HUNTING FOR POWER REQUIRES ACTION

From Self-Development and the Way to Power, by L. W. Rogers (11)

Now, all powers possessed by any human being, no matter how exalted
his position in evolution, or how sublime his spiritual power, are
latent in all human beings and can, in time, be developed and brought
into action. Of course there is no magic rule by which the ignoramus
can instantly become wise or by which a brutal man can be at once
transformed into a saint. It may require scores of incarnations to
accomplish a work so great, but when a man reaches the point in his
evolution where he begins to comprehend the purpose of life, and to
evolve the will to put forth his energies in co-operation with nature,
his rise to wisdom and power may be swift indeed. But this
transformation from the darkness of ignorance to spiritual
illumination, from helplessness "in the fell clutch of circumstance"
to power over nature, must be brought about by his own efforts, for it
is a process of evolution--of forcing the latent to become the active.
Therefore one must resolve to take oneself in hand for definite and
systematic self-development. Nobody else can do the work for us.
Certain moral qualities must be gained before there can be spiritual
illumination and genuine wisdom and such qualities, or virtues, have
to be evolved by the laws under which all growth occurs. It is just as
impossible to acquire a moral quality by reading about its
desirability as to evolve muscular strength by watching the
performance of a group of athletes. To gain muscular strength one must
take part in the physical activities that produce it. He must live the
athletic life. To win spiritual strength and supremacy he must live
the spiritual life. There is no other way. He must first learn what
mental and moral qualities are essential, and how to gain them, and
then set earnestly about the work of acquiring them.