Really great post!
I tried to say the same thing over and over again in my articles, and I still do it, even if I may annoy people a little bit. I've been on the internet for a long time, and I know what influence great content can have on people. I know how it feels, as a consumer, to be touched by great content so much that you just want to give something to the author.
People asked me to upvote their posts when they upvoted mines, and I just ignore them. Why would I upvote something I don't truly like? It would be unfair for all the people who spend hours and hours working to create great articles.
Even today I had a conversation with a person telling him why quality content is way more important than anything, and why I managed to make $300 in two weeks with 200 posts and he couldn't in a month, with 1200 posts.
Of course, he was telling me about the numbers, and how important upvotes are, and how he's not willing to spend a lot of time writing and creating high quality content, that I'm capable of writing long articles while he has to invest more time into them, and he doesn't want that.
I don't understand why people aren't willing to invest everything they have into great content, and create something with love. Rewards will come if you do what you like, you don't need to do it for upvotes.
It's not about how many upvotes you have and how much money you make, it's about what you create. If you create something great without expecting anything in return, you will get rewarded.
I managed to write a 23 pages post and I did it because I love computer and because I'd like to help people use them better, not because i want money. I used my passion to create something great, and that makes me proud of myself.
Steemit needs people who create high quality content, and the community will make sure those people are rewarded. That's one of the things I love about Steemit.
Anyway, great article, really motivational and a real pleasure to read. Keep up the good work!