Workin' on the highways and byways
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away..."
When I was young, someone told me in order to be happy you need to figure out what "makes your eyes sparkle" and then go do it. Whatever that may be probably won't make you rich, but if you love what you do, you'll never be bored or end up feeling you're on a treadmill leading nowhere.
When my son was growing up, I was the breadwinner and worked at jobs I sometimes hated. I know how it feels to look at a bleak future earning money to simply survive. In "Halifax," http://www.amazon.com/Halifax-ebook/dp/B00AVME2R4 Ellie is a cafeteria lady, operates a fun house and later works as a shampoo lady in a beauty salon. She earns little money and commands no respect. But somehow she shoulders on and eventually finds her bliss.
So, even when circumstances prevent you from pursuing your heart's desire, hold fast to your dreams. If you work long enough and hard enough and continue believing in yourself, you'll eventually get there. In the meantime, working on a chain gang has its benefits even if it's only the fresh air and - of course, the singing:
"I hear somethin' sayin'
Hooh! aah! Hooh! aah!
Hooh! aah! Hooh! aah!
Well, don't you know
That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang
All day long they're singin'
Hooh! aah! Hooh! aah!"