I often think of the powerful words Milton shouted into the wind on May 25th, and I want those words to reverberate in my own head.

Milton was 82 years old at the time, but I’m certain he yelled the words in a strong unwavering voice. A voice which carried the emotional mixture of joy, pride, wonder and awe. And probably some fear, and a bit of disbelief.

He shouted to be heard above the noise from the wind and the loud 12 hp internal combustion engine straining right next to him. But mainly he shouted because of the pure exhilaration coursing through his being.

Milton Wright was the father of Orville and Wilbur, the famed American inventors and aviation pioneers that built, tested and flew the first controlled “heavier-than-air flying machine” in 1903.

It was just several years later in 1910, that Milton shouted out the stirring words during the one and only time he ever flew.

If you get the chance, you should visit North Carolina and walk the grounds at Kitty Hawk. It’s where the brothers spent month after month, year after year. Assembling, testing, crashing, repairing. Making slow incremental progress. Before doing more assembling, testing, crashing, repairing.

It was there at Kitty Hawk in 1903 where the brothers first flew, and where we grew wings. Added the 3rd dimension to our world. It’s hallowed ground.

Early flight was dangerous pioneering work and Milton had made his sons promise to never fly together. He couldn’t imagine losing them both during a flight crash.

Over the subsequent decades, aeronautical engineers and historians have thoroughly studied and chronicled what the Wright brothers did to succeed. Searching “Wright brothers” on Amazon yields 1,628 books.

But, when considering what contributed to the success of these bicycle mechanics and self-taught engineers, both of whom didn’t even graduate high school, it’s also important to consider what they decided not to do.

Here are the 4 things they didn’t do:

1) Obsess over milestones

Their intent was to fly. But they had no real idea how long it’d take to work their way through the innumerable challenges.

For one thing, they calculated they’d need a minimum of eight horsepower from an engine that weighed less than 200 pounds. There was no such engine available at the time. So the brothers set about building one.

Not to mention the other innumerable obstacles involved with creating a lightweight wood and cloth structure that would withstand the forces encountered while flying; or how to alter the shape of the wing surfaces so their flight could be controlled.

The only thing greater than the unanswered questions and problems, was their commitment to get it all figured out.

What they didn’t have was an unrealistic schedule.

2) Work haphazardly

Anders Ericsson is an internationally recognized Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, who has spent a lifetime researching and studying human achievement and performance. He’s studied world-class experts in a variety of areas, including: athletics, music, chess, medicine, etc.

What Professor Ericsson has found, is that the best way to improve and become a master in your life’s work, is through purposeful (or dedicated) practice. He has authored several books, most recently “Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise” published in 2016.

Simply stated Ericsson describes Purposeful Practice as having four important primary components: a specific goal, intense focus, immediate feedback and frequent incremental improvements.

The Wright brothers are nearly a perfect example for all of the above.

3) Chase someone else’s goal

Their objective of flying wasn’t assigned to them. It wasn’t the goal of some wealthy industrialist, who pressured the brothers to solve the challenge of flight.  It wasn’t a directive from an existing business enterprise looking for a new way to transport paying customers.

Learning to fly was their goal. The seeds of which originated in 1878 when their father brought home a small toy helicopter for Orville and Wilbur, then just seven and nine years old. The boys played constantly with the rubber band powered toy until it broke. At which point they built their own.

4) Quit

Enough said.

_____

Although Milton made his sons promise they’d never fly together, there was just one exception ever made to that rule. Orville and Wilbur flew together on May 25th, 1910.

The brothers landed safely. Afterwards, Orville took up their father, Milton for his one and only flight.

The 82 year-old Milton climbed aboard the flyer and held on tightly as it accelerated across the ground.

As Orville powered the aircraft upwards, Milton looked down and watched everything he’d ever known in all his 82 years, slowly fall away.

He saw the clumps of grass and the leaves on the trees merge into blocks of solid colors.

He saw plots of land. He saw how the fencing created lines across the terrain below. He watched a small flock of startled birds take off from a field and fly under the Wright plane.

Everything Milton had ever known was below him, as though it were spread out on giant flat canvas.

I wonder if his first and only experience flying generated a glimpse of a new world of possibilities. If at some point during the flight Milton sensed a transition. Certainly they knew their invention would result in enormous changes in the world below.

During the flight, Milton turned his head, and looked at his son Orville.

So that Milton could be heard above the wind and the engine noise – and the din of the beliefs and limitations that held our bare feet to the warm hard earth over the millennia – Milton shouted to his son.

“Higher, Orville, higher!”

***

Tom loves building meaningful businesses and technology (with people who care). Follow him on LinkedIn. Reach him on Twitter @thomastriumph