Great read!!! I had similar experiences though in a much smaller scale with some side personal projects for fun. Despite all the libraries and all the many things already done for you, if you really want to do anything slightly interesting that sets your work apart you will need to really work hard.. I end up abandoning most of these little projects because it quickly becomes stressful and like a job for which I'm and will never be paid! I can fix a bug here and there or add a feature while working as a part of a professional team and make my employer richer... There might be some ingredient that the rest of us miss.. Or maybe our motives are not quite right!! Becoming one's boss seems like a frivolous thing and might not be enough to push you forward in hard time.. Or maybe one can't be both a craftsman and a businessman at the same time..