A couple of years ago as I was flying home to Michigan from a business forum in Los Angeles, I noticed while looking out my window from the airplane that there seemed to be a lot of fires in the farmlands of the Midwest.

I later bumped into an article that explained how in the Middle Western states of our great country, farmers set large fields of land on fire every three or four years.

These enormous, controlled fires burn the excess waste from the land and allow the soil to replenish with nutrients from the rain and atmosphere.

This process re-establishes the growing potential of the property and helps maximize the farmer's long term yield.

But something interesting happens in the process.

When the land, still hot from the blaze, is touched by the right atmospheric conditions, and then a cool wind blows through the area, the combination creates a funnel cloud effect.

One can actually see a "tornado" moving along through the field, oblivious to any external weather conditions and surrounding activity.

The tornado never leaves the field, as it sweeps back and forth across it, stirring the dirt and ash as it goes.

Ultimately, as the land cools, the tornado dies.

Sometimes, it seems that we become a pointless flurry of activity, moving from here to there, stirring activities while accomplishing what seems to be very little.

Often, our work seems pointless, redundant or thankless because it feels like the tornado is never going to leave the field. It seems like that, but to consider our work in that way misses the point and hides the potential success that lies in the ashes.

Like the farmers, all that we do is about replenishing, re-growth and re-invigoration.

It is about creating the next season of growth, envisioning the next generation accomplishing more with less than we could have imagined.

It is about continually looking at what we do today with an eye on tomorrow and how we can improve our lives, our income and our world.

Consider the burn and the seemingly considerable loss of life. Remember the walks in the woods where you have seen pine cones on the forest floor that never seem to grow and become seedlings.

Understand that these pine cones are waiting and ready according to natures plan to endure the forest fire of their life in order to pop out "like popcorn" the seedlings of new growth.

It actually takes a hot fire to cause the seedling shells to open up and pop out the seed from their protective shells and grow.

Steel too must be tempered by fire and heat in order to become strong enough to become a sword or the barrel of a gun or a tool. If not heat tempered the steel is soft and unusable.

We are a lot like this.

Studies show that on average, it takes 16 failures for a successful business owner to suffer before he or she becomes a success. 16 is the average, it can be more or it can be less.

But if you never try, how will you ever know what your number is.
How many seedlings lie dormant inside of you because you never tried or you quit too soon or because you ran from the fire that was to have helped you?

It takes a little help too, the help of a mentor in the form of a fire started that creates a tornado that stirs us up and pushes us beyond where we think we should stop.

We have the ability and the capacity to create our own "tornado" of new life in innovation, dedication, determination, burning desire and effort.

Athletes call this "No pain, No gain" and the burn they feel while preparing for the winning event serves to make the reward of winning and success that much sweeter.

Consider the fires in your life, the spinning tornadoes of challenges and how they are working to make you stronger.

Work through the fires understanding the twists and turns and grow from the tests in knowledge as you are tempered by the heat and the fire.

Seek out your number by letting the fire and heat release your seeds of greatness.