The Road Not Taken

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 
And sorry I could not travel both 
And be one traveller, long I stood 
And looked down one as far as I could 
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 

Then took the other, as just as fair, 
And having perhaps the better claim, 
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; 
Though as for that the passing there 
Had worn them really about the same, 

And both that morning equally lay 
In leaves, no step had trodden black. 
Oh, I kept the first for another day! 
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, 
I doubted if I should ever come back. 

I shall be telling this with a sigh 
Somewhere ages and ages hence: 
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— 
I took the one less travelled by, 
And that has made all the difference." 
-Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken 

In this particular story, the fork in the road is a letter from a lawyer. Dated April 9th, 2018; it reads: "IN THE MATTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY OF DYNAMIC PROCESS SOLUTIONS INC."

So for the first time in my career, I was laid off. I had been with Dynamic as their Lead Brewery Equipment Designer and Project Manager since we were quoting in my boss' basement. During that role, I had helped about a dozen facilities get equipment and get brewing for Ontario. So as my to-be former co-workers and I drank a last pint at the shop while packing away our things the ever-looming question came forward. Now what?

Well, I believe that it is the decisions that you make when you have no time to make them is what defines who you are. There were people who needed my help. Several companies had projects that were halfway through completion with pieces scattered over China, the United States, and Canada. The reality of the situation was that these companies would either be severely hurt or have to fold as corporations themselves if these projects didn’t complete on time. I think it takes a lot of courage to go on your own and decide to make a new craft product such as beer or wine, and there are lots of difficulties associated with that decision, but the people who you are relying on to get started should not be one of those challenges.

So with that in mind, on April 13th, 2018 I incorporated. I decided that I could help people navigate through these problems and guide them to opening. The important lesson from Frost is that neither path you take is the correct one and that there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to figure out what is most important to you. I hope you will join me for a little bit on my road taken.