Nor, make money from the work you love to do. Do it for free. Yes, zero income.

If we love writing code and creating software, does this mean, we should do it free?

I think we have to break down the components of creating software. Perhaps, we can slice it into two parts: (a) First is the problem solving part, and (b) second is the constructing the solution part.

Often (a) is the most tedious part, and is where we are hired to work in software. Though, we find ourselves spending most of our time in (b), and where we consider as the best part of the job.

Creating software for problems we know, understand, and are self-motivated to solve, are likely what we consider as our passion.

On the other hand, understanding and investigating problems, specially for reasons that is not entirely ours, and for outcomes that we do not have an exclusive attachment and involvement on, is something we can consider as work. We may enjoy it and derive satisfaction, however, it is not a personal mission.

These kind of work, make sense to ask money in return for effort. There are also plenty of opportunities with this nature.

For me, to enjoy our passion we must be able to do them in our time and motivation; and ultimately for our self-gratification.

Clarifying this distinction in where we spend our time, help manage our expectation, and allows us to enjoy what we do, based on the purpose of why we do them.