I have been in your situation many times and have felt the same way; welcome to the rest of the world.
Face it, those of us who are uncomfortable with the status quo and want more than the masses are outliers.
This is a good thing! Here’s what has worked for me…
Rising out of the ordinary and getting ahead is all about “demand”, not “supply”.
Supply: You can read all the blogs you want, read technical books, and study new languages and so what? You are supplying yourself with things that may or may not make any difference and no one else cares.
Demand: Find out what needs are not being met at your company. You can easily do this all the time without even being noticed, “under the radar” as they say. (You don’t have to go to your boss looking for something.) They are desperate needs not being met everywhere; all you have to do is look. It may be a user, a customer, a way of doing business. Then fill that need. It’s that simple. You will force yourself to learn whatever you have to to get that job done. Then do it again. And again. Before you know it, people will automatically know to come to you when nothing else works.
Business is about getting things done. Learn how to do that whether it’s officially sanctioned or not. You will quickly rise above the masses and your life will never be the same.
A few notes:
1. Most people won’t even realize what you’re doing. For those that do, most will approve. For those that don’t approve, ignore them.
2. With this approach, you will optimize your learning. You will learn what is needed, not what you think is cool.
3. You will become much more valuable for two reasons: you’ll expand your skill set and you will convert yourself from a doer to an achiever. The difference is subtle but huge.