Bill miller, the former mutual fund manager of legg mason beat the s&p 500 for 15 strait years and then lost to it several years before leaving... So if he can do it, then it means it is possible. I like the fact that volatility in stocks makes it possible to invest savy by buying low. I just look for times when the S&P 500 is down compared with it's recent past. I feel that this is happening now as it is currently at the same point it was 1 year ago. This can be seen by looking at the S&P550 stock index stock chart. Besides, tthe stock market has been in a long term bear market going back to 2000-2001. So......we are due for a long term bull market. They come in cycles!