I provide the best value I can and have a great time doing it.
My job is different every day. One day I'll be on a boat taking dissolved oxygen and salinity readings in nearshore ocean water. The next I'll be at 11,000 ft. up the side of Mauna Kea taking soil samples for a phase II EA on a remote transmitter site. The day after that I'll be repairing a leaky concentrate port on a RO pressure vessel for a water treatment plant, the next working with a rancher on a rainwater catchment system for watering his cattle.
Sometimes I understand how the astronauts feel when they work on an EVA. Working away, concentrating on the job at hand, stop to rest a second, look up, realize where I am, and get goose bumps in awe.
This didn't happen by accident. I studied really hard for my knowledge, worked really hard for my experience, and figured out a way to apply it in the place I most want to be. Without my college education I would not know much of what I need to be able to do the things I do.
The money part is lagniappe. I would be happy doing this if all I could afford to eat was fish and rice.
Anyone can find a million reasons not to be successful. The tough part is making the paradigm shift to realizing success is posible and being happy is OK. It just takes work, but that work can be a lot of fun if you let it.
I have very wealthy clients who are not happy. What's the point?