given or self created, are only good for the very first steps of the learning process, to be a beginner, we need actual paid tasks to master how to make something that we can be paid for (except trivial tasks).
The soul searching is good still, distance ourselves from the everyday hamster wheel to see the perspective. Easier to navigate if we have a birds eye view than being in the dirt all the time. Still, we will get down to carry out things in the dirt eventually.