By Michael Dattolo

“To build a flying machine,” declared a confident New York Times editorial on Oct. 9, 1903, “would require the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians from 1 million to 10 million years.”

Less than three months later, Wilbur and Orville Wright would prove the New York Times wrong.

Dec. 17, 1903, was a cold and windy day in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Only five people turned up to watch, and even fewer expected the Wright brothers’ awkward-looking contraption would actually fly. Three days earlier, their first attempt had failed, damaging several parts of the aircraft. Now, repairs completed, Wilbur Wright, the older brother, started up the engine and Orville climbed onto the 750-pound Wright Flyer.

It started off slowly. Wilbur ran alongside it, steadying the aircraft as it picked up speed, until the nose inched upward.

Then: flight!

Twelve seconds and 120 feet later, tears of joy were streaming down Orville’s face as Wilbur congratulated him. Many years of working together toward a dream became a momentous, awesome reality. For the first time in history, a heavier-than-air craft flew—not glided—but flew by the power of its own motor!

Today, hulking, 200,000-pound commercial aircraft take off, fly thousands of miles at over 500 miles per hour, and land again safely thousands of times every day. It is easy to take flight for granted. Yet when Orville and Wilbur Wright began their work, the very concept of what they were attempting was considered all but impossible by many.

The story leading up to the Wright brothers’ victory at Kitty Hawk is fascinating, and it contains several lessons we can learn.

The Road to Kitty Hawk

The Wright brothers’ interest in flying began when they were young boys. Their father bought them a tiny, rubber-band powered rubber helicopter in 1878. They were enthralled—and decided to improve the design. But their early attempts to build larger helicopters failed. As the helicopters became heavier, rubber bands proved to provide insufficient propulsion.

Discouraged at first, the brothers turned to other projects—they eventually opened their own bicycle shop. There, they pioneered several improvements to the bicycle, including a safety brake.

But the Wright brothers didn’t give up their interest in flying. Building and designing bicycles in their shop gave them lots of practical mechanical knowledge they would later need to build an airplane. But they realized that if they were going to build a flying machine, they would need to learn a lot more about flight and aerodynamics.

So they studied. They poured over the work of Otto Lilenthal, a German inventor who had worked with hang gliders. They read everything they could about his ideas and hang gliders. They examined birds, learning what made them such efficient fliers.

As they studied, they learned that one of the biggest challenges with heavier-than-air flight was control. Adapting techniques they learned from birds, they developed a system to control aircraft by flying kites they designed.

In 1899, the brothers began to test (and crash) full-size gliders at Kitty Hawk. They kept careful records of both successes and their many failures, trying to isolate exactly which factors caused each result. It soon became clear, however, that it would be impossible to find the perfect design if they had to build a new, full-size glider every time they needed to tweak the design.

So they built a wind tunnel—the first in the United States. The wind tunnel allowed the brothers to design and test small models of their gliders, which was much faster and cheaper. Using the wind tunnel, they were able to test over 200 wing designs, helping them discover the most suitable design.

Even with an ideal wing design, the brothers still had a serious problem: There was no engine to power their plane. They tried unsuccessfully for months to buy one that would work. But no engine existed that met their specifications. So, finding someone with experience in the field, they worked to build their own.

The years of work culminated on Dec. 17, 1903, when the Wright Flyer finally soared. The fourth flight of that day lasted 59 seconds—and two years later, the brothers had built an improved Wright Flyer that could fly for more than half an hour at a time. The rest, as they say, is history.

Lessons for Us

Why were the Wright brothers successful? They set a goal and stuck with it. They persevered, ignoring the critics, and learned from their failures rather than letting them depress them. They were resourceful, often having to build or invent their own solutions to problems. They educated and drove themselves to success.

Have you ever set a goal—only to let distractions or setbacks discourage you from ever accomplishing it? Have you wanted to accomplish some great task—but found yourself unwilling to spend the time or effort to educate yourself? I know I have.

In our modern world, useless, un-educational distractions are everywhere. Almost without realizing it, we can waste hours a day mindlessly browsing the Internet, watching television, laughing at YouTube videos, watching movies. Give some serious thought to how productive your “free time” is. Are you working toward a goal? Are you educating yourself toward it? Instead of spending your time on mindless entertainment, find your passion and learn all about it. You will be amazed what you can accomplish with God’s help if you apply yourself.

The road to Kitty Hawk was a long one, filled with obstacles and setbacks. But the payoff in the end was fantastic. You too can experience the euphoria of accomplishment—if you spend your time productively and work for it!

Herbert W. Armstrong’s free booklet The Seven Laws of Success explains in detail the laws of success the Wright brothers employed—as well as an important additional law that those men didn’t follow. Click here to read it.