it's not hard, but it also doesn't come overnight. takes practice, like most things. this is the 'real' or 'right' way to learn to play guitar.

the shortcut/cheater/lameass way to learn is by tablature. this is basically a drawing of the strings and numbers placed on the lines (strings) indicating what frets to press and at what times.

i learned by first learning to read/play sheet music, and then after i got that down, i played around with tabs to learn popular music that i had on cds or heard on the radio.

here's an example of tablature.

Intro (without Capo)
e:-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B:3-----------3--------------2--------------------------------------2|
G:------2--------2-----------------------3---------------------------|
D:---4-----4--------4-2------------4--------4--4-2------------4------|
A:5---------------------5-4-----4-----4-------------5-2--4/5-----5---|
E:---------------------------2---------------------------------------|

that is the intro to 'under the bridge' by the chili peppers.

here's another section of the song with chords.

E B C#m G#m A E B C#m A
e:---------------9--9------------------------------|
B:---------------9--9------------------------------|
G:-13--8---------9--9---4---6-------13--8--9---6---|
D:-14--9--10/11---------6---7-------14--9--11--7---|
A:-14--9--10/11---------6---7-------14--9--11--7---|
E:-12--7---8/9----------4---5-------12--7--9---5---|