Hi @gordonian. The best way of earning Steem & Steem power is to write posts which other members of the community can upvote.

If a post is popular, it's common to see posts valued in excess of $1000 dollars.

A lot has to do with the quality of the content and it's originality, along with the right people seeing it at the right time.

I'd recommend taking some time to consider what kinds of things that you might know that others don't and sharing your knowledge.

I hope this helps!