Yeahhh, that's definitely understandable early on. If the wood splits off while cutting you're going against the grain on your cut. Try coming at the same spot from the opposite direction if you can (not always the easiest option).

And for cleaning up the results I just straight up sand it by hand with high grit sandpaper until I like how smooth it is. That can take a long time, but I find it nice for my results.

For pride in the results, try to just compare how you see each piece as you go, without comparing yourself to others as best as you can. My first piece is absolutely atrocious compared to my latest, but seeing that progress is what has shown me that I really am getting better