I think you're right that the "finding a mentor" part could help you out. Everyone who programs hits ceilings at various stages through their careers, and you s

I think you're right that the "finding a mentor" part could help you out. Everyone who programs hits ceilings at various stages through their careers, and you sound like you're interested enough to want to break through. I find that these breakthroughs usually come to me from either a) getting someone else to show me a way it could be done, or b) learning something from the code of someone a little beyond my skill level. If you've stuck around for that many technologies under your own motivation, perhaps you just need to talk it out with someone just on the other side of your struggles. You're right; there's no sure solution, but having comrades and leaders in learning usually doesn't hurt. Best of luck!