Motivation, ambition, and inspiring achievement

¶ … Motivation, Inspiration, and Realizing Ambition

'I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad -- as I am now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth

It may be strange to say that this quote from the Victorian romantic novel Jane Eyre is inspirational and motivational for a person living today. However, at this point of the book, the protagonist Jane is forced to chose between leading a comfortable life as the hero's mistress and lonely life of poverty and independence. Jane Eyre has a choice between being dependant upon a man who she loves and being true to her own precepts, her religious values, and her need to be financially independent. She chooses her moral principles and religious beliefs over her romantic desires of the moment. In the end, she wins both her independence and marriage to the man she loves.

It is easy to feel good about life and yourself when everyone seems to love you, and everything seems to be going your way. The world loves a winner. It also often seems to love a person who is flexible, and sacrifices his or her beliefs for convenience and the pleasures of the moment. But what pleasure is there in realizing your ambitions, if it is not on your own terms? A victory that requires you to sacrifice your principles is no victory at all. Also, the people who truly care about you will not respect you if you sacrifice your moral values simply for comfort, simply to get ahead. People see through opportunism in the end.