One other thing you might consider is to open up an office that is convenient for you and has few distractions.  

It ought to be convenient for you and have few distractions.  

I feel that focusing on being a realtor would give me background and I could do a couple sales to get a feel for it; but since realtor experience isn't as useful and applicable to investing I think it would be a distraction compared to doing anything real estate investing related (knowledge, networking, practice). 

(this will help keep you from getting distracted or overwhelmed).  2nd tip...Read the guide as suggested above and let me know if you have any other questions.3rd tip...Have fun.

How will your chain of command react to you when you are distracted by the inevitable problems that arise as a landlord?  

Going step by step will help keep you from getting distracted or overwhelmed and get you moving in the right direction as opposed to just be in the reading/listening stage forever.2) Attend look meetups in your area (search on meetup.com) and start connecting with investors.

It's very easy to get distracted by "shiny objects" and never pull the trigger on anything.I'd suggest buying a home in an "okay" area for around $20k and rehabbing it to make rent ready.  

You probably ought to set up an office with minimal distractions.  

And I'm glad I stopped to read it after all even though it totally distracted me.  

Another thing you should do, depending on your personal wealth, is to form some type of corporation and a LLC to not only to protect you personally but for business reasons to keep it separate from your personal expenses.Another thing you must consider is an office location that is not distractive.