I always strive to deliver high quality software applications, I love writing and reading good looking code, refactoring and testing apps. There is a special place in my heart for opensource.
Being a successful freelancer for more than a year, has been the ultimate test for my skills. The freelancing market is very competitive and depends almost 100% on client feedback, so you really cannot make a living as a freelancer while not doing a good job, which I think is 'less' true for 'traditional' positions.