We sometimes shun the “amateur”. We tend to think that the “professional”, the one that gets paid for doing the same thing, should be better. We even use the word that way. When something is made to spec, with all the expectations met, we say it was done “professionally”.
We should however differentiate between someone who is a professional, and someone who is proficient. It turns out that someone can be really proficient at something, and still not get paid for it, mostly because of choice.
And there is something quite liberating about doing something that you don’t need to get paid for. You can stay true to your values and to your taste, not worrying that much whether you are pleasing the client. You just do your thing.
Money is a fantastic invention and can work as a catalyst for so many things, but it can also taint what it touches. This is why we work so hard to keep it out of our personal relationships.
It helps to ask ourselves, Do I really want to get paid for THAT?