Motivation

     Staying motivated, whether it is your job, your hobby, or other parts of your life, can be a challenge.  Undertaking the challenge of creating my own tabletop game is no exception.  It is very fun and exciting to try and put this together, from a thought and a concept, then to words on paper, then to images scoured from the internet, and then to designs and developed mechanics.
Each layer of advancement requires planning, time, energy, and the awareness that anything you spend time creating may just get set aside or discarded if it doesn't work or too many people/playtesters don't like it.
     I see a ton of potential in this game, but even knowing that, there is a possibility that at some point the task of putting it together may at some point feel overwhelming and not worth the effort to finish.  I don't want this to be a project I quit and leave in a drawer or saved on a jump drive (I've done so with a few book ideas and a comic concept...).  I fully intend to see this game through to a published completion, even if I only publish enough games for a Kickstarter group, it will be something.
     In order to do that I need to make sure I stay motivated in its completion, and within a reasonable timeframe.  If there is one thing I have learned in my many years of retail leadership, it is that consistent success is not a result of wishing and hoping for things to happen, it is through planning and through daily commitments to making things happen.
     A book I picked up recently, from a random perusal through Chapters, helps highlight some great points about motivation, work, hobbies, and life in general.  I am only halfway through it at this point, but I would already recommend it to anyone that has aspirations for more than an hourly/salary job in their life.  This doesn't mean that job isn't important, but that you want to achieve more than just one thing in your life and career.
     The above paragraphs are just some thoughts going through my head at the moment, but I do recommend you check out the book if you plan to pursue a game development of your own, or writing a novel, or starting a business, or anything beyond your basic job that you want to excel and succeed in.

The Motivation Myth - Jeff Haden