Get the skill before going for the money.
Wait a second... you've missed something.
How about another start:
trading is not for everybody. Trading is risky, trading needs learning, trading needs a certain mental discipline (i.e. balls).
If one thinks he has all this, then he can start learning and playing with tiny amounts (and clearly no leverage).
And
then the other advises of yours start to make sense.
Trading is an strategy, and you may decide to follow that strategy or not.
Some people will fell better just holding assets they believe have stronger fundamentals, and do not care about short term volatility. Traders focus on short term volatility.
Personally, I know more people who were able to make money by holding assets in mid-long term than people who made money by trading or day-trading.
It depends on how much time you have available to focus in your investments, how much you like technical analysis and so on. Not everyone need to follow that path. I don't. I am a holder.