21 year old with 40k...Help with breaking into the RE World

[Gregory P.]

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT:
-I have the opportunity to take a 40k loan @ a 0.75% rate (payments would start in 2014). Should I take it and pursue my real estate dreams?

-If not, how should I get started?

-If so, where do I start?

-If real estate is so profitable and lucrative like the "How-To" books say, why doesn't everyone do it??

-Is it too wishful to want to get rich from Real Estate?

-I don't think that I want to get into Buying to Rent (landlording seems like too much work/worry). Is this idea bad?
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Like others, I've been reading around this site and many other sources on all things real estate. I find myself often overwhelmed and confused after reading from so many different sources with different strats and ideas, but I continue to do so because Real Estate has always been a love of mine. If my end goal is to make Real Estate my #1 job and to grow an empire, where do I start? It feels like all the advice is geared towards people already in Real Estate...Also, I just finished reading Sean Terry's book on wholeselling. I am skeptical but interested in what he had to say so I was wondering if he is just a person trying to sell his get-rich-quick program or do concepts like that actually work in practice?

I just have SO many questions but I figured that I would start with those above. Any help would be greatly appreciate!