A Lesson in Simplicity

I hate Apple. I find most of their products inferior. They typically cost more, do less, and don't allow for customization or upgrades. For a tech guy it sucks, but there is a lesson here. Apple is successful because simple is beautiful. Take for example below the two remotes of Apple tv and Roku:


Apple TV Remote


Roku Remote


They both have almost the exact same functionality, but Roku is bulkier and has more buttons (five more to be exact). You don't need them. I used the apple tv yesterday and perfectly/intuitively navigated the menus using the remote in about 1 min. You hit what you think you should hit and it does what you want it to do. The Roku remote which I have used for several hours still makes me prone to make mistakes as I hit the home button instead of the back button or the menu button when I mean to hit the back button, etc. From a functionality point they are the same; from an ease of use stand point apple tv and its remote is better (I loathe typing this).

This lesson in simplicity is a metaphor for life. When we add things to our life we complicate it. It becomes more muddied, the choices make things more complex than we need them to be. Instead of adding more and more take a moment to reduce your buttons. Identify your core values for a great life. Then just press. Focus on the big things and the little things fix themselves.