@romeopensa Welcome to steemit and SGG discord. I am pleased you joined the discord and be active in there.
Every newbie goes thru the similar learning curve like you did. And the duration varies. you have highlighted the four key factors that you could have discovered yourself and should be helpful for other newbies.
Keep in mind though, every steemian has limited Steem Power which determines the voting energy as well as vote value.
You can learn more of these jargons in the discord
You are on the right track and keep going.
Cheers