When I first joined Steem/Hive I only saw the posts as a way of earning. Back then I didn't have 2 cents to rub together and my stake was pitiful. It still is small in comparison to may others, but things have changed from those dark days. I say dark as it was tough to get going and maintaining it was the hardest thing I have ever taken on. One has to just see it as a personal challenge that takes time and whoever looks at it like that will succeed.
I have always seen curation as something extra for doing something I enjoy and that is upvoting and supporting others. It costs us absolutely nothing as the voting power recharges daily. Lately the curation figures are adding about a third to my earnings so it is like having an extra post daily. Who would have thought as the average over 26 months is only about 10 percent of the total rewards.
I understand it is common sense and obvious the more you have and stake the more you earn. Over time it will increase as your stake increases which is great if you are planning on long term which is part of the plan. At some stage a break will be needed but that doesn't mean you stop earning as this is the beauty of what we have. Setting the auto voter means you can step away whilst supporting others yet still being able to earn.
I calculated if I did this and went away not touching anything I could theoretically earn in excess of 5000 Hive per year. If you were into having a passive income on the side it is not much at the current price but still a decent $1500 per year. There is not much else out there that can give you these types of rewards and why I believe Hive is the answer for many who don't even know about it yet.
Why give a like or whatever it is called on Facebook when you can get paid for doing the same thing on here. I do see Hive as an adult type game with financial rewards as it has many similarities such as your power for voting and the more you have the stronger your actions are.
The sad thing is many people that join are only here for instant rewards and they slowly disappear. I was commenting with 
Who knows where Hive will be in 3,5 or 10 years from now but I always have in the back of my mind Bitcoin was something like 3 for 1 cent. At the beginning and to have 15% of the total market of Bitcoin all you would have to have done is bought $10 000 worth. It does make one think of how many opportunities are all around us only if we knew.