One of the reasons why I do this (obviously, I keep finding reasons) is because I want to inspire people. I don't necessarily want to inspire people to quit their comfy office jobs, start putting writing online and giving it away for free like I did last April. I want people to find an outlet they enjoy and commit to sharing it with someone.
One of my other reasons is to write things that create awe.
Sure, that's a lot of pressure to put on yourself, but what writer do you know that doesn't put pressure on themselves?
The fact is that instead of putting a monetary or sales goal on my creation, I set a less tangible, and less attainable goal for myself:
Inspire people and create wonder.
Create things that make people think long after they've shut their PCs or phones off.
Create things that make people want to join your clique.
The best part of setting an intangible goal is that you'll always keep trying to meet it. You'll never grow bored of it, or give up on it. If you succeed and you see or hear some sort of praise or benefit, you'll know there's always more to do.
This is one thought I've had over the last year about the theory of "stopping to smell the roses."
If you're walking through one section of life that only has roses, that's when you have to stop.
Why not try to figure out how to plant roses everywhere in your life so you never have to stop?
Art is my bed of roses. What's yours? Where is your "road to awe"?