* It gives me hope. It's the only activity (for me) that may one day lead me to fully control my destiny (i.e., side project -> lifestyle startup) * I can be

* It gives me hope. It's the only activity (for me) that may one day lead me to fully control my destiny (i.e., side project -> lifestyle startup) * I can be god-like. When working on a side project, I get to make ALL the decisions. * It's rewarding. Being able to take an idea born purely from my thoughts, and make it into something real, is inherently rewarding. Although I guess this applies to any creative endeavor, with coding it's cheap (all I need is a computer) and the feedback loop is short.