"Goodness is the only investment that never fails"     -Henry David Thoreau 

What I understand from the quote is that the roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation of goodness. Live in such a way that if people should see you they could see the goodness in you. Good people are like candles; they burn themselves up to give others light. Confidence in the goodness of another is proofing someone's own goodness. Good people bring out the good in other people. The good people sleep much better at night than the bad people. Of course, the bad people enjoy the waking hours much more. You don't become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you.