I think I may have found my niche. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm really enjoying writing software on my own. And, I'm actually starting to see some money from some spin-offs on a project I originally did for free. So, it seems I just might be able to make a living doing this.
And, now, to make it even better, I found a non-profit application for my computer programming skills. It's still just in the discussion stages, but I'm been approached to make an iPhone app for a non-profit cause. I don't want to discuss the details right now since it's not a done deal, but if it does work out, it'll give me a chance to focus some energy on something positive for the community. And that's what I felt was lacking in my previous job. It paid well, but there was no working for the possible betterment of people's lives.
In my previous job, there would have been no way I could tell my boss, "Oh, sorry, I don't want to work on that right now, I'm busy developing some software for a non-profit." Now I can. Since I'm the boss, I can choose to set aside some of my time to work on non-profit projects or go do some volunteer work during the day. I know it will mean I'll potentialy be earning less money that week, but that's my choice. With a 9-to-5 job, I wouldn't really have such a choice.
So, hopefully I'll be able to keep enough money coming in to pay the bills while also being able to work on some non-profit software projects. Let's hope the plan works.