You need to make a living somehow. If you trust supply-and-demand, the things that people are willing to pay for are either going to be so novel that few peopl

You need to make a living somehow. If you trust supply-and-demand, the things that people are willing to pay for are either going to be so novel that few people have thought of them, so boring or icky that few people want to do them, or so difficult that few people are capable of doing them. Most high-paying white-collar professions are a combination of 2 and 3, with degrees and post-college credentials used as a difficulty test. Professional athletes are the extreme case of 3. Running a business on your own can be 1, 2, and 3. To be happy as a person, your best bet is arbitrage. If you can figure out where your talents and training can make 1, 2, or 3 easier than they are for the average bear in the long term, (sometimes far easier), then you've alleviated the biggest burden and can spend more time on what you truly care about at that time. Alternatively, you can have the difficult part of your day-job also address something that you care about personally, and then you're meeting other emotional needs through work in a way that most people don't.