Well said ! i will add if you cant sharpen a good tool its no better than a cheap one. I have found much of my problems stem from just a few basic things none of which are the tools fault. 1.Keeping your tools sharp, learning to sharpen is one of the most necessary things IMO.
2.Patience. Slow down take your time. I used to get in a hurry and just didn't take the time really needed for a good job, like beveling I don't care for beveling and if I don't watch myself i get in a hurry and it really shows.
3.Getting in over my head, I'm the first to admit I try projects and techniques far above my experience and suffer for it, Disclaimer ; a person has to stretch the limits but they also have to realize the outcome wont be great for a while.
4. Not finishing correctly , goes right along with patience i used to tend to hurry my project and skip steps that although didn't seem necessary at the time really deterred from the finished project, follow the steps all the way through.