>I'm watching the first season right now. whatever lies walt
>told himself, his true motivations for starting weren't for
>his family. it was to seize control of his own destiny.
>
>the scene with the intervention is key. it's pretty clear
>walt feels completely disempowered, with zero control of his
>own life. meth is his chance to be exceptional, to be
>independent, to do things his way. the family stuff is the
>lie he told himself to make it all palatable, but at its heart
>it's pretty clearly will to power.


You are correct, but him cooking was also a way for him at first to acquire a good deal of cash so he could provide monetarily for his family. As the series went on, his hubris and hunger for power became his primary motivation, but his initial goal, along with funding his cancer treatments, was to squirrel away enough money to provide for his family since he assumed the cancer would kill him.