It took me a while to understand the Steemit ecosystem and how to leverage my own investment. I DO upvote my own content and comments when I feel they are worthy of a ROI. I DO NOT however UV only myself... I consistently UV others as well. If I UV another's comment and then comment, I might assign myself the same value UV. What this does is help to build my own SP which in turn increases my VP to others to help them grow. I've read all the arguments about "raping" the rewards pool and I consider it to be nonsense - as long as you continue to use those rewards to UV others with even greater VP going forward. It's a two way street which in the end equates to a Pay-it-Forward system of growth. And until dolphins and whales begin UV'ing some of my hard work and content, I'll just have to take care of myself. It is afterall my money that is invested here.