Hearing testimonies from different sources, I can only conclude that "You don’t need to be rich to invest, but you need to invest to be rich." Riches aside, investment can increase your financial freedom, but the problem with most people is procrastination, they want this BIG capital to invest, but it is not like that.
Investment is all about mindset and proper planning/management. I agree with you that you don't need to be rich before you invest but I disagree with your second statement that you need to invest to be rich. You can actually be rich without investment but you can not sustain that richness without investment. It is entirely two different things, to be rich is one and to sustain the rich is another.
In as much as investment gives financial freedom if eventually successful, circumstances most a times make it impossible for some to invest no matter how small. To some, it's due to poor planning but to majority, it's due to their financial handicap.