Please don;t be discouraged. Never feel bad for the upvotes that are not coming in in mass now.
Most whales you see on Steemit had similar stories and near frustration experiences to tell when they started too.
Keep doing your good work and in no time your efforts will be noticed and appreciated with upvotes, kind words, and resteemed.
Yeah thanks bro. I'm motivated by your speech. Its just that it kind of getting out of control that these vote buying lol.. Well we all gonna make it on here too