I'm starting to think lately that there really isn't a shortage of people with a lot of technical skills or even musical skills. There seems to be much more of a shortage of people who really have a strong mindset and truly understand their own creative process/work ethic.

I see a lot of frustration lately with the producer friends that I know both on here and in real life. I'm definitely not claiming to have it all together because I've gone through the same thing in the past. Although I do feel that in the past year I've learned to handle it better.

One of the hardest things I think about learning to produce is somehow managing to stay positive when whatever it is that you're creating seems to disappoint you or when you just happen to have an "off" day. Especially when it takes countless years to really hone in on the craft. My question to you guys is do you think  things like mindset and work ethic can be learned and how important do you think this sort of stuff is relative to other things like technical skills and such?

I think it's hard for a lot of people to grasp the grind of doing it because of the overall perception of what a career in music is. There's this fantasy of travelling and being free and creative and in love with everything. The reality is that getting good at producing is a long, frustrating process where you basically just have to treat it as a 9-5 job, which is a lifestyle most creative people inherently reject so they validate only working "when they're feeling it" or "when inspiration hits". It's the moment where you hate it and keep working that the magic happens.

Honestly, I detest music production so much. It's one of my least favorite things to do in the world. Staring at an empty timeline in Ableton and not knowing how I'm going to get to point B is like a big middle finger from the universe. But after hating myself for 100 hours working on a song, that moment when it finally comes together is so real. 

Sorry but to answer the question, I don't think work ethic can be learned really. Lazy people can train themselves to work hard, but the're still lazy. That's how I am, just putting my head down and working, but still waiting for it to be over so my brain can not feel like it's imploding. Then I know people that are just there you know? It's like they've given up on comfort and rest and have accepted that everything's going to be a struggle and that's cool with them.