Aye your speaking the truth bro! You were kinda of outlier when it came to starting our with huge payouts, which kinda sucks because your expectations might be a little skewed!
It take a ton of time consistently engaging with the community as well as creating content, even when you only get a few cents!
The problem with people depending on whale support, is you never know when they are going to swim away!
In my opinion I would rather have a 10 really good minnow friends, compared to a whale who might only see me as a tool for curation rewards. Eventually minnows become dolphins and it's those friends that are going to build that base for becoming a full time steemian!
You're absolutely right bro. And you know, when I first got here it didn't take me long to realize that. I knew that we were on a fast track that may or may not be sustainable!
At the end of the day, it's all about being passionate about what you do! Whales, minnows, dolphins, they all matter. Build relationships with everyone, create awesome content, and eventually either sooner or later your success will come!