Instead we live in a society where most are  seeking instant gratification and are lured by short cuts to success which breeds coaching and mentorship designed to take advantage of these desires....how to scale or invest in real estate with no money,  how to buy your first 50+ unit building etc.

The short answer is No, you don't need it.  

Hey all,I have been listening to Bigger Pockets content for maybe 4 years and finally have removed myself from some side hustles, have the capital, and grew the...brains to start real estate investing.QUICK BIO:I am based in New Jersey, I work as a marketing/efficiency consultant, and have 2 avenues of real estate investing:Short-Term Rentals: I have 3 short-term rentals using my parents apts in NJ ( 1 of them just launched in Nov) for the past 2yrs near NYC (1 of them just launched in mid-Nov).

I am looking to grow the portfolio to short term rents in Daytona Beach, Florida.  

I'm looking to build a Casita/poolhouse for use as a short term rental in Summerlin.

If it's on the higher side you may want to consider it for mid-term or long term rental, but if most stays are below 30 it can be viable for short-term! 

If I did short/mid term rental I could do about $3.5K/ month for 10/12 months.

Ditto, I use PriceLabs for my STRs - here is a nice writeup ...Airbnb Smart Pricing Vs PriceLabs: An In-Depth Comparison For Hosts | Boost Your Short-Term Rentals

I’m also based here and have experience with short-term rentals, property management, and work with investors like yourself.

Quote from @Andrea Wellman: Would like to invest in short term rentals to start and learn from this forum and experts.