How do I find research topics that yield profitable patents? How can I find (and execute) profitable, patent-producing research? Specifically, I want to produce financially rewarding patents. Are there any steps to success?

There always seems to be an element of luck, but how do I maximize chances?
Pick something that has just become possible, or which people have only recently realized is possible, and which hasn't been worked to death by others.  Look for untilled soil.  If you're the first to tackle a problem, pretty nearly anything you do will be new and potentially patentable.