I dont play live very often, and I have always figured if someone is so concerned about their internet rating that they have to cheat, then all is better for me. I get better competition from their chess engine, and they do not learn how to get better, so if I ever meet that person at a tournament I will be much more likely to win!!

COuple of things.  Quality, not quantity.  You don't need to study 4-8 hours a day.  You need AT LEAST an hour of FOCUSED and DIRECTED(as in not just random practice.  It must be directed at improving on something specific). 

If after an hour of training you aren't mentally tired you probably aren't working hard enough.  Remember you need to be 1% better everyday and if you are not mentally tired then you are not getting better. 

Last thing- don't let people tell you you can't do it. 

I don't fully understand it, but one method described to me by an administrator at another site involves intentionally creating short disconnections--short enough to be perceived by the server as lag, rather than disconnects.

To me, online ratings mean absolutely zero. So, don't even try to compare them to a real rating.

I play on ICC, but I do so for practicing certain aspects of my game, and don't worry about the rating that much. My rating there is a little lower than my real rating, but I know many people around my same real rating whose ICC ratings are hundreds of points higher or lower than their real ratings. I'm talking about for all time controls, by the way.

As for making master...why not? This idea that a person either has or doesn't have what it takes is not giving the whole picture. When I first started playing tournaments 15 years ago I was a very weak player already in middle school. And believe me, I was not talented...plenty of people in New York City would tell you that. You know what is the key factor to getting where you want to get to? You must keep improving.

This improvement doesn't need to be steady, and it doesn't need to be consistent. But, over a long period of time, you need to improve. Eventually you will find yourself reaching higher and higher.

As for myself, to illustrate: 

I reached 1000 USCF afer my first year of tournaments.

I reached 1400 USCF after my next year of tournaments.

I reached 1600 USCF after another 1.5 years.

I reached 1800 USCF after a further 4.5 years.

I reached 2000 USCF after a further ~5 years.

I have been 2000 USCF since December 2008, still working hard.

So it took me more than 12.5 years to reach USCF Expert. But you know what? I'm not done yet

Has the whole experience been frustrating? Hell yeah. But I constantly take in new ideas and ways to view chess. I would say that I didn't start to understand chess (even a little) until the summer of 2008. I have the knowledge of a master (and even more) but my practical play is not consistenly master-level yet. Once the lightbulb goes on fully, I will reach master.

As others have said, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't do it. Because you CAN do it, if it's that important to you. It doesn't matter WHY you want to achieve your goal, it doesn't need to make sense...if YOU want to achieve this goal, you can make it happen. Just take a hard look at what parts of your game you do badly and work on them, but when you play tournaments accentuate your strengths. Don't fight against YOUR CHESS--something I did for far too many years.

 It looks like you started playing and studing chess at a very young age. Your case is no surprise, actually there are a lot who have goten much farther than you. It would be a surprise nontheless to see that happening for an adult.

...says the non-master.

 I wouldn't call 12, going on 13, a young age to begin playing chess seriously.

And why a surprise for an adult? I went to high school, college, and then entered the workforce. It's not like I have unlimited time to work on chess. I just make it a priority to give much of my free time to it. THAT is what most people won't do.

You want to be one of the best chess players? Why would it not be possible? 

edit: I'm not saying you should set your mind to it, I just disagree with some posters that are basically saying it's not possible.