Russ makes a lot of good points.  I'll add a couple of my own.

First, learn and develop a plan.  OK this is one of Russ' above but it is worth repeating.  To be successful you need to know what you own and why you own it, and how it will behave.... that means having a plan.

I imagine you are feeling some urgency to begin investing, but the best advice is to take your time to learn and develop a plan that you can stick to.

You need to decide if you are going to invest in individual stocks, in mutual funds, in bonds, bond funds, or a combination.  There are advantages and disadvantages to each.

Josh Peters' book on dividend investing, it is among the best for investing in individual dividend stocks.  

I think "Yes you can become a sucessful income investor" by Ben Stein and Phil Demuth is also an very helpful book.

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