But at the same time, I think of the old adage "Fortune favors the bold" and believe that in order to achieve wealth/goals you need to take some risk. 

It will be beneficial to achieving your goals.

Does anyone have first hand experience of this? 

Seems like your biggest issue is rent - what is market rent and what prevents you from achieving that rent?

I love that you are just beginning your RE journey and you are in the right forum to help you achieve your goals. 

The right job for you depends on what you like, what you're good at, and what you want to achieve.

A good trick to achieve this is the return on equity calculation.

Doing your homework, checking everything carefully, and planning well can help you avoid big mistakes.The best place to put your money depends on things like how the market is doing, what's happening in the economy, what you want to achieve, how much risk you can handle, and what you like.

Sorry to hear mate but I feel it firsthand lol. 

But you can effectively achieve the same goal by finding off market properties and charging a commission fee for bringing a buyer.