Becoming a millionaire by investing is less about hitting the jackpot and more about playing the long game with patience, persistence, and a few wealth-building safeguards.

First off, you have to be patient. The market will zig and zag and maybe even zog, but you must stay cool and not panic during downturns. It may be tempting to sell when things look dark, but that may be the worst possible time to take action -- you're just converting temporary paper losses to real cash destruction.

A long-term horizon lets you harness the magic of compounding returns, where your investment winnings start generating their own gains. The longer you stay invested, the bigger the difference you'll see from this snowballing effect.

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Source Fool.com