First thank you very much for taking the time to explain the situation and your story. I think it is helpful for others to see coming from the "veterans", especially the newbies like me :) ...
I agree with your explanation about people's motivations and how it compares to other forms of work, and while people might not know it by the amount of posts I've made here in the 9 days, I too have a full time job. My job happens to be in the slow season (I'm in finance and the market drys up at the end of the year), so it gave me some extra time to learn about steemit and get to meet the people both joining and the long-termers.
After immersing myself for the past 9 days, I love the way the platform works. It is well designed with real incentives to encourage people to participate. It has real potential to do things beyond everyone's wildest imagination. I simply love what it can do financially for people all over the world, and also the ways in which it can integrate people together. I have met more interesting people here in the last 9 days than I have met in the last 9 years That is amazing when you think about it.
I thank you for the encouragement and appreciate your reaching out to help others. I too love this place and will continue to try to make it a better place every day!
Stay in touch and again thanks for taking the time to comment :)