By Barbara Eisner Bayer (TMF Venus)

HILLSBORO BEACH, FL (Dec. 7, 1999) -- A sense of foreboding greets me whenever I walk into an ice cream store offering 31 different flavors. I scan the containers in search of the perfect confection until the answer to my taste buds' dreams captures my eye by seductively insinuating, "Barbara, Barbara, I am the best choice for your palate." Unfortunately, no matter which flavor I choose, I ultimately prefer the one my companion ordered.

I can't blame anyone else for my choices. All the tools necessary to make an educated selection are there. I judge the flavors on (1) appearance; (2) clarity of the components (how complicated is understanding vanilla chocolate chip?); and (3) a sample taste. Based on my analysis, I make my decision and live with the consequences. My choice is my responsibility.

Selecting investment vehicles works in a similar way (although its unlikely you'd enjoy a sample taste of Boeing or Exxon.) The ample research available on portfolio building, stock analysis, and backtested mechanical data is a buffet of radiant choices. After you decide which selections will most appropriately fill your plate, the next step is turning them into reality. Then the hardest part begins -- accepting total responsibility for those choices and standing by them for the long-term, even in the case of doubt and negativity.

Once you've taken control of your financial future by committing your money to various investing strategies, second-guessing your selections before they have a chance to play out is self-defeating. According to Winston Churchill, "There is no halting-place at this point. We have now reached a stage in the journey where there can be no pause." Sir Winston wasn't talking about investing, but his inspirational words are applicable when instability creates havoc on our decisions.

Once you've committed your money, stay the course. Accepting the responsibility of making a long-term investing commitment, whether your portfolio is going through good times or bad ones, will ultimately lead to investing greatness. Because, as Sir Winston also said, "Responsibility is the price of greatness."

Your responsibility is to build a portfolio that works for your risk tolerance. You need to be able to sleep well at night. Volatile stocks are not comfortable for many investors, and therefore may not be appropriate for you. If a bottle of Maloxx becomes a staple next to your computer when you check your portfolio, your level of risk might be too high.

In addition to responsibility, investors need a modicum of flexibility. In the real world, not everything works out as planned. Company fundamentals change, and it would be foolish to blindly hold on to a company experiencing turmoil solely for the sake of a long-term commitment. That's why a portfolio needs to be constructed and analyzed as a separate entity, the sum of many parts. If one part isn't working out as originally planned, it's important to re-evaluate and make new choices.

Changes, however, need to be considered in light of the overall balance -- a compelling reason to stay diversified. With proper diversification, one underperforming stock or strategy is only a small event in the entire scheme of things. Which is a compelling reason to NOT put all your eggs in one basket.

On the other hand, switching strategies or stocks in the short term when they don't work out like you expected (as opposed to the way they are supposed to work) is a recipe for disaster. You keep selling when you're down and never give the strategies time to work. There's a fine line between selling because of fundamental changes and selling because a stock or strategy is underperforming due to market sentiment. Every decision must be carefully evaluated in light of the situation's facts under the umbrella of a long-term view.

Those who chose the Foolish Four's mechanical approach should do so understanding that it is a long-term strategy that will not necessarily produce winning stocks within months. It cannot be evaluated based on short-term returns because it is not a short-term strategy. It is based on patience. Waiting for a stock to turnaround is tough duty, especially when the market seems to be on a perpetually up escalator. But the history of this strategy clearly shows that many stocks take two to three years to turn around, and, in the long run, that doesn't matter.

There's an investing style that suits every investor. The trick is to find the one that's right for you. Making decisions about stocks is far more complicated than selecting ice cream. However, if you spend the time and energy to choose the portfolio that works for you, investing greatness can be as delicious as your favorite flavor. Just ask Sir Winston.