You have now reached the necessary voting power. I wish you success!

I'd probably lose more votes than I'd gain if all proxies were removed so I can't complain 🙂

That is entirely possible. So let's hope that the proxy owners act responsibly. At least in your case this has certainly been shown. Although one top witness has already left because it's enough without him and his proxy votes. I don't know if that's a good thing, but I hope the necessary power remains.

essentially become my "professional" work

Yes, then I am convinced that you can do it. And it shows once again that this is exactly what the DAO is designed for and makes sense.

with this mindset will definitely help me to keep the commitment required

This is also necessary over such a long period of time. But in that respect, you'll be professional enough not to let your "customer" down ;-))

I'm looking forward to your progress and will definitely stay tuned.