Step one - you must buy a good instrument for the purpose
. Don't buy something too costly because you may later think otherwise. One good model for beginners and also intermediates is Ibanez RG Series. You can also choose among other models from any other suggestions given on other web sites.
Step two - next you must get a good learning material. This can be the most key step on the whole procedure for you to teach yourself to play guitar. You must opt for such a source which will give you thorough details. Generally there are many web sites which give you video tutorials. As a beginner this is the best option.
Step three - As in learning mathematics the most important thing is to first get the formulas in your veins similarly before moving on to any further steps you must be proficient with the concerned tablature. This step is really the hardest and the most key step among all the other steps. The better you are on this tablature the easier it is for you to teach yourself to play guitar. Most of the tutorials will involve tablatures, and the freer and franker you are on understanding these notations the faster you can proceed. You must get so much proficiency in the process so as to pluck the exact strings without even thinking about them with just your eyes on the tablature sheet just like riding a bicycle.
Step four - next comes the step of jamming with other musicians or prerecorded tracks. These prerecorded tracks are available on almost all websites that are headed with similar names as "Teach Yourself to Play Guitar". Once you have become an expert in jamming with these prerecorded tracks just search for an opportunity for getting hands on experience with a real orchestra. This can be costly or sometimes too farfetched. But you cannot compete with the amount of experience that you gain with professionals.
Step five--this is another most important step. It's doing the same thing you did before. In other words you can call it practice. The more you practice the more you get prepared for advanced Lessons or the skills. Though you may think that you are prepared for advanced lessons but it really takes one year to shift to that position from subsidiary advanced level.
Finally now you must get the help of a professional who will correct you and lead you into the world of guitarist. These advanced lessons will finally train you towards becoming a professional guitarist. Advanced studies will involve only one or two fields like country, jazz or rock
Thank you for reading. I think you have got the launch pad to the secret to teach yourself to play guitar.