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This is what happens to me a lot, and I've done exactly what you've suggested with my most recent project. A few days ago I read about OMGPOP and Draw Something and realised it was a clone of a game I used to play 5/6 years ago, and started thinking "shit I should be building a better THAT!" and started self-doubting my side-project: it's too ambitious and nobody has ever built anything like it before, have I got enough savings to pay for the processing that's required, will anybody actually even use this thing (whereas people are obviously making $$$ from Draw Something), and then will it even make money, etc. I decided to stick with it with the idea for two reasons: (1) I'm tired of thinking on behalf of the market and would actually like to see what the market has to say for a change (this same principle worked pretty well in my love life, too, FWIW); and (2) I could reuse some of the code for my other projects (true). This weekend I started working on the first front-end use case after dealing with back-end stuff for the past 2 months off and on while simultaneously working an 8/hour day short-term contract with a 1.5 hour commute, on top of finding a new long-term contract after my previous project was cancelled, and even breaking up a relationship so I could stay focused. After feeling particularly exhausted from working non-stop like this and thinking I probably need to stop for a bit, I suddenly hit a point where I cracked up laughing at how awesome this thing that I was building was going to be, and I realised: I have GOT to follow this through, if only to see the look on people's faces it'll be worth it. Creating things that make people laugh or look twice has always been something I've enjoyed, and if anything is going to motivate me, it'll be acknowledging this. The nice thing is that that is my raw personality, and I don't need anybody to tell me to stick with it, because I know I'm just expressing something inside of me that will connect with someone. |