Every person invests differently based on goals, timing considerations, risk tolerance, willingness to delegate, and knowledge. There is no "best" approach to investing that guarantees success.

A haphazard approach to investing may work when the whole market is on the way up. Consistent success comes more often from a strategic, deliberate approach. Your strategy may be different from anyone else's, but you should develop a set of rules to guide your investment decisions. You should have a very good reason to break your rule. More important, you should test your rules over time and be willing to change them when your circumstances (or the whole world's) change.

If you want to learn about strategies that others have used and see if they apply to your own situation, check out the Motley Fool at http://www.fool.com or browse the investment section in a bookstore.