My continuing battle against perfectionism—Part 2 of ?

I had thought that my last post would be a one-off. I had so much to say about my battle against perfectionism, that I had to split it into 2 posts. Writing is a great tool to help process thoughts. Now I realize that I’m not in a battle against perfectionism—THIS IS WAR! I think I’ll occasionally return to this title with future posts. This post explores ways that I am currently gaining some territory against the non-existent target of perfect.

My continuing battle against perfectionism—Part 1 of ?

Hi, my name is Nathan and I’m a perfectionist. I used to think that perfect was a worthy goal. I was raised with the belief that anything worth doing is worth doing right. Somehow along the way, I fell to the notion that anything less than perfect was unacceptable, wasn’t worth doing at all. Eventually, I started to see that I haven’t followed through on many of my dreams and ambitions. I have started way more plans than I have finished simply because they weren’t coming together as well as I had hope for. I still believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well. But now I am learning to accept less than perfection from myself and others.

Why I want to start a brewery in Monterey—Part 3 of 3: The market is ready for a progressive craft brewery

There are many reasons I want to start a brewery in Monterey. You don’t have to look long to find an array of statistics about the craft beer industry’s seeming invincibility; the economics of craft beer is exhilarating. There is also a great sense of community surrounding the product and the industry. Since living in the Monterey Peninsula area for the past 8 years, I have grown to love it and I’d like to stick around. I am also in a transitional phase of my life, and I think I can find a niche in the craft beer industry. In this last post of the series, I’m going to explain why Monterey is more than ready for a progressive craft brewery.

Photograph of sailing ships.

Why I want to start a brewery in Monterey—Part 2 of 3: This is where I am

In the first post of this series, I wrote about the first reason I want to start a brewery in the Monterey area. Basically, I feel this is an exciting time for craft beer and I want to be a part of it. Heck, it’s an exciting time in the history of beer. A lot people are even calling this a renaissance of beer. History will dictate whether this is truly a renaissance in the traditional sense. In this post I write about why I want to open a brewery specifically in the Monterey area, and I am breaking that into 2 parts. The first reason: This is where I am, in geography, in my life.

Photograph of map and compass.

Why I want to start a brewery in Monterey—Part 1 of 3: Craft beer is really exciting right now

A little over a year ago, I quit my job due to, shall we say, “irreconcilable differences” with management. Since then, I’ve been planning to start a brewery near where I live, here in the Monterey Peninsula area on California’s Central Coast. This is the first post in a 3-part series about why I want to start a brewery in the Monterey area. The first reason I want to start a brewery is because craft beer is really exciting right now.

Photograph of a ship's wheel.

How to choose partners when starting a brewery: a shared vision

Since quitting my job in air quality planning about a year ago due to, shall we say “irreconcilable differences” with management, I’ve been planning to start a brewery here in the Monterey area (California). MicroBrewr podcast is documenting my progress as a way to educate their audience through the process. I recently posted on MicroBrewr blog, an update on my progress. What follows is portions from that post, with additional bonus material.

(Full disclosure: The host, Joe Shelerud stepped down from MicroBrewr. I asked him to let me take over, and he agreed. The transition is already underway.)

Photograph of shaking hands.