To be honest upfront, I don't know if one of my posts ever has been 'trending' in the two months I've been active at SteemIt. Suppose there is a way to figure that out, or to just look at the payout that is above a certain level. Still, that was way back, when the rounds were like double as long as they are now. And there was no cooling down period of 4 weeks. Seems like way back time machine. It is how things work in the virtual digital realm, things move close to lightspeed. One day it is trending to write about Steem, the next it is trending to post thoughts about Travel, next week Life will be the main topic. Or not, it is hard to predict. And I believe this cannot be 'fixed' to match ones writing to fit.
Posting for fame and fortune, might work for some, starting off with that intention. And the SteemIt community can witness that it sometimes does work that way. The things that work in advertising, do work here also. Riches, beauty, stardom and sex do 'sell' here at SteemIt too. No matter how 'low' the actuall content value might be considered. But there is no guarantee that it will work for just anybody. A lot have tried to mimic that strategy allready and got nill, zero and nada to nothing. And I came across some very angry and frustrated posts lately that almost shouted: "Give me some Steem, I deserve it!" Well, I understand how frustration and disappointment can trigger this, but it will make things only worse, really, it can do bad things for ones reputation.
Then I could get responses like: "Well, it is easy for you to speak, you alleady have some Steem Power build up." True, but also because I got in 'early' and actually posted articles that I invested time and energy in. Most of the graphics I publish, I made myself, most photographs I use, I made myself and I do my best to stay as close as possible to who I really am when writing. Also I do my best to provide as much external link references as possible. In short, I post from the source that is me. Sometimes that means I jump to conclussions, that are locked after a full round, for ever. But then I use replies to come back at some things I believe that I was wrong about, or things that need more explanation. And for me, to keep up this standard, including reading replies and answering where needed, curating work of other Steemers, it can take a lot of time and energy.
And still, that is no guarantee, I'm lucky enough to have gained a reputation value of '7', but that is very fragile. The time spent in writing, and so on, does not always create a return, nor does it equal the amount of time and effort I have put into it. But, I knew this up front. For me it was new, exciting, Steem had a WOW factor, big time, while I really was getting fed up with all that other crypto stuff. And if I got lucky, in a sense, well, then I could even get some Steem in value for my posts.
Yes, luck is a factor to consider, but you actually can influence it a bit, by creating fresh content that matters. That could have a snowball effect for you, at least in the long run. And I am convinced that it does help to stay close to who you really are. One Steemer that surely proved this is, for example, is 
And if you think that this is only due to here posting images of herself and video's, then you are missing the point I'm trying to make here. Same goes for me, not stating that I'm as 'real' and expressive like her, but that is me, we are all unique. Could not even do it if I forced mysel to do so. Part of me went kind of 'naked' lately, and it got some respones that I do value a lot. But if it were for the payouts primarily, then I had better stopped a few weeks ago. And real life things still matter the most to me, so my release rate of fresh content will drop more and more in time, for sure. But some Steemers will have the opportunity to make a living, or a better way of life, thanks to their constant release of content at SteemIt.
In the two months here at SteemIt I've seen a lot of awesome projects, that became 'trending' and got good payouts, which is a kind of community funding. And I think that is one great aspect of Steem / SteemIt. Still love watching the fish in the SteemIt Pond for example. But there are so many good posts and projects, that it is very hard to keep up, without starting a team, just for keeping up. Did my best to promote SteemIt in the region where I live too, but I haven't got any response to that yet. Just like me asking others if they would like to be able to pay with 'coins' or if entrepreneurs would like to be able to accept payment in 'coins'. Even if it would be transferred to their bankaccount in fiat money.
So, in a way, I'm just a little misunderstood, as far as the region of Oldambt goes. At least I've got some response to my writing in my native tongue. But the NLD tag is not really picking up. Same goes for the DEU. Looks like the payout for posts in ones native tongue is not really inspiring enough.
While I reason that no matter what figure it says, it is still virtual and there is no guarantee that it will become really usefull in the long run. But hey, it is about posting, becoming immortal on the Steem chain. Imagine that, how awesome is that? What other platform offers this to you? And even give you, at least ,a chance to get some Steem Power while you are at it. Even while you are not at it, you'll still get some Steem Power!
Two months at SteemIt really had benefits for me. Did not Power Down, even when the Steem price went crazy for a short while, I still believe that it will settle to about the level of 2 Euro, about 2.2 USD. Maybe it will rise again, don't know, on the longer term, it could. But like I wrote before, I'm bad at speculating. Bottom line, after this exciting period at SteemIt, it is fun to post, reply, read and vote, and the rest can be a nice bonus.
The fame will even last you longer then the 12 hour rounds, or 4 week reruns, because it's on the Steem chain. Some will become rich, some will be on the 'trending' page for ages, but there is no guarantee for anybody that one can write for fame and fortune. And one day you have that big hit, and the next day you could be forgotten. But the Steem chain will go on and your Fruit Of Work will be remembered, for ever.
And a small part of the title is true, because even when you sleep, your Steem Power will grown on.