Great points! I guess we are in a similar category age-wise, and I also started blogging a while, although a few years later than you. I didn't make any money until I moved to Medium in 2019. In fact, I lost money since hosting your own Wordpress blog can get costly. I also started off blogging about fitness, however just expanded the range of topics I wrote about, since I am interested in so many things. What kept me writing all these years is intrinsic motivation, the fact that writing also allowed me to learn about many things. You might read a lot of books, but actually forcing yourself to sit down and write about these things is what solidifies the concepts in your head. I hate marketing my stuff, but I also want people to read my writing, so that's why I moved over to Medium.

And totally agree with your point 11. :) It's like that joke about the guy who read an ad in the newspaper on how to be rich. Send me an envelope with 20 dollars and I will reveal the secret on how to get rich. So they guy sends the envelope with the money and weeks later gets the secret of how to get rich quick. The secret? Publish an ad in your local newspaper promising people to reveal the secret to getting rich.