Before you read on, know that I don't want to stop you from following your dreams. These are just a few thoughts:

"As of recent, I've been thinking about the phrase stating that you will never have to work a day, if you love the job you have."

I love my job and I can't imagine doing anything else, but there's a reason why even the phrase "dream job" still has the word job in there. It's still work. It's fun and engaging, but it's work, y'know? There are days when I wake up and I want to do anything but go to work. I think seeking something where you'll never have that feeling is going to put you through so much undue stress, and I'd hate to see that happen.

Also, I see a lot of people get hurt because they just want to be in the industry. I think what's better is to figure out what you want to do first and then see if that lines up with your desire to enter the industry.

For example, I pursued community management because I enjoy the idea of people forming bonds over common ground. I also love video games, and I found a lot of happiness when I joined a Halo community. But ultimately, I could be happy managing a community of hikers (would be neat to manage a local community and have trail meets) or maybe an activist community (communities of action are really intriguing to me). The gaming industry isn't necessarily the center of why I'm in this career.

Maybe this isn't the answer for everyone, but it's led me to a relatively enjoyable career.

To answer your question about how to get in, I'd say find an indie studio who needs help. They probably won't pay well, but it'll be great experience. The one big issue with the industry is that you need experience to get in, and the only way to get experience is to be in.