Pretty much all the good advice has been given to. I just started teaching again recently, and I forget just how clueless people are at first when it comes to the instrument. I naively set out a couple of songs to teach and haven't got around to any yet because I'm still showing the kids basic technique and chords.
It's frustrating the life out of the bloke who owns the shop because he naively encourages the kids to plug into to tranny amps and crack up the volume, which is just utterly pointless. One of the other teachers there has been teaching kids who can't play bar chords to play Satriani. Of course, the best bit, is that he hasn't taught these kids to hold a plectrum, so they're trying to play Satch Boogie with just their middle finger
Frustrating beyond belief.
Anyways, the best advise I can give is probably to take it slowly and for good sakes try and become a rounded guitarist now. I've just started learning to finger pick recently and I'm finding it an absolute nightmare. I mean, I'm struggling with More Than Words for chrissakes. Whereas when it comes to your basic rock guitar/shredding I'm - without meaning to come across as cocky - 'capable'. Not jaw-droppingly good, but I can do enough to get me by to a very reasonable standard.
I'm a bit obsessed though, when it comes to learning new runs and techniques I just spend hours on them slowly building up because I had a habit of racing through things before and getting stuck in a habit of playing them poorly. I still struggle with certain things. And until the last year, I was so obsessed with practicing lead, that my rhythm technique was shot to shit.
Unfortunately I'm in a band with someone like that at the moment. The guy can pick like a maniac, but he can't actually follow my rhythm at all. Nor can he pull off a decent vibrato or basically just "hold back". Typical over-playing fretwanker who has no basic rhythm technique and can only pick if it's at a 100mph - Do not go down that road because you will get unbelievably frustrated when you realise (and eventually you will) how shit it sounds and you try and 'fix' your technique.
Aye, basically that's my cliché "It's better to be 'good' than fast" lecture for you. Hope all goes well for you. Don't get too disheartened if you can't do something straight away, certain things have taken me years to perfect and I'm still practice them in some cases.