Practice 4　　Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.　　A sense of happiness and fulfillment, not personal gain, is the best motivation and reward for one’s achievements. Expecting a reward of wealth or recognition for achieving a goal can lead to disappointment and frustration. If we want to be happy in what we do in life, we should not seek achievement for the sake of winning wealth and fame. The personal satisfaction of a job well done is its own reward.　　Assignment: Are people motivated to achieve by personal satisfaction rather than by money or fame? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

正确答案： 【参考范文】
People are motivated by anything with which they equate the increasing of personal satisfaction, and this includes the incentives: money and fame. It would be a great oversight to assume that the two are substitutes for personal satisfaction, but fortune and glory need not be mutually exclusive from individual contentment. Rather, each person possesses a unique standard for achievement; some may strive to succeed in order to gain recognition, or to amass wealth, while others perform accomplishments in order to help the poor or needy, or to give back to society. Regardless of what the motivation is, every human action is aimed at increasing personal satisfaction.
According to the prompt, one ought to seek contentment through achievements without expecting external benefits or recognition, but this theory does not acknowledge the fact that many people in modern (and in past) societies associate fulfillment with the acquirement of material goods and prominence. Materialism and narcissism are behaviors that, when pervasive throughout a society, may erode social fabric and the spirit of humanity in communities. But the desire to achieve success so as to gain riches or fame does not necessarily need to be destructive, nor detrimental to the general population.
Take for example, Donald Trump—real estate tycoon, billionaire, reality-TV star, twice- divorced family man, published author, and many more titles. He began his career as a real estate developer in his father’s company after graduating from the Wharton School of Business, and successfully created a legacy that his son and daughter are continuing. Trump has been a billionaire since 2007, and his role on the reality TV show “The Apprentice” has increased his fame around the world. In his interviews and publications, Trump gives no indication of regretting his pursuit of fortune and glory, nor does he show any sign of slowing down the growth of the Trump empire. Contrary to what the prompt indicates, personal satisfaction may be intimately tied to the achievement of financial surplus and prestige. That is, thousands of people are motivated by money and fame, but for some, personal satisfaction is unattainable without the two because they believe that their happiness will be derived from reputation or treasure.
History is ripe with examples of every kind of motivator—fame, wealth, knowledge, peace, love, safety, etc. Alexander the Great pursued fame and power, President Roosevelt advocated international peace and domestic prosperity and Mother Theresa worked to improve children’s lives. But as Aristotle explained his Ethics, the pursuit of the “good” is wide and varied. Each man may believe that how he lives is the right path to achieving personal happiness. The banker believes he needs money to be happy, while the teacher finds disseminating knowledge to be fulfilling. Regardless of whether a path is correct or wrong, every person is motivated by the common factor of personal satisfaction.

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