obligation=motivation

Sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is obligation.  It is during those times that your dedication is put to the test.  There is a difference between the two, but their relationship is obvious.. you persevere.  Obligation keeps you going when you don't want to but you know that you will let someone down if you quit.  There will be a gaping hole in the place YOU should have been, and it will affect everyone and everything around you.  The thing about an obligation is this; it is a promise, a word, a guarantee that you will be where you say you will be when you say you will be there doing what you said you would do.  It's like a contract of sorts with someone else, working towards a goal that may not even be your own.
Dedication is much the same, in that you show up and follow through... but now you're doing it because you want to.  You're doing it because you have a vision or a goal that you are determined to reach, no matter the cost.  Dedication means that it is personal.  The only contract, guarantee, promise that you have made is to yourself.  No one likes to let themselves down, so you are much more motivated to continue.  When your vision gets clouded, or someone comes along to rain on your parade it gets difficult.  Sometimes it can become so hard to continue pressing on that your dedication becomes obligation.  Vision-killers, nay-sayers, people trying to buck the system... no matter how dedicated you are these people will have some sort of impact on what you are trying to accomplish.  A true leader and visionary will persevere through these times, maybe a little beat up or worse for wear.  With the vision clouded, obligation steps in and it can become just a task.  THIS IS A TEST.  I REPEAT, THIS IS ONLY A TEST... Dedication is refreshed in these times of operating under obligation.  The obligation gets you through the rough time, and when the storm passes you find that your dedication is twice as strong, and the vision remains.  That being said, my unbalanced equation in the title makes sense now.  Knowing that you made it through the tough times when it was "just a job", you stuck it out and had the tenacity to persevere when everything was against your success should MOTIVATE you.  That's the mark of a leader..when you stay determined, stay motivated, even when it feels like an obligation.

This made more sense in my head I think.. but you get the picture.