My fingers are short. No one I know has fingers shorter than mine. Seriously! It has always deterred me from trying to learn lead guitar. I'm finding my limited "reach" to be less of a factor than I feared.

I'm only beginning my second month and I notice a big difference from just a few weeks ago. I suspect you'll see definite improvement even over a very short time if my own experience is an indicator. Some things may never change and I may have to move to (rather than reach for) some notes sometimes, but it's all good.

BTW, I am 45 and have not tended toward dexterous pass times. My only suggestion is practice, practice, practice! My pinky always seems to have that "worked out" feeling these days. But it's definetly getting stronger and listens to me more attentively.

Just for fun: I measured my index finger. It's 2 & 1/2 inches measuring from the crook between index & middle. Are you stubbier than that? :)