Curiosity and determination.
Also, someone much wiser than me once said “Do it today, not tomorrow!”. Meaning, don’t tell yourself “tomorrow I’m gonna start doing this and that”, start right now or you’ll most likely never start.
Someone on one of the panels at GDC said something similar as well. Just make stuff, don’t think to big right now. Just make something, finish it and move on to the next idea. Finishing a project is the hardest task of all.
You say you don’t want to jump in without knowing the basics. But jumping right in might be the best thing to do. Don’t think, do.