Ayn Rand, however you and other people view her works, moved me when I read her books when I was still in college. Below is an example of Ayn's quotable:
In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice your world to those who are at its' worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have not yet achieved... Do not lose your knowledge that man is at his best with
uncompromising values, and a step that travels unlimited roads.
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won. It exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.