Chances are, if you’ve ever wanted to learn to play the guitar you logged on to the internet and did a search in Google for “learn to play the acoustic guitar” or “learn to play the electric guitar” or whatever the case may be. I know, that’s what I did and it turned up a lot of substandard material. That was way back in the 90’s. The times have changed considerably since then. Now, most of the content is fine for learning the basics which in many cases is fantastic for a beginner. I mean, let’s be serious, when you’re just starting out with guitar, all you want to do is play. Am I right?
A reality of learning anything is that the more people you have around you that share the same interests, the more resources that greater group will be able to supply. This was true for me when I learned to play guitar. I went to lessons for quite a while but as my group of friends who played guitar started to grow I abandoned the lessons and learned from my friends. This was a much more fun way to learn and of course you can offer just as much knowledge back to your group as you’re getting.
If you’re serious about learning to play the guitar then I would definitely – as a starting place – get yourself a couple of chord and scale books from your local music shop or alternatively you can find some printable content online. For technique there are some great mini courses you can find through the search engines that are reasonably priced and are a good place to start before you go out and get some real guitar lessons. You can teach yourself guitar basics first and then you’ll be ready to get serious.
I will be honest. It takes a lot of hard work to learn how to play the guitar but it so worth it. There will be discouraging moments, without question, where you will feel like throwing your guitar out the window and calling it quits. BEEN THERE! 
. When that happens it means you have stepped out of your comfort zone and attempted to do something that isn’t easy. This is a good thing. The uncomfortable thing never feels good and that’s why we quit. If we push a little harder through the obstacle, the reward will be huge. Trust me.
That’s when you get to the point when getting some formal lessons from an experienced instructor is beneficial. You may only need to spend a few months at it but it will pay off. Just be sure to ask around your community for a list of the best instructors and then you can narrow a short list down from there.
Now, if you don't own any guitar instruments yet…what are you waiting for? Go and get one, get it home and start playing. You’ll be a master before you know it!