Free or Rich

I was reading The True Story of Audion this morning, and this quote just leapt out at me:

The lesson? It seems you can either be free to do anything you want, to create anything you dream of without answering to anyone, or you can be rich. You’re not likely to be both.

I’m not sure why it did, but it has the ring of truth. I don’t really relate to working for myself, since I’ve worked for the Giant Triangle for my entire adult life (it’ll be a decade in May). But, I do understand freedom. I’ve carved out a nice little spot for myself here, and have a lot more freedom that other folks I know who do the same thing. I can inject myself in interesting projects or just do what’s expected (not that I ever do that).

For example, I can get away with things like the pirate organization (which is going very well, I might add). I can get away with being in the W3C. I don’t know exactly how I did it, or I’d tell you.

I answer to a lot of people, yet I still feel free. Why?