as a novice player, i find the hardest thing is to discipline myself not to jump ahead before I get a piece down cold. As soon as it starts to sound like something i get all excited and start to think im better than i really am. Typically if im learning from a book I'll do the first two lessons, get bored and jump to number 15. The only good part about that is when i get frustrated with that lesson, the first few seem like a piece of cake in comparison so I get through them pretty quick. Im now focused on the pentatonic scale and have vowed to master all the positions before i even go out and buy a guitar. (Electric i mean, i already have an acoustic). Ive been renting as I learn so i can buy the right one based on something other than its looks .....right now i have no real benchmark for comparison.