I guess I coulda got lucky and "simply" picked juuuuust the right stocks and realized a little more - or a little less -equity gains, but none of those stocks would have yielded anywhere near the thousands and thousands (and thousands) in rents I've collected over the years.
Most stocks grow their dividends over time. Microsoft for instance has a 10 year annual compounded rate of growth in its dividend of slightly over 10%. That’s doubling the (tax advantaged) divided in about 7 years but its possible to do even better with other choices. So stocks can produce both capital appreciation and regular dividend payouts. Of course there’s always the potential for loss as well. Admittedly, there are more variables that can affect a company’s fortune than there are in the world of real estate.
A lot of people don’t want to put any work into investing in real estate, but similarly a lot of people don’t want to put any work into evaluating, selecting and monitoring stocks. Both take time and effort, and a lot of patience, to have any chance of real success.