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Between bashing Ted Cruz for lying and trashing the Republican Party for treating him unfairly, Donald J. Trump took some time to tone it down while in Wisconsin on Wednesday.

Amid one of the most raucous stretches of his presidential bid, Mr. Trump ditched his usual stump speech for nearly 15 minutes and became unusually reflective, regaling an audience at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis., with tips on success, the value of money and an admission that the rigors of being a candidate can sometimes take a toll.

“The people that are the happiest are not necessarily the people that are the wealthiest,” Mr. Trump said, explaining that he knows plenty of miserable millionaires.

Mr. Trump said that having a good family and finding fulfilling work is more important than getting rich, and that people should do what they love, even if the big profits are not there.

“I’m pretty happy,” Mr. Trump said. “At least, I’m pretty content, I tell you.”

The keys to success, according to Mr. Trump, are never quitting, taking few vacations and not losing momentum — a crucial ingredient that he said could lead to failure if lost.

“It’s even like me on the campaign trail,” said Mr. Trump, who added he has never worked harder than during the last eight months. “I took off for three or four days and, you know, that first day or two back you got to get going.”

But success is also relative, Mr. Trump explained, and one of the keys to happiness is not spending too much time with people who have more of it.

“When you become successful, the people you will like best are the people who are less successful than you,” he said. “Always be around less successful people because everybody will respect you.”

And sometimes even too much success has its downsides.

Before moving on to calling Hillary Clinton a disaster and defending his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski (who was charged with simple battery on Wednesday), Mr. Trump recalled the early days of the campaign, when he was an insurgent candidate in a crowded field. Thinking back to former rivals such as Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, he sounded a note of nostalgia.

“I miss them,” Mr. Trump said. “I’m, like, lonely.”