It always comes down to a nail.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Credited most often to Benjamin Franklin, who included a version in Poor Richard’s Almanack, it’s a reminder of two things:

  1. Try the simple solution first
  2. Fix what you can, while you still can

Don’t mistake simple for easy, because all you need is a nail, but what if you don’t have any nails, and the nearest nail is at the Tractor Supply Company and that’s 20 miles away?

And if we wait to fix today’s simple problem, we lose the chance to manage it while it’s within our capacity to do so.