My pics have been posted several times on the training log board, but here's a rundown of what's happened since the day I picked up a weight:
Went from 108lbs at 5'7" to 181lbs at 5'8"
Have at varying points had bodyfat percentages of as low as 5.5% at 168lbs and as high as 13% at 181lbs
Went from not being able to bench an empty Olympic bar to a max bench of 235lbs
Max deadlift of 405 lbs at a bw of approx. 170lbs
Gained almost 4" on thigh circumference in 6 months after altering leg training to "Westside Barbell Method" training - from July 2008 to December 2008
I'm by no means a "beast", but a giant portion of what I have achieved I can attribute to reading. In fact, anybody on this board should take offense to your insinuation that you can learn everything you need in a month, and then just spend the rest of your life throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks. You could do it that way, but I would rather cut out the crap and learn from the mistakes of others.
If you can learn everything you need in a month, why is it that world-class lifters still seek out others to help them with their training? Guys like Louie Simmons, Joe DeFranco, Charles Poliquin, Dave Tate, and Ed Coan have all taken guys with ridiculous amounts of experience and helped them improve well beyond what they could do on their own.