They say it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert in any given field..musician, plumber, real estate investor etc....if the shoe fits wear it...

Initially I see this as enabling successful investments through increased knowledge, market awareness, and professional network connectivity while eventually providing an additional source of income to put into additional investments.

In addition to my paycheck, I get rent checks every month, that I can use to pay down the mortgage, which enables me to sleep at night knowing I'm not leveraged too much. 

The bank almost always loses money on a foreclosure.The other interesting side effect is you are also helping the bank by enabling them to avoid a foreclosure and saving them a potential loss due to fees, etc..

And thousands of musicians who will never make it out of their garages.

Have the deal under contract, get comps, contractor bids for rehab, and any of your personal financial information that may be required ready for your lender to enable them to make a fast decision. 

It's very respectable, and often moves at a reasonable pace, because the money comes from outside of the real estate market.If, on the other hand, you are planning to work in REI full-time, then you can choose daily practices and occupations that will enable you to learn and be put in front of great deals. 

That paycheck will enable you to have funds to invest in purchasing real estate. 

My income now will enable me to begin the process of real estate investing.

Your scenario only works if the NMD investor creates enough equity through the purchase to enable borrowing off the newly created equity.