--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Goodness is the only investment that…" description: "\"Goodness is the only investment that never fails.\" — Henry David Thoreau" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/henry-david-thoreau-20_failure_goodness-is-the-only-investment-that-nev_1776456.jpg" --- # Goodness is the only investment that never fails. ![“Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/henry-david-thoreau-20_failure_goodness-is-the-only-investment-that-nev_1776456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/henry-david-thoreau-20_failure_goodness-is-the-only-investment-that-nev_1776456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35a/henry-david-thoreau-20_failure_goodness-is-the-only-investment-that-nev_1776456.jpg) > “Goodness is the only investment that never fails.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True moral character yields lasting returns, unlike material investments that can lose value. **In simple terms:** Goodness always pays off. Key Takeaway Cultivate integrity. Themes ethics long‑term value character Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - business decisions - leadership - community building Key Concepts moral philosophy human flourishing Questions to Reflect On - How can you measure the return on kindness? - What sacrifices might be needed to stay good? A Different Perspective Goodness may be costly in the short term. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fails/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [Goodness Investment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness-investment-1825268/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Investment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investment/) [Investment Fails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investment-fails-1825269/) ## Related quotes > [“Our whole life is startlingly moral. There is never an instant's truce between virtue and vice. Goodness is the only investment that never fails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-whole-life-is-startlingly-moral-there-is-never-an-instant-s-truce-2/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Kindness to children, love for children, goodness to children-- these are the only investments that never fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/kindness-to-children-love-for-children-goodness-to-children-these-are/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I think buying a home is the best investment that any individual can make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-paulson/i-think-buying-a-home-is-the-best-investment-that-any-individual-can/) [John Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-paulson/) > [There's a whole generation of women who never really heard the word investment before, when it came to fashion. They've been buying things because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kors/there-s-a-whole-generation-of-women-who-never-really-heard-the-word/) [Michael Kors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kors/) > [I hate weekends because there is no stock market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-rivkin/i-hate-weekends-because-there-is-no-stock-market/) [Rene Rivkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-rivkin/) > [Successful investment is a battle for financial survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-m-loeb/successful-investment-is-a-battle-for-financial-survival/) [Gerald M. 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Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [There is potential for more Chinese investment in India's infrastructure, and there are already Chinese investors in India's power and telecoms sector as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-bhattacharya/there-is-potential-for-more-chinese-investment-in-india-s/) [Arundhati Bhattacharya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-bhattacharya/) > [India should emerge as a destination that attracts people to invest here, which, in turn, will give a boost to investment, industrial growth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-thakur/india-should-emerge-as-a-destination-that-attracts-people-to-invest/) [Anurag Thakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-thakur/) > [If the Government put people before markets, it would build more council housing - a form of public investment in housing that pays for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-foster/if-the-government-put-people-before-markets-it-would-build-more/) [Dawn Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-foster/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Fails quotes > [“Love only fails when we fail to love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-edwards/love-only-fails-when-we-fail-to-love/) [Tyler Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-edwards/) > [When all else fails, men turn to reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/when-all-else-fails-men-turn-to-reason/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [Everything seems stupid when it fails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/everything-seems-stupid-when-it-fails/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [“Once the hand that feeds you fails, you are free to bite away!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/once-the-hand-that-feeds-you-fails-you-are-free-to-bite-away/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I can accept failure everyone fails at something but what I can't accept is not trying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jordan/i-can-accept-failure-everyone-fails-at-something-but-what-i-can-t/) [Michael Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jordan/) > [“FAILURE FAILS THE FAILURE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ssevenx/failure-fails-the-failure/) [Ssevenx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ssevenx/) > [If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/if-our-american-way-of-life-fails-the-child-it-fails-us-all/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [A father is a man who fails every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/a-father-is-a-man-who-fails-every-day/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Try never fails ,fails when you stop try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/try-never-fails-fails-when-you-stop-try/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [When all else fails, tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-t-regan/when-all-else-fails-tell-the-truth/) [Donald T. Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-t-regan/) > [I looked long and carefully at the picture of a stag painted by Landseer - the style was good, and the brush was handled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/i-looked-long-and-carefully-at-the-picture-of-a-stag-painted-by/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [We're very good at telling what happens and showing people while it happens... 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