It is always kinda comforting to think there's a complex way to learn to play, and once you've passed, you're a better player. The truth is that anything you learn will help you, and only learning will help you. Some advice, though :
*Make sure you love playing guitar or all your attempts are useless. Don't do it just to be cool or to impress friends. There's other ways to do that.
*Become fluent in chord changes (practice along to the songs you like, or anything on the radio, TV or whatever).
*Pentatonic scale is the easiest way to get some soloing skills. Learn all the boxes (positions). Gradually go over to major/minor scales.
*Practice with a drum machine, metronome, recorded songs, or record your own background (with a metronome to keep you in tempo). Rythm playing is what you do 50-90% of the time while playing with others.
*Learn everything you think might be usefull for you and at least skip through the stuff you don't understand or don't consider useful every once a while. As you learn, your appetites for knowledge will (should) grow.
*Learn what you don't know, use what you know.
*Learn songs by ear or from tabs. That's what you'll be playing or composing.
*Practice 'till you dehydrate and then force yourself to some more. It's the only way so love it!

Good luck! :)

P.S. You'll find all the theory you need on this or other sites, most of it with audio examples.