Deliberate planning is great but serendipity is important too. Some of the richest people I know made most of their wealth as a consequence of being in a position to act* when opportunities presented themselves.

My guess is that it's important not to be overly focused on the intermediate goals and the more debt you have the less able you feel to take risks.

*it may be more appropriate to say start than act as in the two cases that immediately come to mind they were both 10+ year journeys.