Thanks for your insightful reply. When you first start it is overwhelming! There's actually a lot of information linked to from the Welcome section, but it's hard for a newbie to even understand most of it. There are some great writers on Steemit "how to succeed" topics I found like @ilyastarar who really helped me a lot. I don't know that I rise to that caliber, but I would definitely like to see articles more like his in the Welcome section than those there now.
But just keep the faith and know that the success of those who seem unworthy does not prevent the success of those who are doing quality work. It's really not a competition. We just have to create community with other Steemers we value and who value us. Really, my list above comes from what I learned in the process of doing that. It's all about community connection, and that takes time, just as if you moved to a new town.