I've got some mixed feelings about what you said, mostly I agree with you, but I think it's on a sliding scale that moves the percentages with age and experience.
Absolutely - focus on learning, especially when you're young. Take the job that will teach you the most towards your goals and utilize it. Being a delivery driver often pays better than doing an entry level job in your chosen career path, but delivering packages may not move you along your career path. It's better to suck it up and get the skills and experience.
Yes - implement what you learn. In my particular case, and I assume that of most other people you can read up on how to do something all you want, it will never give you the same amount of skill you will get from doing it - repeatedly. I found the best way to learn something well (in most cases) is to grab your tools, jump in head-first and do it. After you get it done, go back and read the directions. You'll be able to figure out what the directions actually meant afterward, correct your mistakes if you made any, then you'll do it better next time. I know it's counter-intuitive to read the directions after, but I've learned the knowledge cements itself better that way.
If you can, start with a government job BUT DON'T STAY THERE (military service counts). Government jobs tend to come with a lot of training. You're likely to get multiple classes very relevant to what you want to do, all of these certs add up and look good on a resume. Don't stay at a government job however - they tend to be incredibly insular from the rest of the industry - almost like you're working in a parallel world where reality doesn't matter. Move on after one, two years tops if you're starting out. If you're winding down in your older age they're not a bad thing to settle into.
If you plan on higher education:
Work first.
With the exception of a vocational school I fully recommend going to work at an entry-level position in your chosen field for a while, learn the lingo, get a feel for the post-school world and gain a few skills. When you go to school later - after a year or two of working - you will have a more realistic view of the world, you'll hopefully already have some money saved up to pay for classes, and you should much more easily out-compete your classmates on grade-curves since much of what you'll be dealing with will be old hat to you. You might even be able to test out of some classes.
Pay attention to what your career field actually looks for. I'm in the technology field - industry certifications will carry you further than college degrees will in this line of work. Maybe college isn't the ride course for what you want to do.
When you get older don't be afraid to get those certs and change what you do a bit. Never stop learning, but make sure what you've learned works for you - if you find yourself stagnating at a job sometimes you have to move-on to move-up. Don't be a afraid to find someone else to work for, or if you can pull it off, work for yourself. People rarely get rich working for someone else.
RE: Free Time Should Be Used For Learning