The opposite approach might also teach you a lot: try to hack your own server (even better with the help of someone who knows a decent amount of hacking). This won't ensure you'll fully secure your server, since you can't easily reach the level of "real" hackers, but will give you a decent understanding of a hacker might approach attacking your system.

I myself are also a "pretend to be" sysadmin. Not hardcore in any way. However I use Docker for encapsulating almost all the software components, basic security (no-password ssh logins etc.), and most importantly: logging.