It’s been kind of slow around here. I get up, I work, I walk, I watch a documentary, I go to bed, I get up and do it again. Same as you, probably, almost 11 weeks into the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders at this point. Along the way,  I watched a couple of documentaries about the food supply chain and, disgusted by what I saw, felt inspired to eliminate all animal products from my diet. In other words, “go vegan“ as a trial, as a demo, for a couple of weeks, see how it went, and, maybe, make a long term commitment to it after the two week trial period.

So, I watched a couple of videos about the joys and benefits of the vegan lifestyle. Typical comments included, “oh, I feel so much more alive, my energy level is high, it’s good for the planet, this is the best.” Well, I’d like to feel more alive and I’d love to have a higher energy level. So, reflecting on the food chain documentaries, I announced to my family and a couple of close friends, “I’m going vegan for a couple of weeks.”

“What’s the big deal?”, I thought. “While I eat a lot of dairy – milk, cheese, and yogurt, I rarely eat red meat. Chicken, probably, two or three times a month. Maybe a half-pound of deli turkey. I can find vegan recipes, drop the milk and cheese, and voila! Alive, alive-o!”

I’m at the end of my two-week trial. And the question is, do I let my “free trial period” expire or sign up for the full process?

Yesterday, after eating an ENORMOUS tomato, avocado, black bean, cucumber, and chopped mushroom lunch salad, I felt like I was going to burst. Thinking, “this is crazy, I can’t do this at every meal,” I shared my experience with a friend who said, “You really need to be careful. That will be your life – you have to eat a lot and eat constantly in order to get enough protein and iron and other minerals on a plant-based diet. You are a lean-framed “small portion” guy who rarely sits down for a meal. How is this going to work, exactly?”

Yeah, I was SO, so excited after watching the vegan lifestyle TV testimonial sales pitches and then…

Happily, I have a couple of friends who are jumping in to remind me about why I started this experiment and to share ideas.

Which reminds me that, when our clients hit their “demo looked great, now look at this mess” post-purchase implementation frustrations, we need to be there for them, too.

Nick Miller trains banks and bankers to help small businesses thrive by guiding them to good financial practices and leveraging the full range of their banks’ capabilities. He is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.