1.) More attention to detail does not necessarily equal better beer and each stage has it's highlights:
a.) Milling - crush
b.) Mash - pH, temperature, time, w/g ratio
c.) Boil - pH, temperature, time, vigor
d.) Fermentation - temperature, time, yeast cell count, oxygenation
e.) Storage/serving - minimize oxygen exposure
2.) Malting your own barley, wheat, corn, etc... is not only possible but produces excellent beer
3.) Natural processes are the best (avoid additives)
4.) Write your own recipe and water software (if you can)
5.) It takes a lot of time and research to glean something useful from internet forums as you need to be able to distinguish facts from BS
6.) DeClerck and Kunze are very likely two of the best *textbooks* on the subject
7.) Brew weekly to maximize your skill and knowledge
8.) Experiment as much as you need to in order to convince yourself that something is good/bad, works for you, will help you in your process, works/doesn't work, etc... but recognize that it's still only your opinion until quantified by others.
9.) Anyone can write beer brewing books, the process is really that simple to understand and implement, and most of these books are just repeats of the same information.
10.) Recipes are a dime a dozen, without proper process and function they're essentially useless. An example is the NEIPA thread or the Wesvleteren thread on HBT, recipes on the first page but everything else is mostly process.
11.) Kegging is much less work than bottling, but you'll need to bottle at some point so you might as well learn how up front
12.) Styles do help define a beer but are not something to be strictly abided over
13.) Radical Brewing and Brewing Classic Styles will help guide you but are not the final say in recipes (who can't put together a recipe for each style and write a story around it?)
14.) Brewing liquor (water) is easy to understand but you'll need to put in some time and effort if it's not your forte.
15.) You will at some point question whether or not you are an alcoholic. Take a break, prove to yourself that you're not, get yourself healthy, etc... come back with a fresh point of view or don't (come back). You might go so far as to sell all of your equipment and move on... that's ok too.
16.) Honest feedback is difficult to obtain. Finding some good folks at a local club may help but this can also be hit and miss.
17.) Everyone speaks with an agenda, learning the facts first hand will help overcome or embrace these agendas.
18.) Subscribing to BYO and/or Zymurgy magazines can lend itself to additional tips/tricks, processes, recipes, etc... reading the old back issues is very interesting.