“Habit is a matter of acquirement. You hear people say: ‘He comes by this or that naturally, a chip off the old block,’ meaning that he is only doing what his parents did. This is quite often
the case, but there is no reason for it, for a person can break a habit just the moment he masters the ‘I will [intend].’ A man may have been a ‘good-for-nothing’ all his life up to this very minute, but from this time on he begins to amount to something.

Even old men have suddenly changed and accomplished wonders. ‘I lost my opportunity,’ says one. That may be true, but by sheer force of will [deliberate intention], we can find a way to bring us another opportunity. There is no truth in the saying that opportunity knocks at our door but once in a lifetime. The fact is, opportunity never seeks us; we must seek it. What usually turns out to be one man’s opportunity, was another man’s loss. In this day one man’s brain is matched against another’s. It is often the quickness of brain action that determines the result. One man thinks ‘I will do it,’ but while he procrastinates the other goes ahead and does the work. They both have the same opportunity. The one will complain of his lost chance. But it should teach him a lesson, and it will, if he is seeking the path that leads to success.”

– Theron Q Dumont, “Power of Concentration”