# The Power of Examples By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2025-03-01 People frequently search for examples. Crafts are often based on blueprints or patterns. Work usually relies on templates. Existence often draws from role models. There is comfort in finding an appropriate example and conforming to it. Examples hold a lot of power. It is worthwhile to reflect on the type of examples one seeks and the kind of examples one sets. In our society, the most common examples seem to be those who are celebrities, rich, famous, and powerful. In short, the examples offered by our society could be called “the successful.” But are they? Success is an abstract concept that can mean radically different things to different people. Despite all the glitz and glamour, it's not uncommon for these individuals to stumble, fail, and struggle like everyone else. Wealthy individuals have addictions, abuse those around them, and die by suicide just like “normal” people. It appears that money and notoriety do little, if anything, to change the human condition. These examples are easy, and perhaps they aren’t bad, but they may conflate incidental aspects with essential ones. If people desire happiness, which is also an abstract concept, following the examples provided assumes that being rich, famous, or powerful correlates with happiness. Again, maybe it does, but it doesn’t seem to. Increasingly, it seems to me that happiness is linked to authentic engagement and solidarity. Our society tends to minimize these elements. It's as if society prefers a driven but unfulfilled population. This could be by design, or perhaps it's accidental. Maybe I’m just reading into ambiguous data and seeing what I want to see. Who knows? I know that humans seek examples, and the examples we choose shape and constrain our thoughts and actions. Understanding what one desires and assessing how well one’s examples achieve the desired results is likely important. In this age of choice, selecting one’s examples is perhaps one of the most significant decisions. #### Related Items [[Success]] [[Happiness]] [[Authenticity]] [[Society]] [[Engagement]] [[The Age of Choice]]