Buy all the reading material that you can find on real estate and finance,..... maybe, and this is a BIG maybe, find a mentor who can coach you a little over the phone for the first year or so. NOT a guru, but a fellow senior investor in your area that is actually making money doing what you want to do,....... if they are truly successful and you don't become a pain in the butt to them, they'll probably help you for little to nothing, I would because I feel the need to give back a little to the business that has given me most everything I have. I believe others that are like me may feel the same way.
To me, Rich Dad Poor Dad is mostly fluff, but in all fairness I thought like he did before I read the book. I read everything I could find from anyone I could find for the first 10 years and I still spend a LOT of time continuing my education on the internet or the occasional book on tape.
In my personal opinion, If after you've scoured ebay and the internet for information on whatever path you want to take with you real estate investing, you still think you need to spend THOUSANDS of dollars on Guru's training programs, then I believe this business isn't for you and your procrastinating.
Start small and simple and slowly grow out of your comfort zone, This would be my advice for a new investor. I don't get around other investors all that much, but I can't think of ONE person that went on to be successful in this business after giving some "expert" 40 plus thousand dollars to "mentor" them. If you need someone to hold your hand all the time, you may not be cut out to be self employed.
You've gotta be highly self motivated, and independent thinking is not a bad thing in this business. As long as you have some fundamentals. (There can be many different ways to achieve the same end goal.) Courses, books, internet, experience, can give you all the motivation that you need without making someone else rich.
Read through bigger pockets for a while, as you figure out who the real movers and shakers and money makers are on this website, and in real life...... read their posts carefully. You may find the one thing all of them have in common........CONFIDENCE in their abilities.
I'm pretty sure none of them started out that way????? But hey, what the hell do I know??
Sean K