Money makes money. That has always been the case. It's no different on here where the more SP that you have the quicker that you can earn it. Getting to 500sp took about nine months for me then getting to 2000SP afterwards took about six. You also pick up experience and knowledge along the way which helps to use your existing SP smarter. It all helps.
Youtube can be a good way to earn if you know what you are doing and have an idea or skill to sell. Some people can do very well from it.
There are a few games on here already like super8ballclub, steem poker league and steem games faucet. They allow you to play and to earn at the same time and i think that there is a games platform under development that should be out in 2019. I saw it a while back from a good source. Games are always huge money especially with the demographic that we have on here and could be a huge draw to the blockchain if it is done right. the potential is massive.
Have you heard of steem monsters? If you want to get into it i suggest visiting https://steemit.com/steemmonsters/@dappsify/steem-monsters-raffleception