ChinaMobile (NYSE: CHL)

$215,400

N/A

20.1%

3%

Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW)

$14,240

5.6

7%

10.9%

Source: Yahoo! Finance. As of Jan. 2.

As you can see, this list has a bunch of different sorts of stocks. Some have healthy growth prospects, while others just seem to have their businesses treading water. Some pay their shareholders a strong stream of cash income, while others are plowing every penny they earn back into their operations to keep their growth up. And these companies span the globe and include every stage of development, from up-and-coming hopefuls to the bluest of the blue-chip names.

What to buy
Luckily, there's no one right way to invest. What you'll probably find, though, is that certain types of stocks will naturally resonate with you. For instance:

Even if you gravitate toward one particular type of stock, you'll still want to know enough about all of them to put together a strong, diversified portfolio. That's where the right help becomes invaluable.

In their new book, The Motley Fool Million Dollar Portfolio, Motley Fool co-founders David and Tom Gardner talk about the methods they use to find great stocks of all kinds -- and how they put them together into a portfolio that will make you a millionaire in time. To learn more about their recommendations, find out how you can get on the path to your first million today.

For more on getting to your first million: