The Wright Brothers did alright, didn’t they? Two, mostly self-educated kids, who changed the world. There were no scandals. They wore their success lightly. They seemed happy. And a nice feather in their cap—in addition to the whole inventing the airplane thing—is that they were instrumental in the career of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, one of the greatest black poets to ever live.

What’s the secret? Wilbur Wright explained that were he “giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio.” Pretty simple yeah? But it should also humble us and make us more empathetic.

You’re doing your best to be a good mother or father and you did your best to pick a spouse who did the same. You probably don’t live in Ohio (and who knows if that’s actually the best place to raise a family these days) but you’ve tried to find somewhere that will set your kids up well. But how many kids out there already have all three of those things working against them?

We’ve dug in on some other advantages the Wright Brothers had, what made their parents great. They had room to experiment. They weren’t indoctrinated or pressured. Their father liked to bring home toys that opened their minds and taught them things. It’s easy to see these things as simple or basic but the truth is they are extraordinary and all too rare.

You aspire to provide them for your kids (that’s why you’re reading this). You have done your best to set them up for success. Not everyone is so lucky. That’s something the Wright Brothers understood well. They knew they had been incredibly blessed—by their parents, by the time and place they grew up. It’s why their success didn’t feed their ego, why they were so good to less fortunate people they met.

And it’s why you should be too—and model the same for your kids.