I really don't think it is that tough to move up the chain here honestly. I've only been around for less than 2 months and I am most active in the comments and curating. I was even thinking of making a post to not let newcomers become discouraged, if you can afford to swing just a little bit over into Steem and are active you will see yourself start to grow. The most exciting thing for me is the increase in curtain rewards as I've grown, and I only have 225 SP. Weeks prior, I would see .012 SP earned in the last week curating, since investing a small amount and continuing to earn, I now see nearly .1 SP earned this week. That doesn't sound like much but my first investment was the weekend before last so I've only been receiving earnings on my new Steem Power for a few days now. Of you are that frustrated maybe it isn't for you, I just wanted to let you know that I am very new and can see the growth already from being consistent on the platform. Good luck friend!