Light, with your talents and background ... your'e a lot closer than you think you are to conquering this beast.
I'd say don't give up ... don't quit the day job yet either tho.
If you have an AM like Gillian reaching out, go see what she has to help you.
And definatley don't hinge everything on Google.
Besides, if you build honest websites ... Google isn't your enemy ... it's you challenge ... and if you're an
SEO webmaster, you'll take the challenge because it's in your blood.