I didn't read Tolkien until I was in college. I actually fell into role-playing games first. When we went to college, I continued doing sketches for the game, and I had a major in biology for three years. They were just pencil sketches that hung up on the wall, and I sold them. And of course, it turns into money, and I have never been offended by money.
Money is a measure of how much work someone else has done.
If they choose to give it to me, based on how much work they've done, there's something I'm doing correct. There's something that's connecting. I've been a professional for ten years, since 1990 when I graduated from the University of Alabama. I did get my degree in graphic design despite the courses in biology. I had tons of hours in biology.