It is really just luck. For every OP with 6 figures in profit for their icon pack, there are a thousand more who dream of making $17 and will never see it. The reality of the world is that there are far more hardworking and talented people than there are successful people, and blindly toiling holding out hope of getting lucky might not be the best use of ones efforts. Imagine if OP never got the plug from the influencer. Would it be worth it to take time away from, say, working a full time job to make a grand total of $17 for all your efforts? Absolutely not, that is realizing a loss. Instead, people should be strategic about their efforts, and direct them toward whatever opportunities are available in your life that offer a return for little risk. Not busting ass and hoping luck will one day come in to pay you for all the labor you put in.