Nature makes all the noblemen; wealth, education, or pedigree never made one yet.

Quality of character is distributed without regard to circumstance, and no amount of advantage manufactures it. Money, schooling and family name can buy polish, confidence and access, all of which are frequently mistaken for the thing itself. The mistake is easy because the surface is convincing. What actually distinguishes a person is how they behave when nothing is being gained by it, and that turns up in every kind of life.

Notice whom you are impressed by and check what is doing the impressing. Then apply it inward: nothing about your background, good or bad, has settled the question of what you are.