Roadblocks

The ravine I ran into during my mining efforts.

For the past few days I got to play Minecraft, I ran back and forth trying to figure out how to progress. So far I got my mine set up, expanded some agricultural land for wax and cattle, built a smeltery for tools, and have a functioning coke oven. 
The mine turned out to be successful as I found a good amount of iron and coal. There was even a ravine that I eventually ran into; this helps a lot. I found a little bit of redstone, lead, and silver.

But to be honest, I’m lost. It turns out that many of the technology are difficult to get and I’m not even sure where to begin.

Vaguely holding a grip on what I need to do, I’ll make a list of goals:
 - Get access to railroads—I have a carpenter machine that is necessary to construct what I need, but it needs power.
 - Build a windmill or generator to power the carpenter.
 - Find gold and silver.
 - Make a presser to make cooking oil for food.
 - Build a cotton farm.
 - And so on.

The more I go, the more I’ll get a better idea of what to do. For now, this will do.