My 2 cents is do some CTF questions. PicoCTF's are good for beginners, they have a good progression in difficulty.

And once your more or less proficient then just crack some software. Find something old, like protected by purchasing key or whatever, and on the simpler side, don't go straight for photoshop or whatever. Its gonna take a long time but even if you don't succeed you'll get a much better feel for it in the process. Best way to learn is by doing, thats my experience anyways.