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.  

Long and short is that as a retaliation he says he's going to call the health board about mold in his bathroom.

Decide which level of risk you're willing to take (based on your cash position, your personality, your confidence in your analytic skills, and your life goals), then compare properties until you find one with a risk-adjusted return that's HIGHER than your alternative investment options.  

I thought starting out with wholesaling would be a great way to do this (listened to several Wholesaling Inc Podcasts on this) and get comfortable with real life deal analysis/presentation, but then heard from a long time investor that it is unlikely with my time constraints that I would be able to put the time necessary into marketing and searching for good deals.

A lot depends on the health and housing dynamic of the town. 

., in the meantime, if you DO have a cashed-up Investor who trusts you enough to buy whatever deal you present to them, hang onto them for dear life!

Health club.

A life proof case for the iPhone? 

I had a good vibe from them too, and it was an absolutely miserable year of my life dealing with them.

A typical life cycle might be 5- 7 years from start to finish.