How do I get started in real estate and what do I focus on?

[Shai Ben-Yaacov]

I am looking to get started out in real estate investing and am looking for advice on how to start and what to focus on.  I've spent the past 13 years working as a public radio reporter and producer, a career I still mostly love but which doesn't pay a whole lot.  I've been doing my current full time job for six years and am starting to suffer burnout.  My vision for the future for myself and my family is one in which I continue to do journalism part time while at the same time investing in some way in real estate with the ultimate goal of having the real estate be a substantial portion of my income (again, journalism doesn't pay that well) so that I don't have to rely solely on the journalism to feed my family.  I would also like to get away from having a full time job in order to have the flexibility to spend more time with my two sons, one of whom has special needs and benefits from as much time as I can spend with him.  My wife also works full time and loves her job, so I think having me be the one who works a part time/flexible schedule would work for us.  Also, we don't have a ton of money to sink into a property at first, but there's a possibility of partnering with other members of my family who have some real estate experience, and with my brother who is a general contractor.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Is this even possible?