[axisofpleasure]

Depends upon the driving factor, for work most of us have to pay bills so the requirement for hard cash is pretty strong motivator! That's even more true if you have any dependents like kids. You may have to simply do something you hate short term just get by, all the time make sure you're on the lookout for what it is that you truly want to do. Short term could be days, weeks, months or even years. I'm working a job I don't like but it pays really well, so I've got a 5 year plan to work towards, saving my money, getting money off my hobby so I can hopefully quit my job in a few years time. All the time I'm learning what I need in place when the day finally comes, that's my motivation to keep going that target I've set in the distance. It's doable, it's damned hard to get to but it'll be worth it if i can keep going.

If it's motivation for a personal project, that's far more personal and the first thing is to make sure that the rest of your life is together to give you to the environment you need to get your personal projects done. I'm working on my second book right now, my first did really well but I've lost all the drive to do anything with the second one. The first one burnt me out completely, so I'm trying put things around me that will get me in the right frame of mind and wait for the spark of creativity to light and then I can get it finished.