I don't think there are any real tricks, cooking is all about practice. Just buy some recipe books or download whatever recipes tickle your fancy (I think Indian and Chinese are delicious, often simple, cheap, and healthy), choose stuff you think you can do, and start doing it. If you feel completely lost, a lot of cookbooks start with some explanation of techniques, but it doesn't take much to get started.

You don't even need recipes to get good results quickly, just being able to saute some garlic in olive oil and chop vegetables to add to it (just buy whatever looks delicious in the market) can make your pasta a bazillion times better...

Practice makes perfect (but getting started is pretty easy too)... :]