Professional/financial results are their own insular thing. Intelligence lives in the day-to-day...nurturing your kid's intelligence and removing barriers to their success, etc.
I think that some of these messages may be dismissing what the OP is trying to relate (in spite of trying to help). If something works for one person, great. But maybe the OP wants more. That's okay. It's also okay to want to remove barriers to your own success as well as doing so for your child. I say this because there's a message in our society saying that it isn't okay.
For some people, professional success is more than having a big title or a big salary. Similarly, there are those for whom giftedness is more than the day-to-day stuff.
As to the OP's question, over the last several years, and in part because of this forum, I've come to realize that the way my mind works is very, very different. It's not just that I process information more quickly or pick up ideas quickly, it's that I see things differently. Sometimes I see complexity where simplicity is assumed; sometimes it's the reverse. Sometimes I question ideas that are taken for granted.
For me, the answer to fulfilling what I consider to be my potential has been to work on large problems that require a lot of cognitive ability, a lot of creativity, an ability to question accepted ideas, and an ability to get stuff done. I'm fortunate to have a tiny bit of funding that lets me get paid (a little) to create a free new software tool for diagnosing rare diseases. I'm doubly fortunate that I have two other incredibly smart people working on this project with me. So that's how I spend my work time.
If this funding hadn't come through, I had decided to get another one of those dull part-time-but-well-paid jobs I can get, and work on an idea I have in mathematics for the rest of the time. Now I do the math stuff outside of work hours.
OP, here's my advice to you; take it or leave it. If you want more, you can get it --- but you might have to step outside your comfort zone (doing so can be very rewarding in the end). Continue to learn about yourself and your abilities. Do you do best with detailed work or the big picture? With people? With animals? With data? Etc.
Don't sell yourself short, ever. Learn to tell yourself, "I can do this, even though it's hard (but also keep an eye out for when it's time to say you were wrong)."
Do you want a traditional job, or do you want to blaze your own trail? Either way, find a problem that suits your talents and find a way to do something about it.
