Hi, my name is Bankshot and I'm an altaholic.
I love making alts. When I bought the game, I played my first toon for about an hour, then made three more. Those first three toons, btw... the first is level 38 (and has been for a year), level 25 (and has been for a year), level 14 (and has been for a year) and Deleted (having been reincarnated at least 3 times).
I bought CoV in December of 2005, CoH in February of 2006. In May of 2006, I had three servers full of alts, a few on every other server but two, and my first level 50 (no PLing involved).
Although I constantly delete and make toons, I did choose to focus on the one toon very heavily for three months. I continually made alts the whole time, but usually didn't play them past level 5, until that toon hit 50.
My suggestion, if you really want to hit 50 (and I encourage you to get a 50 just so you can realize how little it matters--I didn't realize this till I had one), don't PLAY the alts. Make them all you want. Play for an hour or so, then go back to your main.
Making alts is fun. Costumes! Possibilities! Costumes! Stories! Costumes! And did I mention making new Costumes?! But realize that your alts will keep for eternity. YOu can always go back to them after you accomplish other goals. If you go a year without getting back to an alt, you probably just wanted the costume and idea. Make that costume on another toon you like better. Just relax and enjoy yourself.
/signed : Getting a 50 isn't a big deal, but you have to get it yourself before you can really understand that.
/signed : Don't be afraid to delete characters!
/signed : Don't feel like you have to give up altaholism.
Finally, enjoy the game you pay 15 bucks a month for in the way that you want to enjoy it. If you need that 50, follow Nadya's advice and just focus. If you like your servers full of alts, then fill em up!