ponz111 wrote:
It has been my experience that many good chess players are also good at other games such as poker, duplicate bridge and hearts and Backgammon.
Also many have a good education...
Good is relative. Kramnik was talking about +2750 club good.
How fast did you progressed?
Really slowly. 100 or 200 points a year. Some years I didn't progress at all.
How to progress faster?
Instead of working 1 month, then stopping for 6-12 like me, find a routine you're willing to follow day after day, year after year.
IMO the key is consistency. Avoid burn out, avoid disinterest. Find an activity you like (like maybe guess the move style analysis), find a topic you like (endgames, attacks, etc). Don't worry about studying things in the "right" order. As long as you eventually study it all you'll be fine.