Most MMOs out there today are like a FPS, you die you pop back up and go get your crap. EVE is not, if you treat her like that you will be bored out of your skull or rage quit the first time something goes south. EVE is more like Civ, you need to be thinking long term play. For every way there is to make iskies there is a way to lose it even faster. A high skill point character in the same ship, same fit is maybe 10-20% 'better' than you are from a raw statistics point of view but a highly skilled player can more than make up the difference. There is no such thing as 'best' in EVE, every ship and strategy is situational. One day your cleaning house in your battle ship, the next day your downed by a few players in frigates. You spot a trend in the market and rake in the cash for a few days, then everyone else dog piles in and your profits go poof. Got a good system for mining ore? Know the area, check your maps, look at local, try and fly different routes in and out 'cus if people smell money they will follow you around and try and take it. Same advice holds if you want to get into hauling, commercially or just moving your own gear. Find some friends, if you don't have any get a trial account going to scout the route. There is a disgusting amount of information available in the game, with all the map data (kills, pilots in system, all sorts of fun stuff) it should take carelessness on your part or someone who really wants your ship to get into serious trouble. Or dumb luck.
Kenny said it best. You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em. Know when to walk away, know when to run. In EVE it's not paranoia, everyone else IS trying to get you.
Fly Safe O7
this rambling stream of consciousness is brought to you by sleep deprivation and the number 4.