The design of each element should be thought out in order to be easy to make and easy to repair.
LEO FENDER
I have already written two posts on the Grand Unifying Theory. Those posts were me searching and fumbling to define the thing. I knew what the GUT was, but I couldn't express it in a nutshell. I did not have a thesis. I have it now. This is the Grand Unifying Theory in a single sentence. Every endeavor can be met with a simple and effective strategy.
I do not believe in perfect strategies. They do not exist. Every upside comes with a downside. I refer to a perfect strategy as a Holy Grail. Men go on the quest for the Grail, and they fail. They never find it. I think these quests are a waste of time and a waste of life. These quests are so vexing that I don't think it is possible to progress in life without giving them up.
The perfect is the enemy of the good. To achieve the good, you have to let go of that quest for perfection. Good is good enough. That insight is what liberates you in life. Once you let go of perfect strategies, you end up finding simple and effective strategies. Eventually, you see that there is a simple and effective strategy for every endeavor in life. I will now provide examples.
1. Leo Fender and the Telecaster guitar
Leo Fender was not a guitarist like Les Paul. He was an engineer who set to building electric guitars. He cared less about the aesthetics and more for the function, manufacture, and repair of his instruments. Looks came second.
Fender's first real guitar was the Telecaster. It was not much to look at. It was essentially a block of wood, a bolted on neck, and some simple electronics. That simple and humble guitar would provide the DNA for everything he built after that.
What makes the Telecaster such a great guitar? It just works. The instrument has a devoted following with many famous guitarists making it their axe of choice. Is it perfect? No, the Telecaster is not a perfect instrument. It isn't very comfortable to play and doesn't give you the tonal options of more sophisticated instruments. But it stays in tune. It is versatile across many genres of music. It can be modified very easily. It is a workhorse instrument. I'm not a guitarist, but I know what I would play if I ever picked up the six string. That instrument would be the Fender Telecaster.
2. The Fender Precision Bass
The Precision was Leo Fender's next major success, and it benefitted from the same things that made the Telecaster a great guitar. The P-Bass is a simple instrument with one pickup, one tone knob, and one volume knob. It sounds amazing. It is the preferred electric bass for many musicians, and it has an iconic sound. If I was a bassist, I would only play a P-Bass.
Leo Fender made other instruments like the Stratocaster, the Jazzmaster, the Jazz bass, and on and on. But I think his best work was achieved on the simplest of his instruments. What happened to Leo Fender is what happens to many men. He went searching for the Holy Grail of electric guitars and basses. He never found the Grail. The reality is that he got it right the first time. Everything subsequent was meeting the demand for features.
3. The Casio F-91W
The F-91W is my favorite watch. I love it so much that I own two of them. It is a cheap watch described as a "modest masterpiece" of design. It is simple. Like the Telecaster, this simplicity is what makes it so popular and loved. It doesn't do everything you can get in a digital watch, but it does its basic functions very well. Its one major drawback is the backlight that is mostly worthless for reading the watch in the dark. Other than that, it is a workhorse of a watch, and the timepiece I have relied on for years. It is also the most popular and most widely sold digital watch in the world.
Casio makes other great watches like the G-Shock except these watches have the DNA but not the simplicity of the F-91W. I find the watch is adequate for everything I need to do.
4. The pickup truck
I do not care for sports cars, Jeeps, or SUVs. I like a good old fashioned pickup truck. I am not partial to a brand. I just look for a bed and a cab. Those two elements are what make the pickup truck the most utilitarian and versatile of vehicles. I don't know why a man would drive any other vehicle.
The pickup truck is simple and effective. It's not so great for hauling people around. It is mostly for hauling stuff. There has been a move to make the pickup truck capable of doing everything with extended cabs and the like. I think this is a mistake. They turn the cargo space in the back into an afterthought. I prefer a simple truck.
I don't know who invented the pickup truck, but I imagine it was a natural consequence of the automobile. Somebody decided that hauling stuff mattered more than hauling people, so they cut a car down to a front seat and put a bed on it for hauling that stuff. That was genius.
5. Playing defense
In football and basketball, it is generally acknowledged that defense wins championships. Defense is not fun and can be grueling at times. Yet, defense is what turns players into champions.
I don't think defense should be confined to the court or the field. I think it applies to other endeavors in life. For instance, thrift is a form of playing defense. Instead of always seeking to earn more, you learn to spend less and live on less. For many wealthy individuals, this practice of thrift is what has made them wealthy.
I define defense as winning by not losing. With sports, you play defense by trying to keep your opponent from scoring. This may not always look pretty, but it is effective. An average team of capable defenders will beat a flashy team that focuses on offense and coasts on defense.
6. The writing style of Ernest Hemingway
I am not a massive fan of Ernest Hemingway, but I will admit one thing. He changed English prose forever with his spartan style of writing. Before Hemingway, writers used too much flourish in their writing trying to sound eloquent with their words. Hemingway's only real training as a writer was as a reporter on a newspaper. That journalism background informed his writing style. Hemingway cut the crap and told the story with simple declarative sentences. This influence would exert itself on later writers who also chose to cut the crap and tell it plainly and simply.
I have learned with my own writing to keep it simple. Whenever I write a sentence that doesn't sound right, I make it simpler. That always fixes the problem.
7. The music of AC/DC
AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson nailed it when he said,"I'm an out and out basic man and AC/DC are one of the best rock'n'roll bands in the world, doing things just to the basics." The basics are what make AC/DC such a great rock band. They weren't sweet and lovely like the Beatles. They weren't progressive rock like Yes and King Crimson. They weren't punk rockers like the Ramones. They weren't heavy metal like Iron Maiden. They weren't hair metal like Poison and Motley Crue. They just found the sound they liked and never deviated from that path. That sound can only be described as good old rock and roll.
AC/DC is a simple band. They never tried to be anything else. As lead guitarist Angus Young put it, "I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sound exactly the same, In fact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same." They don't sound exactly the same, but they stayed true to their formula that never fails to work. It was never broke, so they never fixed it.
8. The FlyLady Housekeeping System
Through my wife, I have become a fan of the FlyLady and her system for housekeeping. The essence of her method is to get rid of perfectionism and accept that good is good enough. In other words, don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. By embracing imperfection, your house ends up much cleaner than the pre-defeat of perfectionism. This mindset can be applied to other areas of your life. This system is simple, and it works. I recommend it.
9. The Hero's Journey
The Hero's Journey is the ultimate plot in fiction and movies. The original Star Wars trilogy follows this plot. You can see it in The Karate Kid and the Harry Potter series of books and movies. It is Lord of the Rings. It is the classic story, and it never gets old. When people abandon this classic plot, they gamble and lose.
10. The Glock Handgun
There is no such thing as a perfect handgun, but there is the best. Glock is the best. Like the Fender guitar, the Glock is a simple and effective handgun platform. It is easy to clean and works every time. I have heard stories of it working in less than ideal circumstances including being buried in sand. Naturally, you have two groups that hate the gun. The first are old timers who deride a "plastic" gun and prefer carrying a 1911. The second are New School types who prefer the sexiness of a Sig Sauer pistol. Ignore these people. Get yourself a Glock.
11. Humility
One of the things I have learned about the Grand Unifying Theory is that it demands humility. Humility itself is a GUT strategy, and the Lord Jesus Christ gives us a perfect example of it in this parable:
And he spoke a parable also to them that were invited, marking how they chose the first seats at the table, saying to them: When thou art invited to a wedding, sit not down in the first place, lest perhaps one more honourable than thou be invited by him: And he that invited thee and him, come and say to thee, Give this man place: and then thou begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art invited, go, sit down in the lowest place; that when he who invited thee, cometh, he may say to thee: Friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have glory before them that sit at table with thee. Because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted.
LUKE 14:7-11 DOUAY-RHEIMS
You can never fail with humility. Always take the humble path and the lowest seat. This will save you so much grief in life.
12. The Bic Lighter
The Zippo lighter is a great tool. Unfortunately, it tends to leak. This is a big problem if it leaks in your pocket. The humble Bic lighter solves this problem. It is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive lighter, but it just works. Campers bring all sorts of flint and ferro rods with them for starting a campfire, but their real secret is a Bic lighter. Those other methods are just backups to that Bic. I am not a smoker, but I appreciate the reliability and convenience of the Bic lighter. If you need fire, it is hard to go wrong with a Bic.
13. The Double Edge Safety Razor
One day, I got fed up with the high cost of cartridge razors. I remembered my old man having one of those old fashioned safety razors, and I googled up if I could still get one and use it. Fortunately, the answer was yes. That changed things dramatically for me.
The safety razor has been around for over a century, and it was introduced as a safer alternative to the dangerous straight razor. I don't care to ever use a straight razor. I like safety and appreciate why it is called a safety razor.
The safety razor's main advantage is economy. Combined with shave soap, safety razor shaving costs pennies per shave versus the dollars of cartridge razors and canned shaving cream. I have to wonder what made men abandon the safety razor for the cartridge. The DE safety razor is cheap, safe, and simple. It is worth your time to try this option.
14. Sun Tzu and the Art of War
When it comes to strategy, the ultimate guide is Sun Tzu. The Art of War is a stone simple strategy for battle, but don't let it fool you. It is the best ever devised. It can be applied to many endeavors. It will change your life.
Conclusion
I give these examples to show that there is a simple and effective strategy for all endeavors. These are not perfect strategies because I don't believe any exist. I think they are the best strategies. If you can accept the imperfections, you will find success with them over and over again. They always work. Consequently, I seek out the Grand Unifying Theory in all of my endeavors. When you find it, you lock onto it and never stray from it. Deviation is the only way you can fail.
