Recently I judged a group of senior technology projects at DeVry in Fremont, California. It was a great group overall, and if you want to have your faith in youth and education restored, this is a great way to do it.
A few of the projects embodied something very important – that I wanted to share.
Several projects were actual WORK. People identified an actual problem, or got an actual client, and did a full job. They built a full software solution or website or whatever and got it running.
This. Was. Awesome.
This perfectly embodied, better than I've ever said, about the value of projects.
A project is finding something and delivering a solution.
In your fandom, hobbies, wargames, conventions, etc. there are tons of projects waiting to be done. You can do them to hone your skills or add to your portfolio or resume (how do people deny you can do actual work when you've done actual work).
Go find something that needs to be done, plan it, and do it.
Want to be better at websites? Run one for whatever convention you attend.
What to be better at art? Do the flyers for a local sports team or newswletter.
Want to be a better writer? Do a series of stories for a small group or publish them on Wattpad or Smashwords – or go all out with Lulu and CreateSpace
Go find a project and do it, and the results will be worth it.