Contentment

1. “Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion. Our life is like a German Confederacy, made up of petty states, with its boundary forever fluctuating, so that even a German cannot tell you how it is bounded at any moment. The nation itself, with all its so-called internal improvements, which, by the way are all external and superficial, is just such an unwieldy and overgrown establishment, cluttered with furniture and tripped up by its own traps, ruined by luxury and heedless expense, by want of calculation and a worthy aim, as the million households in the land; and the only cure for it, as for them, is in a rigid economy, a stern and more than Spartan simplicity of life and elevation of purpose.” — Henry David Thoreau (1817-62), American author, poet and philosopher⁴
2. “Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous.” — Sir Thomas Browne (1605-82), English writer
3. “Millionaires seldom smile.” — Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), American industrialist and philanthropist
4. “I was happier when I was doing a mechanic’s job.” — Henry Ford (1863-1947), American industrialist
5. “Charity gives itself rich; covetousness hoards itself poor.” — German Proverb
6. “The principal hindrance to the advancement of the kingdom of God is greed. It is the chief obstacle to heaven-sent revival. It seems that when the back of greed is broken, the human spirit soars into regions of unselfishness. I believe that it is safe to say there can be no continuous revival without ‘hilarious’ giving. And I fear no contradiction: wherever there is ‘hilarious’ giving there will soon be revival!” — O.S. Hawkins, U.S. Baptist pastor
7. “Take it from me. I went down the road of ‘be all you can be, realize your dreams,’ and I’m telling you that fame and fortune are not what they’re cracked up to be. We live in a society that seems to value only physical things, only ephemeral things. People will do anything to get on these reality shows and talent contests on TV. We’re obsessed.” — Madonna (1958-), American pop music icon
8. “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” — John D. Rockefeller, Sr. (1839-1937), American industrialist and philanthropist