Being a small drop in a big glass of water comes with its own, albeit different, motivation. Small projects that one person, or a small group of people, can fully own are necessarily limited in scope.<p>Personally, I don&#x27;t dream of having full ownership of my own successful little project nearly so much as I dream of playing a relatively small, but necessary, role in a big ambitious project. For me, this[0] is the dream. Look at all those elated drops of water! I think the Fleet Foxes put this pretty well in &quot;Helplessness Blues&quot;: &quot;after some thinking, I&#x27;d say I&#x27;d rather be a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me&quot;.<p>Having said all that, my point isn&#x27;t that all big projects are better; obviously not every project is literal rocket science, and all else equal I find ownership more motivating as well, it just isn&#x27;t the <i>only</i> thing that can be motivating.<p>[0]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;ANv5UfZsvZQ?t=127" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;ANv5UfZsvZQ?t=127</a>