Great questions by Frank -

Second, we didn’t evolve in the modern environment, and our brains aren’t necessarily equipped for big potential gains down the road. If there’s a 5 step process that produces really good results at the end of step 5, a lot of times we won’t think past step 1.

What do you find is the best way to get past this lack of being able to see long-term goals from short-term micro-steps? Specifically, in my case, I have several (potentially) lucrative projects where I've written up an entire idea on paper, thought about starting the implementation of it for a few weeks, but never actually went anywhere with them months later. I work full-time, so these projects are all on the side - and for me, that's what the biggest problem is. All of my energy is spent at my day job, so that by the time I get to these what could be hugely profitable projects, I'm all out of steam. Any ideas as to what I could do to gain more motivation, aside from leaving my day job?

There's a lot of density here. I see four really good questions here -

1. What do you find is the best way to get past this lack of being able to see long-term goals from short-term micro-steps?

2. ...lucrative projects where I've written up an entire idea on paper, thought about starting the implementation of it for a few weeks, but never actually went anywhere with them months later.

3. I work full-time, so these projects are all on the side - and for me, that's what the biggest problem is.

4. All of my energy is spent at my day job, so that by the time I get to these what could be hugely profitable projects, I'm all out of steam. Any ideas as to what I could do to gain more motivation, aside from leaving my day job?

Very good questions. Now, I don't think this is the kind of thing with a magical complete solution, but I can give you a few ideas that might help -

1. What do you find is the best way to get past this lack of being able to see long-term goals from short-term micro-steps?

*Have you read "Getting Things Done" by David Allen? I'd recommend it. He talks about project planning and managing all the stuff that needs to get done, and does a good job of it.

*Find a way to turn the long term into the short term. Make a public commitment, or better yet, commit to doing the work for pay for a client if feasible - once money gets in your hands and you've committed, now it's not optional. It becomes a short-term necessity.

*In "The Neurosis of Long Term Habit Change," I wrote about how we stress out and slave away on things for a long time and feel bad about them, but then don't feel very rewarded. My guess at a solution? Celebrate more often. I've started doing it since then, and it's been great for me - celebrate more often, even little things.

2. ...lucrative projects where I've written up an entire idea on paper, thought about starting the implementation of it for a few weeks, but never actually went anywhere with them months later.

*"Inspiration is like milk. If you leave it alone, it expires." - Paraphrasing from the 37Signals podcast

*So, take some action right away when you're inspired. Ideally get it to some completable milestone.

*If possible, sell first, then build. Most people do the opposite - they build first, then try to sell. The downside is, you might be building the wrong thing that people don't want. Try to get preorders or presales if possible. An added benefit? Greater urgency and accountability. Deadlines are magical.

3. I work full-time, so these projects are all on the side - and for me, that's what the biggest problem is.

*Be really, really, really careful placing blame externally. If your biggest problem is that you've got a fulltime job, but you're not willing to quit, you're kind of up the creek huh?

*Thus, be careful of your psychology here... the biggest problem is, for a variety of reasons, you're not taking the action you want to take. The solution is to find some way(s) to take the action you want to take. Remember that - the issue here is that you aren't taking action you want to take. Not the job. You. Once blame is placed externally, you lose the ability to fix things. Be super careful about that.

4. All of my energy is spent at my day job, so that by the time I get to these what could be hugely profitable projects, I'm all out of steam. Any ideas as to what I could do to gain more motivation, aside from leaving my day job?

*How bad do you want it? Do you know why you want it? In "How to Make $10,000 in One Day," Dan Andrews writes, "When it comes to major obstacles like contacting an influencer or cold calling a huge customer (or believing you can help them in the first place), you’ll need to create desires that are so compelling to you that your fear begins to pale in comparison."

*Consider spending some time learning about your circadian rhythym, napping, nutrition, exercise, energy, etc., and how those relate. I've learned enough on it that I've picked up some edges for my own life, but not enough to give great advice on the topic beyond "start to learn about it." Wikipedia + Google is a fine place to start. Also, I had the book "Take a Nap, Change Your Life" recommended to me recently. I bought it, but haven't read it yet. Maybe worth getting.

*Finally, think about waking up at 4:30AM, and going to bed at... however early you need to. I've done that before when I had major commitments, and being awake at that time is pretty close to magic. I'm not saying this is easy, nor enjoyable. But it works - you go to sleep an hour or two earlier, you wake up an hour or two earlier. You work in the mornings when you're most fresh on your ideas.

None of these are easy per se, but I've either gotten immense mileage out of them myself, or have had them recommended to be by smart people I really respect who know what they're talking about.

Most people don't really blaze new trails. You're talking about doing something most people don't do - building, expanding, taking a greater control and mastery over your environment and life... it's not necessarily going to be easy, but is doable. So, how bad do you want it?