"I believe in the impossible."
The great innovations of our lives don't come from incremental improvement. They come from creative defiance. They come from people with limitless imaginations who, in the words of Robert Kennedy, "dream things that never were and say, why not?" These are the passionate, the motivated, the "insane." They are the Rule Breakers.
As investors, we're always looking for the next Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), so much so that it's actually become a cliché. According to our friends at Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), there are more than 12,500 Web pages that have the exact phrase "the next Microsoft" written on them.
It's such a compliment to our friends in Redmond and it speaks to our insatiable desire as investors and human beings to be a part of something special, crazy, and earthshaking that not only lifts our spirits as people, but in the case of our investing endeavors rewards us with unimaginable wealth.
So how does one uncover these portfolio-pumping behemoths? What's the secret? The formula is pretty simple actually -- find the world-beaters who are dominating their exciting industries by introducing killer new products or services, by racing towards ubiquity, or both. These are the monsters, these are the over-the-top performers in our portfolios that make us stand up as consumers and investors and say, "Holy [BLEEP]!"
Let's take those one at a time:
World-beaters - These are the absolute best-of-breed businesses that are growing rapidly and continue to innovate, leaving a trail of dust in their wake for every wannabe to choke on.
Killer new products/services - This one is pretty self-explanatory and you can usually get a bead on these products by talking with the early adopters in your neighborhood who always seem to have the newest toys and be on top of the latest trends.
Exciting industries - Any industry where new technologies are being born and new discoveries are being made qualify as Rule Breaking industries. Two of our favorites are nanotechnology and biotechnology, but there are many more.
Ubiquitous - Everywhere. 'Nuff said.
So, who are we talking about in today's landscape? It's easy to look back at the past and cherry pick the huge success stories, but what are some examples from today's climate of visionary businesses?
Think Google, where the name of the company has actually become a verb meant to describe the act of using its product. Go ahead, Google it. Think Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), up 35 times in value since debuting on the public market in 1992 and still blazing a vanilla hazelnut trail.
Think of an up-and-coming private company called LinkedIn, whose CEO and founder Reid Hoffman recognizes that reputation and trust are everything in this world. LinkedIn is growing by about 100%... a month. Oh, did I mention that Reid was executive VP of another trail-blazing company called PayPal? (Did you think we only pay attention to public companies here in Rule Breakers land? One day LinkedIn may come public, ready to crush companies like Monster.com and Match.com, and we'll be waiting for them.)
Who else fits the bill? In his Special Report entitled "6 Picks for Ultimate Growth" (available with a free trial or subscription) David Gardner reveals his current favorite Rule Breakers and shares why he believes these companies have Rule Breaking blood in their veins. One of the following companies is on David's short list, can you guess which it is?
Is Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), with its incredibly cool Blackberry handheld and rapid sales growth, one of the ultimate growers in our sights?
Or maybe it's Tivo (NASDAQ:TIVO), another company achieving verb status, with its "Oh My God" digital video recorders (DVR) and its goal of creating the ultimate home multimedia experience.
What about XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:XMSR), the company that's breaking down the barriers of local frequency and allowing you to listen to what you want, when you want, wherever you may be. Can XM Satellite Video for our cars be far behind?
And, let's not forget that Rule Breakers don't have to be young companies. Fred Smith and Federal Express (NYSE:FDX) have been thumbing their noses and breaking all the rules ever since 1973 when Smith's professor at Yale gave him a "gentleman's C" on his hub-based distribution model theory. Is FedEx and its California Solar System still among the Rule Breaking elite? Which of these four compelling companies do we think will continue to dominate the world? It's all in our Special Report.
I hope by now you have a sense of the kind of company we're talking about. For the 10 years that David Gardner managed the very public Fool Portfolio, he averaged annualized returns of greater than 20%, and that includes the brutal market beatdown from 2000-2002. Plain and simple, Rule Breakers deliver and David Gardner is a master at discovering them.
Do you have enough Rule Breaking investments in your portfolio? Do you have any? If you believe that 90% of winning is simply showing up, and if you believe as David does that the largest risk most people take is not taking enough risk, then you'll feel right at home with David and the rest of the Rule Breakers team. Please join them today by taking a 30-day free trial to the Rule Breakers service -- it's going to be an incredibly profitable ride.
David Forrest doesn't own any of the companies mentioned in this article. The Fool has a disclosure policy .
