A few years ago I wrote a book, "Eight Steps To Seven Figures." The book focused on successful investors who had accumulated seven-figure investment portfolios.

What I believe is an important lesson to take away from these successful investors is the following - well over three-quarters of the millionaires I interviewed for the book invested at least once a quarter; more than half invested monthly.

Please note that these investors put money into the market regardless of the market being in a "bull" or "bear" market phase. In fact, to many of these investors, "bull" and "bear" markets represented the same thing - a market for regular investments.

Admittedly, investing money in the market on a regular basis is difficult when stocks are declining. But think about it for a moment. Isn't the best time to invest in the market when stocks are falling, not rising? Isn't that the time you get to buy stocks at better prices?

History shows that stocks rise, on average, two out of every three years. Now we are into the third year of a pretty lousy market. The percentages say that this tough period for the market is about to run its course. Sure, there isn't anything that says we can't have another three years of a lousy market. But smart investors bet on the percentages, and the percentages say that better market periods are ahead.

Thus, investors who continue to put money into the market, especially during the current downturn, will likely be glad they did as stocks rebound.

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