SELF - How do you get Motivated?

The other day I was chatting with a friend when they pointed out that the new generations lack the curiosity and motivation that was prominent many years ago that allowed Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and so many others to come up with the amazing inventions they did. Back then there was a lack of commodities, so there was a need for so many things and I think that's what motivated these people. Now, on the other hand, people have almost everything, and even though not all people have everything, the majority of things that are actually needed for us to have a comfortable existence have already been invented, so this leaves all these new generations feeling all comfortable and great, so they don't feel the need to create. Now it's all about making improvements to what already exists and even all the old movies are being re-made. It seems that now there's no new things happening anymore, not in books, not in movies, not in music, not in technology. Everything is re-made, improved, but rarely new.
These new generations seem to be looking now for better rights, save the planet, helping out, and all this is really great, it seems to be an attempt to fix things from the past. But it is still a movement that was started many years ago, it is still a variation from the past. Nothing new is happening. Are we stuck this way? Is there no room for new things? How about something that will guarantee world peace? Or something that will end world hunger? Is that even possible? But then when people try to create hybrid foods in the efforts to diminish world hunger, people are criticized for going against nature. Now many want to go back to the basics, everything must be organic, eat only raw foods, etc. Maybe this is a way for the world to have a new beginning when everything has already been invented. Start from scratch. But we can't forget that light bulbs exist or telephones or computers...or money. If we could only find a way to bring resources to the underdeveloped countries, bring the technology to allow everyone to stay healthy without having people come and criticize the efforts as unnatural.
How can we stay motivated? How can we create again, without having the fear of being turned down by society, how can we innovate? How do we teach our children to be creative when we don't even know how?