Goal Oriented Rewards

D&D 5th often falls into a repetitive cycle of just doing "what you are supposed to" because everyone levels and gets substantial improvements at the same time. I like to reward players for thinking outside the box and pursuing goals that are tangential to the main plot. These are often based on your characters personal backstory and motivations, but can also be larger scale goals which the entire party works towards.
If you come up with a goal your character would like to pursue, let me know, and within a week, I will create a "Reward card" for you. The card will outline the goal, any pre-requisites to accomplish the goal, and the reward you will receive for accomplishing the goal.
For example, as a member of a thieves guild, you may have a goal to advance in rank.
Requirements: Proving yourself to your superior by completing a trial.
Pre-reqs: 100 reputation with the guild, which can be gained by completing 2 contracts (at 50 reputation each).
Reward: Access to a group of hirelings, who can be sent out on missions for you at a 75% discount to the standard rate. Additionally, you will receive a passive income of 50GP per week. If your hirelings are not actively completing a mission, they will increase your revenue to 100GP per week.
Perhaps a pre-cursor to this goal is joining a thieves guild. Doing so requires finding information about the guild and completing a contract, and completion of the contract allows access to future contracts for GP and increased reputation gain.