Recently, I listened to Eric Church’s commencement speech at UNC, and I have to admit, it was one of the better speeches I’ve heard in a long time.
Now, I may own a company, but years ago, I was just a kid learning how to play guitar in my bedroom. I was never particularly good at it, but I learned enough to understand the basics. So when Eric Church built his entire speech around the six strings of a guitar representing six major areas of life, it immediately pulled me in.
His point was simple: when the strings are in tune together, they create something beautiful. But when even one string drifts out of tune, you hear it almost immediately.
And honestly, the older I get, the more I realize life works exactly the same way.
The first string he talked about was faith. He described it as the backbone string. The foundation. The thing that holds everything together when life stops making sense.
That resonated deeply with me.
Because there are moments in life where logic runs out of answers. Moments where there isn’t a clean explanation for the “why.” Seasons where no amount of planning, intelligence, or preparation fully solves the hurt in front of you.
And in those moments, faith is often what carries people through.
The second string he talked about was family.
Not just the holiday-card version of family, though. The real version. The people who have seen you at your best and your worst and still choose to love you anyway.
Then he talked about your spouse or significant other being the third string of the guitar. The heartbeat of life.
And honestly, that one hit home too.
Because when your marriage is healthy, strong, and connected, so many other parts of life tend to sound better too. But when it’s neglected or out of tune, eventually you feel it everywhere else.
The fourth string, and probably the one I relate to professionally the most, was ambition and resilience.
The tension between wanting big things while also having the ability to get back up when life punches you in the mouth.
I think a lot of driven people struggle there.
We live in a culture that celebrates ambition but often forgets resilience. Everybody loves the success story. Very few people talk about the setbacks, failures, rejection, and rebuilding that usually happen before success ever arrives.
The fifth string was community.
He made a comment about roots, and that analogy really connected with me.
Not because of plant roots, although I admittedly love those too, but because of hometowns, real connections, knowing your neighbors, coaching your kids’ team, serving your church, and building authentic relationships with people who truly know you.
And lastly, he talked about the highest string. The melody string.
You.
The line that stuck with me most was this:
“The world doesn’t need another cover song. It needs an original.”
I love that.
Because comparison has become the background noise of modern life. Social media constantly pushes us toward becoming versions of what everyone else expects us to be. But there has never been another you in the history of the world, and there never will be again.
Your story matters. Your gifts matter. Your calling matters.
And maybe the biggest takeaway for me was this:
Strings drift. That’s part of life.
Faith drifts. Relationships drift. Priorities drift. Perspective drifts.
The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is paying enough attention to notice when something is out of tune before simply turning the volume up louder to cover it.
So let me ask you:
Which string in your life needs tuning right now?
Rusty Thompson is the Founder and Visionary of The Master’s Lawn & Pest. He’s passionate about helping people grow, both in the landscape and in life.