George Washington wrote the following on the eve of his inauguration:
It is said that every man has his portion of ambition. I may have mine, I suppose, as well as the rest, but if I know my own heart, my ambition would not lead me into public life; my only ambition is to do my duty in this world as well as I am capable of performing it, and to merit the good opinion of all good men.
What a giant of a man. Given today’s environment, I would add–to merit the bad opinion of less-than-good men.