There is a certain kind of person that will become some kind of hacker no matter what, but with advice and guidance they will get a lot further than without.
Definitely. I had an hacker's mind from age 0. Mind you, I felt in love with hackers of my time when I was 12 years old. But unfortunately, I had to learn by myself. I didn't have a mentor around me (and my parents could not keep up) for a number of years. Eventually, I ended in the demo scene and there I found a bit of help. It took me so much time. And when I compare to other hackers who had friends in the business, they just learned faster than me :-(
So, even though it sounds obvious : the number one priority is meeting other people, sharing information. Social skills are sooo important if you're not an absolute genius...
personally, I think it is false to think about skills as linear model, it is more inverse exponential model a like. In another words, what I am trying to is that; if you have sustained environment, discipline, and some luck, it is straight forward to become worst of the best. How fast you get there will depend to some extent of advice and guidance, but one has ask self; does he want to become in shortest time worst of the best or become worst of the best no matter what.
So, even though it sounds obvious : the number one priority is meeting other people, sharing information. Social skills are sooo important if you're not an absolute genius...