I believe most people set out with good intentions to learn to play the guitar, the reason why 95% fail is they simply don't understand how to break everything down into "baby steps".

Once you know how to approach the subject of learning music on the guitar everything just comes together effortlessly. While there's a whole heap of stuff you can learn and do on the guitar; playing the guitar is not really about learning tricks or licks or other random pieces of information.

To be the absolute best you can be on the guitar the player must have 3 essential qualities; I call these qualities the 3 keys to successful learning.

The 3 keys to successfully learning the guitar:

You must be...

1. Persistent - Nothing beats persistence, I have seen so many naturally talented guitarists give up or be overtaken by lesser talented players. It's the classic "tortoise and the hare" scenario.

Often the naturally talented player becomes lazy and practices spasmodically; whilst the "average" player gradually overtakes the rest of the field with persistence.

With persistence everything is possible... here's a quote that I like regarding persistence.

"First do what is necessary. Then do what is possible. And all of a sudden you are doing the impossible." ~ St Francis of Assisi

2. Consistent - You can knock most of your guitar playing friends and competitors out of the game by simply showing up for practice everyday; not just the times when things are going well but
everyday!

I know this sounds simple and it is; why then do people have so much trouble applying this basic principle?

Answer: Because just as it's easy to do it's also easy NOT to do!

When the going get's rough you will see guitarists jumping' overboard left, right and center: like rats abandoning a sinking ship.

The successful guitarist knows the secret is to keep doing the work each and every day. Do the work and it will work for you!

Practicing the same time each day for the same amount of time means you arrive at the practice session mentally prepared for the musical task at hand, that way you get the most from your practice.

=> Random practice sessions simply don't deliver the goods! <=

3. Resistant - As far as your musical career is concerned it's vitally important to be resistant to negative people.

Make a list of all the people you are directly involved with; next to each name make a note of how you feel about each person; are they (a) for you; (b) against you or (c) neural.

Over the next 30 days drop all the people who are against you (non- supportive) off at the great bus stop of life and move on with your musical ambitions.

Surround yourself with positive, supportive people... you don't need the rest!

Notice how I haven't talked about which scales, arpeggios and licks to learn... the 3 keys to successfully learning the guitar are all mental attitudes; once they become part of your thinking you will notice a sharp increase in your learning curve and you will definitely have more fun playing the guitar.