[claudiulodro]

This is a really interesting and clever way of thinking about it, and I think you've hit the nail on the head! I'm bookmarking this comment.

I've tried to start a bunch of businesses and side projects over the years in that intersection of money and meaning, and in retrospect that's been a big reason they haven't been successful: I created something with value for myself and then tried to find other people that would also get value from it. That's much more difficult, marketing-focused, and roundabout than just doing something that I know creates value directly and trying to find meaning in that.