I had a very long period of unemployment followed by a series of meaningless jobs that paid me far less than I was worth, didn't value my intelligence, and made me feel awful. As someone who, in the last two years, has increased many times over, found a career in a challenging field, and generally has 'righted the ship,' I just thought I'd offer a little advice.
First, set some small goals for yourself. When I was at the beginning of my journey, I set extravagant goals. I wanted to make millions of dollars tomorrow. I had business ideas that were going to get me there. Truthfully, these weren't bad ideas, but I was in no place to execute on them. So, I'd recommend you set small goals for yourself. At first, mine were easy -- "get a job," "get a better job" -- but they've progressive gotten more complicated as I've become more competent.
Second, don't look down on 9-to-5s. Many people think they can jump from A to F and, while some can, most (including me) can't. Even a crappy job provides you with some income. You can start saving. Most importantly, once you have a job that covers your living expenses, you can stop worrying. The biggest problem about starting from the bottom is that you spend so much time worrying about mundane things -- what if my car breaks down? How am I going to afford dinner tonight? Etc. When those questions occupy your mind, you have no room to think about the bigger questions that are necessary for being an entrepreneur.
Another huge benefit of a good 9-to-5 (a job in a field you're at least mildly interested in) is that it provides you with rewards. You get bonuses. You get performance reviews. You get promotions. These things sound small, but consistent positive feedback in your life will help offset the inevitable mistakes you're going to make in real estate. A 9-to-5 also gives you practice in failing and you have to fail a lot to be successful.
The last thing I'd say is to reiterate an earlier point. Do not be Jay Gatsby constantly looking across the bay at the green light. If you haven't read the Great Gatsby, what I mean is simply do not look too far into the future / at an unobtainable future. While it is tempting to have grand visions of the future where you'll have so much money that you can shower your friends and family in money and gifts, that vision isn't productive. For me, these delusions of grandeur draw my focus away from what I have to accomplish today. They trigger the pleasure / reward center of your brain even though you've done nothing to earn those rewards and they can create a vicious cycle where you're constantly thinking of the future and comparing it to what you have now. The gap between the future that may never arrive and where you are today can be incredibly debilitating. When you do plan for the future, plan in concrete terms. Pick reasonable goals.
