The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do.

Allen’s aphorism links motivation (“the will to do”) to self-efficacy: people act most readily when they believe action is within their power. The line reflects a central theme in his New Thought–inflected moral psychology—character and circumstance are shaped by inner states such as belief, intention, and disciplined thought. Read this way, the quote suggests that cultivating competence (or the clear perception of one’s competence) is not merely practical but motivational: confidence is a generative cause of effort. It also implies a feedback loop: knowledge of ability encourages action, and action in turn can deepen that knowledge through experience.