How should I motivate myself to implement my startup idea?

If you feel “I just don't feel motivated enough to implement that”, may be you're not ready yet or you don't feel strong(ly) enough about that idea. No, I'm not being philosophical or a douche to make you feel bad! Having said that, the best way to “motivate” yourself (in my opinion/experience) is by starting work on it and making yourself devoid of all other fallback options/safety nets you might have. Here's my experience – I will be 32 this week and I remember the first time I ever wanted to startup was when I was 24. I waited for all right things to happen – went to US, got an MBA so that I get “business” experience, then ended up earning a student loan to pay-off. Then got stuck with high-paying jobs with great management consulting firms. I always thought I was ready and I just need to get myself “motivated enough” to make the final move. For about four years, I used to come up with various ideas, work on them from few weeks to few months, and then finally ditch those ideas. I used to read a lot of TechCrunch and other tech. blogs (because I wanted to do a tech. startup) to get inspired. I used come up with various ideas, talk to friends for validation, find out in few days something similar is being done by someone else – ditch those ideas! Then I blamed the location for lack of motivation. So I moved from Texas to San Francisco hoping that would motivate me to do it there. There, I met a guy through a common friend (who became my friend and co-founder) – soon we started coming up with good ideas, building things for fun, attending events, but those things never really motivated us enough to quit our jobs and let us focus on our startup idea full-time. We had another problem -- as non-US citizens, we couldn't have quit our jobs to start a company and focus full-time on our startup. So we started building stuff by moonlighting and working weekends, hoping (naively) to get into an accelerator and either of these two events to happen: Raise seed funding and let investors help with our visa situation Wait! For the “startup visa” / “immigration reform” to happen We tried, we waited, unfortunately nothing happened! In Summer 2013, I realized I was 30+ and I didn't want to continue what I was doing for another 30+ years (assuming I will survive till 60+ and have to work till then). In a way, I wasn't really being true to myself by doing all the things I mentioned above. I was always waiting for the “right” time (and doing all wrong things). The idea I'm working on currently occurred to me during that time and I felt so strongly about it that I couldn't have waited even for a day. With in few weeks, I quit my job, left San Francisco and moved to India to work on it full-time.  There were too many unknowns but some where I had this belief that something positive  will come out of this move. I'm now working on something in an area that few other startups are working on (at the same time), but there's this insane conviction that won't let me drop this thing and think of doing something else. It's been 5+ months, and I plan to do a soft-launch some time during the latter part of the year. It's tough to find people join you in India, especially when you're not funded and most of the 20 something folks want to startup with their friends. I was a programmer before (till 2006) and I dabbled a bit every now and then, but a lot has changed in last few years. So I picked up books/learned stuff on web, learned some really advanced programming by building, and now I do everything (coding, legal and admin, talking to potential customers/hires/investors, attending events etc.) to make it happen. It's the only thing I can think of! Now I hope you see why I responded the way I did. Few other things based on my experience: Most likely, the “idea” you will start with will either change significantly or you'll ditch it and work on something else. So the sooner you start working on it, the better. Getting a co-founder helps to stay motivated, but if you can't find one you really click with, do NOT settle. For me the litmus tests were a) for the idea: Is this something I strongly feel about? So strong, that I can give up everything else and work on it for at least 3 years with an assumption it WILL fail; and I'll have to start again. b) for starting up: Am I ready to give at least the next 7-10 years of my life to see how this startup thing plays out. May be, these questions will help you think in the right direction. Location matters, but I believe in today's world you can do it from any where. You'll eventually figure out a way to be in the valley (or wherever) or raise funds from there (if you plan to) if you aren't there, or cannot be there for any other reason. Reading books/blogs, attending startup events etc. for motivation? Not sure! I now don't even have time to do all that stuff. Good luck with your startup! :)