I'm glad that we can see eye to eye and understand where each other are coming from. I posted this question to learn, to correct my ignorance because I thought I must be missing something. What kind of work do you do now?

You're right about valuing my time, skill, and contribution more. I need to demonstrate my value to prospects clearly and succinctly, otherwise I would in fact be deceptive. This is a healthy medium for me.

I come from a low-income blue-collar background, I think the bigger issue here is that I am underselling myself based on my past beliefs about money. But, again you raise a good point about making a living and keeping your peace of mind. How can I expect to enjoy a good life if I have to manage 100 $1k projects a year vs. managing 10 $10k projects?

What I will continue to do though is donate a website whenever I see a person or cause that I could help. Last week I made a site for a family whose son/brother got lost in Central America. It took me only 3 hours but it made a world of difference to his family's search efforts.

Thanks again for the healthier attitude about this. What other advice would you impart to a freelancer with less than 10 projects striving to create a successful creative agency?