I think Sam Calagione is a fascinating guy. I've watched a presentation he did for Google and have been reading this book (oh, and of course, watching Brew Masters) all of which have been really entertaining. The thing about Sam that is so inspiring is that he fell in love with an idea, bought into that idea 100%, and then made it happen. It is clear that he put in a ton of hours and all his energy behind Dogfish Head from the beginning.
I'm trying to analyze how Sam and I are alike and how we are different. First, we both have an Emerson quote that we like (his is: "Who so would be a man/must be a nonconformist./He who would gather immortal palms/must not be hindered/by the name of goodness,/but must explore if it be goodness./Nothing is atlast sacred/but the integrity of your own mind." and mine is: "All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth, Caesar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a cobbler's trade, a hundred acres of ploughed land; or a scholar's garret. Yet line for line your dominion is as great as theirs, though without the fine names. Build therefore your own world."). He started DFH when he was 25 which is the time I'd like to start FPR (he was also engaged or newly married also). We both appreciate art and THE arts (he was an English major and I was an American Studies major, we both like to draw/paint/create). I think the other thing he have in common is that we both want to express ourselves in the work we do (that is apparent in all his "off-centered ales").
From what I have read and heard him say he was working in a bar and thinking about going to grad school when decided to open up the brewpub. Here is an area where we differ a bit... I have the security of a full time job which would be tough to give up (regardless of how much I loathe it it still pays the bills). I've come to the realization that at some point I'm going to have to burn the ships to keep me from turning back to the security of my current job and lifestyle. This is a pretty scary thought and in reality it's not something I can do until the end of 2011 at the earliest (because I'll be buying a house later this year). That's fine with me because I need 2011 to learn/network/gather info/develop and refine a business plan... oh, and raise capital (raising capital may be another area where me and Sam differ, I think his folks were well-to-do and got his venture off the ground. All this means is that I will have to focus that much harder on this aspect of my plan). I think at 24 we would have a lot in common and share similar dreams, the only difference is that he has spent the last 15 years living out his dream while my future is unwritten.
Stepping outside the box is scary as hell. I have two plans to become successful in life. One is a pretty sure thing and it is this: I have money saved for grad school, I could get my MBA before I turn 30 and be making six figures somewhere in my mid 30's. That seems like a safe bet and a pretty sure thing, but I would probably loathe that job as much as I loathe my current one. The second option is to be my own boss, work at something that I love, express myself in the products I offer, and to be able to put my name on something that I can be proud of. The latter option is the only option that gets my blood pumping.
Time to go read Emerson's "Self Reliance" one more time...
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