That's why, if it's public, then people will know they're cheating.
I toy with the idea of verifiable quests. For example, Take a picture a day (I can verify that they have from flickr). Blog once a week (I can verify this from their RSS feed)... although each one of those requires custom programming.
Maybe give more XP for those things that can be verified.
You were saying...?
People will always be interested in winning. Doesn't matter if the software is for self-fulfillment.