For those with greens oozing out of their nostrils and more to spare, I would say throwing cash to get sharp, crisp images form the easy part of the deal. Getting well-composed, story-laden emotions from those well-balanced image is actually the raw deal of professional photography.
Personally, there are just so many more hectares of photography land I have yet covered and I kinda conclude that flooding my dry cabinet with legendary super pro lens simply will not help me get there anytime soon. Hence, the mediocre collection of glass I own today.
Its a marathon and simply not a 100-m dash affair. So, I would rather start smooth and slow, working up a strong momentum and competency in the next few years, and many more to perfect the ability to express myself, ultimately through a static image.