Dear people starting out in photography & retouching. I wish someone had told me this a few years ago.
There's no shortcuts to an edit that will amaze people. Actions, Portraiture and all those crazy presets are gimmicks. Every photo needs its personal attention. Watch YouTube videos until you know Photoshop in your sleep. Spend an hour a day editing just one photo. Show that one picture off to the world and impress them. No one wants to see 10 mediocre photos. They want to see one great one.
I fear that the "great one" is really a mediocre one in the eyes of everyone else. I have so much to learn.