The newspapers and television reports are full of examples of people who traded their integrity for status and wealth. Get me Martha Stewart!  Corporate fraud and corruption are at epidemic levels as represented in the fallen empires at Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, Rite Aid, Adelphia Cable, Tyco International, ImClone Systems, and others.

John Galt is the protagonist in Ayn Rand’s famous novel Atlas Shrugged, and he is a character with principles, a man of Olympian stature. In the book, Galt achieves greatness through intelligence, ability, and hard work, while retaining his integrity.  And in the world today, that’s enough to make anyone a hero.  It takes guts and determination to do what’s right.  I’ve always found the story of John Galt to be helpful, even inspirational in this regard.  Galt’s spirit lives on, and lights the road to real success for those who wish to follow it.

We all have our own challenges.  Fortunately, we don’t have to be heroes in novels to succeed.  In real life, the heroes are simply ordinary men and women who are challenged by extraordinary situations and meet the challenges with honesty to others and themselves.