Dance of Light 3 | Photo by ahinsajain

In the summer of 1889, a young woodworker’s assistant was working in his shop, boiling a large pot of glue over a gasoline fire.

Around 2 p.m. that afternoon, the glue boiled over into the fire, which quickly spread to the floor covered by wood chips and turpentine.

The assistant tried to put the fire out with water, but the water just caused the fire to spread even further.

It wasn’t long before the liquor store next door caught fire and the fire spread to the entire block.

With the fire rapidly spreading the volunteer fire fighters went to work to try and extinguish the fire. With an unimproved, privately owned water system in the city (largely made of wooden pipes), the fire fighters had no luck getting the water pressure they needed to put out the fire.

The fire department tried running their hoses from the nearby waterfront but quickly discovered the tide was out and the hoses weren’t long enough to stretch from the water to the fire.

Adding insult to injury, the local townspeople began mocking the fire fighters for their lack of ability and so many of the firefighters decided to give up and head home.

By 3 a.m. the entire business district was destroyed. 120 acres — 25 city blocks — had gone up in flames.

Thousands of people were displaced, 5,000 men lost their jobs and the city estimated it’s losses at more than $8 million — although some have suggested it may have been as high as $20 million.

Now some may have considered giving up and abandoning the town but instead the city leaders came together the very next day and went to work planning for the future.

Cities from around the country sent aid and within a month nearly 100 businesses were back in business — operating out of tents.

And instead of relocating, the majority of the businesses began rebuilding in the same spots they once stood. Wood buildings were banned and the entire business district was rebuilt with brick and stone. The streets were also raised 20 feet or more in most places to cut down on the huge hills throughout the business district.

The city also took control of the water system and rebuilt the system with larger (non-wooden) pipes and more fire hydrants and introduced a new professional fire department.

Today — Seattle — is one of the largest ports on the west coast of the United States.

Views from the Washington State Ferry | Photo by Jonathan Blundell

Chris Guillebeau writes in his book, The Art of Non-Conformity, that sometimes it takes a crisis to help us get over the fears that often hold us back. Sometimes it takes crisis to get us to step out and improve ourselves.

We all want to avoid crisis — but sometimes it’s the very catalyst we need to make the necessary changes in our lives.

I imagine this young woodworker felt like trash after his mistake led to such destruction — but it also helped spur Seattle into the great city that it is today.

And it’s often fear of crisis that holds us back from truly living life.

It’s often fear that causes us to make excuses for why we aren’t making changes to better ourselves.

I’ve even heard a number of friends “blame” God for their lack of action or forward progress. They refuse to make changes until they’re absolutely certain it’s God’s will for their life.

But sometimes you just have to walk out and jump.

And realize that sometimes those huge catastrophes are exactly what you need to push you out of your norm and make the improvements you’ve been avoiding for years.

What catastrophes have shaped your life for the better?

What fears are holding you back today?

HT to my sister Kara for sharing this story with me after her recent trip to Seattle.

keep reading...

• Lessons from fatherhood
• The Simple Manifesto #2 – Evaluate your commitments
• The Simple Manifesto #14 – Simplify your computer life