Mmh, my mind was going into all kind of directions when reading this post!
So, let's see if I can bring some order in my mental chaos!

• Like you wrote all investments do have some risk involved! For most of us the investments are more or less risk calculated. This goes for crypto investments, time investments, and so on! It is not that everything is done for the reward, but also it could be for pleasure, which is also some kind of reward!
• Yes, I do know these types who are always complaining that others will get a promotion, just like these are the ones who will tell you that there paycheck is higher because the work longer for the company. This would be true, if both do invest the same amount of time into the company and do offer the same quality of the work! But like you wrote, they will never understand this!
• Sometime I do have the feeling that people here are too much trusting on dapps, SMTs or someone or something else to make steem big! But we are living in the now and not the future and the fact is that we have to make something of it now! The more successful steem is now, the more chance the dapps or SMT will come to Steem. It won't work the other way around! But engagement is dropping to a yearly low. I am only here since Jan this year, so I don't have any idea if this is normal and related with the vacation period! With all the smartphones equipped with decent enough camera's it should not be a problem to post at least 3 times a week!

Cheers,
Peter