Andrew Brown is a dedicated control player who loves sleeving islands and punishing forests. He won GP Denver 2015 and is on the map for up coming Pro Tours. He manages Hi De Ho Comics in Santa Monica CA where Magic is his life.
Wait until the entire set has been spoiled. Otherwise you might waste energy evaluating a card and thinking it's good only to find that when another card is spoiled it makes the first one terrible.
Get advice from those who are better than you on pick orders, mana bases and every other aspect you want to improve.
Teams are essential. Show the drive to improve and ask the good players in your store to play with them as they prepare for big events.
Discussion with fellow players leading into test matches and followed by more discussion helps everyone identify weak and strong areas.
Magic takes a significant amount of time and isn't cheap. Those who want to perform at the highest levels will make it work.
Identify people who are better than you and constantly talk about Magic with them.