What is YOUR definition? Success! What is YOUR definition?

Are these people successful?

Think Critically… Consider which of the statements are the truth, and which ones are gossip or assumptions. What is the difference between someone's public persona and their real self? Can someone be successful in the eyes of others yet be a failure to themselves?

Which of these situations is an example of success, in your opinion?

• A man loses his job and sets up a new business which goes on to become a multi-million dollar enterprise. But along the way, he becomes so obsessed with his new company that he neglects his family and they leave him.

A teenage boy loses a leg in a road accident A teenage boy loses a leg in a road accident. He goes back to school after three months of surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation. He scores well on his exams and his SAT, and he maintains Honor Roll throughout the year.

• An athlete wins Olympic gold in the marathon • An athlete wins Olympic gold in the marathon. Although the tests are all negative, he knows in his heart he was taking performance enhancing drugs.

As part of the AP class, students study from practice tests released by College Board. The teacher is demanding and expects students to memorize and analyze large amounts of information. A small group of lower achieving students cram the weekend before the exam and score 4 out of 5, earning college credit. Incidentally, that same group does not pass the class for the year.

• A single mother with no free time gets a part- time job as a secretary. She loses it within a week and goes back to care for her children full-time. • A film director wins five Oscars for a film that has shocked his local Scottish city community because it gives a false impression of their history. • A young scientist discovers something that could become a cure for cancer. At the moment, it is uncertain if his discovery will amount to anything.

Am I Successful?

“Richard Cory” Poem can be found on the following website: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmM ID/16079

With A Partner… Identify 3 characteristics of Richard Cory: What does he look like? How does he behave? What kind of person is he? List these characteristics in a chart including a reference from the poem to support your answers. Everyone answers on their own paper. You have 10 minutes!

As a Class: Who was Richard Cory really? Who the did town think he was. How did this work out for Richard Cory? How does it sometimes work out for today's celebrities?