I totally agree with the post of @daniarnold, the comment of @psionic-tremors and most other comments.
Becoming a whale seems to be impossible if one was not part of #steemit from the early days. But is it a big deal? I don't think so.
More important is what you also described as 'difficult' - find people who are interested in what you have to say and really like to read it - even better they show that by commenting and upvoting.
And yes - I buy upvotes. One reason is a very simple one: upvoted posts seem to be more 'sexy'. More people read it and upvote it again which results in new followers who are interested in what one has to tell.
It's like commercials (which I actually hate): if many like it, it must be good.
And yes - this might be against the mindset of many here but perhaps we need to accept that most people are structured this simple.
You can have the highest value in your words - you need (sometimes idiotic) methods to spread these words if you want to get heard.

Thanks to @psionic-tremors for resteeming this post - otherwise I would not have seen it. From now on I will not miss anything anymore by following @daniarnold :)

Steem on!