Collect as many free nonlottery tickets (those with open-ended payoffs) as you can, and, once they start paying off, do not discard them. Work hard, not in grunt work, but in chasing such opportunities and maximizing exposure to them.
Writing books is this sort of opportunity. You never know when or if one will become popular. What do you lose when you write a book? Nothing. You enjoy writing them. It won't affect your life in a negative way if none of the books sell. It will affect your life in a positive way if one is successful.
The same thing goes for buying and reading books. Every so often, there is a book that opens a new topic, a new way of thinking about the world. This change introduces flow into your life, which makes it more fun.
