How do YOU measure success?

For the past few months, I have been rolling around research ideas to investigate while in India.  With US and Indian cultures so varied, it has been challenging picking just one topic to examine.  Then I started thinking about why I wanted to travel to India.  I want to inspire my students to go beyond their preconceived notions of success; working in the coal mines or timber fields.  To do this, I asked all my students a single question:  "How do YOU measure success?"  I gave students a sheet of paper, a pencil, and asked them to silently describe someone they know who is successful.  Unless one has a clear vision of what success is to them, they cannot work towards it.

Success means different things to different people. For some, monetary reward is a measure of success. Yet others have multiple definition of success such as career, health, spiritual, emotional, time or financial . I will ask the students in the schools that I visit in India to respond to the same basic question.  Then I will compile the data, correlating it to location, gender, socio-economic status, and household dynamic.  I am very eager to learn what the results indicate...stay tuned!