Please help, all advice needed!

[Matthew Jones]

Hello everyone, I'm hoping I can get some good advice here as well as help with understanding the basics and creating a plan.  

To start, I am 28 and completely lost right now.  I am an OTR truck driver who came on the road to cut out all expenses and save up for a career in aviation as a pilot.  

At this point that idea doesn't seem very wise as an investment.  I would be investing $40,000+ dollars into a career with no stability, terrible pay, terrible QOL, etc...  I already make more now than most of my pilot friends.  

The thought of going to college to get a degree so that I can built a resume that I pass around to others in order to beg for a job completely baffles me and does not seem logical.   

The only other thing that has been on my mind is RE investing.  In my previous job I worked around a lot of very successful RE investors and developers.  I remember being almost envious of their lives.  The thought of building my own future and controlling my life like them gives me a rush of excitement and adrenaline...

Here's my problem, I honestly cannot make a connection in my mind of how to go from where I am now to where they are.  I also do not see how investing in a home for a $300/month cash flow turns into financial freedom.  I basically just cannot see the forest through the trees I guess.  

Is there anyone that can explain this to me? How would you approach this in my shoes? I've been reading as much as possible, but since I do not have any type of finance background I end up getting more lost and end up more discouraged.  

I feel like I may be in a unique position to invest because I make at least $1000 every week and my only expenses are food.  What would you do?  Can anyone give me an example of a 5 year, 10 year, and 15 year plan that would be viable for me?  

So far it feels like life has seriously beat me down and I'm tired of this.  I really want to take control and do something with my life.  The thought of investing and maybe one day developing seriously excites me, I just can't figure out how to start and how it ultimately works over the years.  

Thanks so much everyone!

Signed,

Beaten down and lost