Additionally, compound interest is why it's so important to not carry debt.
That mortgage your financial advisor wants you to keep? Get rid of it. Over pay principle as much as permitted.
Consumers refer to such things as 'debts' or 'payments', but financial institutions call these 'liabilities'. Financial institutions use the correct word, and don't like to hold them for good reason.
Weird that I was given the completely opposite advise by my bank about never paying off completely any debt straight away, to build up my credit rating ....
Yes, I think this is more important than your "earning potential". Even someone who starts out in the job market early in the 20s with a low salary has the potential to make it big, because you've got time on your side.
That's why it's also so important to start saving early and invest it regularly.