For many years I treated my SLR as a point and shoot camera.  I I kept buying extra lenses and accessories that I "needed" to take better pictures, but I never ended up getting any better.  I finally bought a book and learned the basics of photography which helped, but only marginally.   I knew the right way to take a picture, but I never took the time to compose a shot properly.  I also never took the time to come up with a goal before going out to take some pictures.  I would head out, take 10 pictures of everything I saw, and then delete 95% of the pictures I took.

There are two things that have really helped my photography take off:

1. The thought of being a father.  The fact that I am going to be a father has driven me to improve my skills so I can capture all of the special moments that will happen in between all of the craziness of being new parents.  
2. The practical assignments (weekly competition) that I do with a friend and fellow photographer, Ben Jablonski.  The assignments that Ben and I challenge each other to complete each week force me to focus on and improve small aspects of photography.  This not only improves my technical skill behind the camera, but it also improves my creativity.