Exciting times. I do wonder how so many people can make a lot of money on here though. I guess as the platform grows and if the price of Steem also grows the early adopters (as everyone on the platform now) particularly those who try to put out quality content will do quite well out of it.
Regarding the people you wonder about how they can make so much on here, I think it's mostly because they were early adopters (pre-2017) or they invested a large amount of cash/other cryptos in Steem and powered up. But yes, consistent quality content and supporting your peers should help -- or that's the idea.