I have been here for what I consider a while and have seen a lot of what you mention, I don't even have plans to sell my Steem in the next 10 years, my goal is to reach a level where I can sustain myself with Steem and since the number for that to happen is not too crazy, I think it is probable.

I've invited and continue to invite people into the platform that I believe can thrive in here, a lot leave but a few have stayed :-)

In the early days I used to upvote myself in the comments to bring myself to the top but realised that was being wasteful. Now I instead support a few curation trails with my votes and I'd like to believe that helps and motivates people to stay...

The last time I checked on Steem world I think my selfvote percentage was below 6% and I was voting over 350 different accounts each week :-)

I wish I could give more, cuz I like giving more than I like receiving and thats why I love Steem :-)