For those of us who haven't invested our own money into Steem and then chosen to lock it up in Steem Power, upvotes are a gift. None of us are entitled to "earn" money, much less make a living, blogging here. That doesn't mean we can't be successful on Steemit while accruing crypto assets, just that we aren't owed financial compensation as content creators here any more than we are on other social media platforms.
There's a lot of complaining about how whales have an unfair advantage here, and I think that stems from a lack of understanding that they have a vested financial interest in Steemit. That's money they could have invested elsewhere, and they expect to maximize returns on it. If you were in their position, you would too. Every upvote they give someone else is money they could be putting into their own pocket, but they often choose to contribute to the Steemit community instead. When we belittle them for upvoting themselves and each other, it's a bit like looking a gift horse in the mouth.
At the end of the day, if you're only here to make money, you could probably spend your time doing something more lucrative. But if you focus on being an engaging member of the community that contributes quality content, you'll find that Steemit has a lot more to offer than financial incentive.
Make it a great day!
(Random picture of me fishing in Baghdad, Iraq circa 2004)