The word success is thrown around on a daily basis. Just as widespread as the lists of people who have achieved success. When you ask people what success means to them, everyone has a different answer.

For some, success means a big bank balance and no debt. For others, it means freedom of time and choices, or a well-balanced personal life. The list goes on and on.

With countless definitions, it’s no wonder that so many people have dedicated a great deal of time to researching and teaching the foundations of success.

Without a definitive answer, however, it begs the question: How do you know if you’re successful, if your business is a success, and if you’re on track to meet your goals?

In October I attended the Atlantic Dream Festival in Moncton, where “success guru” Richard St. John was one of the presenters. St. John has dedicated 10 years to the study of what it takes to achieve success, interviewing such high achievers as Martha Stewart and Bill Gates in the process. Based on his study results, he wrote 8 to be Great: The 8 Traits Successful People Have in Common.

Through my own 700 interviews over 13 years with Olympic athletes, NHL hockey players, world-class entertainers, high achievers, business leaders, TV personalities, and community leaders, I’ve discovered similar traits to St. John’s. But I’ve yet to come up with one conclusive sentence to define success. So instead of attempting to do so now, I’ve decided to list some of my favorite definitions from a few of my interviews so you can decide what success means to you.

What follows are a couple of my favorite “success definitions” from interviews I conducted in 2010. Perhaps they’ll help you start working on your own definition of success for 2011.

Success for me is maintaining rewarding relationships with those I love, while I share success principles with the world. — Success legend Zig Ziglar

It’s certainly not all about material items. It can be that for some people, but success to me is about having full control over your own time and your life. As they say, one man’s Ferrari is another man’s ten-speed. — Musician, actor and author Alan Frew

Notice that neither of the above quotes define success as having a lot of material goods or a massive amount of money. Interestingly, when I ask people who haven’t reached their goals yet, they always mention money.

Tune into my next column, where I’ll discuss how you can draft your own definition of success and an action plan to go with it. And next time I’ll share my personal “success definition” too.

Corey Poirier is a professional motivational speaker, trainer, and researcher of success principles. After interviewing more than 700 leaders and leading organizations about best practices, he now spends his time helping corporate clients and educational institutions “Create A+ Customer Experiences” and achieve greater personal and professional success. To learn more about him and his work, visit www.gimmiemyketchup.com.