I suspect there are a handful of posts in the archives here with evidence of objective progress. I hit a speed milestone last month for a lick I was working on, and the videos section contains a bit of progress on some audition pieces.

Putting in long hours actually doesn't seem to move my progress much faster than a dedicated musician with more limited time, but I get to advance in many areas in parallel: sight reading, ear training, theory, jazz improv, different styles, chops, etc.

No gigs for now, just being a hermit and practicing. If I'm at music school next year, I'll make time to perform.

I'm wondering... Have you seem measurable success since starting your program here? I'm a newbie guitar player (kind of...) - I found your site though Kenski [http://fillmorefive.blogspot.com/], and I'm just wondering if the 8+ hours of practice each day has been (as I imagine it) extremely beneficial...

Also, aside from the practice, do you do gigs? If so, which area?

Let me know... And very good luck on your mission.