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Learn theory before practice. Make sure you know what translate, rotate, scale, local, world, vertex, face, edge, UV, texture, specular, rendering, rigging etc means. Also make sure you understand the differences between various display modes (it took me a while to understand the difference between textured and untextured, especially in the start where you only use colors. This looks like a good glossary (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Blender_3D:_Noob_to_Pro/Glossary )

Do not look up tutorials like rigging before you have mastered an interface. I suggest going with a simple program first to understand the basics (like sketchup) then move up to a more full-featured software like Maya (avoid Blender to start with...many people will encourage you to learn Blender, but the fact is that if you learn Blender first, all the others will be difficult. Blender has a unique interface, very unlimited, whereas more "standard" packages are more rigid. Rigidness should not exist, but it is a standard.)

Learn standard Keyboard shortcuts (yes, they exist!) like W for move, E for rotate and R for scale...learn regular commands and what they do, like extrude, cut, soften, merge.

Then go for easy projects starting with Architecture tutorials (they are easier for beginners, mostly primitives), like a simple building. Then go for larger scale Arch tutorials like a city or a house with windows and a porch etc.

Then move to organic modelling, like face, hands, animals etc.

Then you can move to UVmapping, texturing, rigging, physics, particles, sfx etc! Good luck!