The famous example is not always the most useful one. Elon Musk is a famous example of a person who built technology companies. He is also the son of a wealthy engineer who grew up in apartheid-era South Africa with access to resources most people in the world will never see. That is not an example that travels easily to a teenager in Ibadan. Proximity is one of the most important variables in whether an example opens a door or leaves someone feeling more distant from what is possible. The closer the example is to the listener in geography, background, resources, and experience, the more powerfully it works. This is why a young person who grew up in Surulere and later built a technology company is a more powerful example for teenagers in Lagos than any Silicon Valley billionaire, regardless of the size of the respective achievements. The listener does not need to see the biggest example. They need to see the closest one. This has a practical implication. When you are trying to open someone's sense of what is possible, do not automatically reach for the famous story. Ask instead: who do I know, or who can I find, whose story is close to this person's starting point? That story, however small, will do more work than the celebrated one.