I've only been on steemit a month and I'm glad your were one of the first people I decided to follow.  I live in the USA and have witnessed the vitriol toward the US by nations and people less fortunate.  What they don't realize is that it is not because of luck, but because of our freedom to pursue what we want.  Prosperity and freedom work hand in hand.  Your success is because you keep exercising your freedom here and because you improve the lives of others with your content.  That said, when you set the standards to which others aspire to reach you need to learn to live with arrows in your back.  I would like to take credit for that, but it was actually a fortune cookie I got once.