I played my first paid gig in 1965. A couple years later (at age 15), I was occasionally making as much playing in a band as my Mother did working as a bookkeeper at Sears. At 19, I quit college and signed a contract with a management agency; thought it was my path to "making it" in the music business. I was just a bit off on that: worked at lot, but it wasn't inexpensive keeping an 8-man horn band on the road.
Into my 20s, back to college, working a full-time job, and gigging 4 nights a week. I made more money playing music, but I could see that the "day job" was a path where I could own a business. By my late 20s, I was done with bands, but still did occasional solo gigs. The day job turned into a satisfying career, and I only took the occasional solo music gigs I wanted to play (not in bars).
I have written some songs over the years, but enjoy playing songs that people know and can sing along with. And, just a scant 55 years after our band made $3 each for that first gig, I'm still waiting for my
overnight success.
Any regrets for the path I took with music? Thanks for asking. No. I have a great wife and daughter that likely would not have happened. That day job turned into a career that allowed me to retire early and enjoy a wandering lifestyle. I can play the music I like, when I like, and not have it be a grind.
Why the trip down memory lane? Hopefully, the OP is getting (and considering) the advice being given by people who have decades of life experience. Every path we each take is different, but we can learn from each other. I was from the wave of people that came into music after the Beatles phenomenon. The current generation has had American Idol and The Voice to show them a different potential musical path. If there was a sure-fire way, we'd all be doing it. Hard work (read up on that "10,000 hour" thing), some natural talent, luck, timing, being in the right place, more luck, getting the right break (Is that more luck?).
Good luck.