Great post by /u/row92. I agree with almost all. Except his deemphasis on killing. There are many paths in go, and learning to fight well is one of the more rewarding.

The reasons many pro games don't feature killing isn't because pros don't want to kill, it's because pros are experienced enough to defend first. But if they can kill, and the game isn't already safely theirs, they will attack with an impressive ferocity. A pro buddy of mine recently laughed at a game of which I was somewhat proud. "You are happy to have won by twelve points, but with a little more severity, you would have won in 130 moves. If you can end a game early, do so, because you never know what might happen if you give him a second chance."

In general Asians first learn go by playing go, not through theory books. And if you go to a server that features these learners (Tygem kyu for example) the games are all about cutting and killing, not about opening theory and joseki. They learn good shape because bad shape gets them abused, not by a general knowledge of shape theory. There have been several posts here where single digit kyus lament their encounters with supposedly weaker opponents.

If you choose this path and you see a weak group, try to kill it. If you fail, figure out why. Maybe your attack was bad, or maybe it wasn't as weak as you thought.

If you choose this path, it might serve you well up to KGS 1d. I know this because I recently lost to just such a player. He played horrible moves and I "should" have won by twenty. But I lost two separate fights by one liberty each. Some would be annoyed with their opponent and claim they lost because their opponent misplayed. I was a little annoyed with myself for bad reading. Mostly though, I enjoyed the adrenaline rush. Nothing beats a fighting game.

Again, I am not saying this is the best way to learn go, just rejecting the idea that emphasizing killing isn't a good way.

There are many ways. Enjoy go!