Age 8ish to 10ish. I was driven by the discovery that I could actually do it. Like discovering you can run fast, or do above-grade-level maths in your head, or draw well. Once that discovery is there, a kid is on a mission.

Age 11ish to 13ish. I was driven to inspire millions and change the world, all the while donating my royalty payments to charity. Dream well deferred.

Age 13ish to 17ish. I was driven to meet arty and/or brainy girls who were still hot. I wanted to impress, stand out, and be hot with them.

Age 18ish to 25ish. I was driven as an act of socialization on the internet and the desire to encapsulate my late adolescent thoughts and feelings into bite-sized and memorable chunks. Like photographs or film-clips.

Age 25ish to recently. I wasn't wasn't driven to write songs at all. I still did a lot of writing, but I no longer found "song-writing" very appealing. Besides being more fulfilling, I actually could turn a buck elsewhere.

Currently, I'm more driven to explore musical ideas "new to me". Though I've written a small number of songs lately, I am not motivated to stand in front of a microphone and record them. It's no great loss to the world of music. There are probably already enough songs.

I already know I can do it, I won't inspire millions or earn filthy lucre, I've already married my dream date, socialization is good, but it's never like it was when you were single, is it?

So I am not really "driven" any more, but who knows if these two semi-interconnected "song-related" interests may reconnect. I'm not driving myself crazy to get there.

BIAB 2021 Audiophile. Windows 10 64bit. Songwriter, lyricist, composer(?) loving all styles. Some pre-BIAB music from Farfetched Tangmo Band's first CD. https://alonetone.com/tangmo/playlists/close-to-the-ground