Content:
I normally use ripped gfx and sfx for my games, there're a lot of sites
with ripped sprites ready to be used into games (2d in my case) so i make
large use of those. There is no limit to my creativity because i can find
almost everything i need. I don't care about legal issues because i don't
code games claiming original gfx or sound, also my games are and will
be forever free. The boring part is that most of the times i have
to modify the tiles myself, and it last long, too long...

Motivation:
In fact this reaches the motivation point, because if you cannot build up
the game as you have imagined it, the motivation starts to decrease
dramatically. This is why lately i'm coding only games that i can finish
in 1-2 weeks; I won't have a killer title but many small fun games. It's
enough for me as i code games in real life too

Other:
About hiring people well, i think most of us code games in their spare time
just as a tecnical challenge more than to earn money from, so even if an
artist or musician ask for 100/EUR/USD for a game it is much. I'm lucky
because i know some people doing gfx and sfx but most of times they lack
of time, and here we get back to point one, and so on