On April 1, 2011, we asked, "What if there were a way for you to become richer than your wildest dreams in just SECONDS, without even having to lift more than a finger!" With that statement, we flipped our entire investing philosophy on its head, and for one day, we championed a buy-to-sell approach. All you needed was our proprietary ZippyTrade2000 day-trading software, capable of shaving entire seconds off your trading time!

Too good to be true? Well, yes. (April Fool!) We at The Motley Fool believe in the power of long-term investing, and that belief has never wavered. It's an approach that requires discipline -- or, in the words of Warren Buffett, "timeline and temperament" -- as the key to successful investing. Products and programs touted as magic-bullet shortcuts to wealth are misleading and often dangerously detrimental to your bottom line.

In short: Be an investor, not a speculator. Watch the following video, and arm yourself with knowledge!