Laura, thanks so much for what you have shared with us–I find it so inspiring, and I really appreciate the thought that, even with the various motivation tools, the ultimate motivator in practicing is the hoped accomplishments, both within (self-mastery) and without (the beautiful performance).
Some others mentioned the process of acquiring students; in that, I really liked what Sam Milligan wrote in his article “QUESTIONABLE ETHICS” (in his blog on this web site).