1. Everybody is different and learns guitar at different rates.

2. It's not a competition.

3. There will always be thousands better than you, and thousands not as proficient as you.

4. You are better than you were yesterday, not as good as you will be tomorrow. Keep practicing and you will keep improving.

Individual progress depends on the amount of work put into it. Some don't have to work as much but everyone has to put in the time. Control your expectations; does anyone find guitar easy and quick? "+-" 40 minutes a day? I wish I could get by on that. Right now, my [u]first[/u] 40 minutes are devoted to warm-up; dexterity and finger independence exercises, but that's me. You, like thousands of others, may pick up guitar skills quicker than I do.

The key - always have fun. Work, be disciplined in that work, but have fun. See the Chet Atkins quote below and find inspiration in William MG's discipline in post #2 above.

Good luck, have fun.

john

EDIT: I'm amazed at how fast GT members advance. I attribute most of the success to the GT lesson plan and the instructors. I wish I had both when I was a kid.