“Philip… is it you or the plant pots?”
He paused, I could see he was thinking and then a wry smile.
“Alright, let’s do it”
Philip is a Pharmacist who works long hours on his feet, but although he was very active, his weight wasn’t shifting.
You see Philip was a bit of a grazer of the sweet variety.
A biscuit here, a bit of cake there, a little sugar boost to get him through.
If he did have time for a lunch it’d be a sandwich which would be gone in three bites and back to work.
When we first spoke, Philip told me all the things he’d tried. The usual suspects. Some worked for a bit. Some didn’t work at all.
It was affecting his confidence, his mood, clothes didn’t really fit well anymore.
He needed to sort it.
He also told me he’d just moved house – another stress – and was renovating. This included a purchase of some particularly expensive plant pots.
Philip was very chatty, easy to talk to, we discussed a lot.
I explained how I work and how it’d work for him. Things all sounded good and then I asked, “Shall we get started then?”
And that’s when he froze and his demeanour changed.
This was crunch time.
Would it work? Or be another failed attempt?
This was the first time Philip would be paying for help in sorting this, so that added an additional layer.
Panic set in and the verbal diarrhoea began. “I’m busy with work, I’m renovating the house, maybe this isn’t the right time”
I stopped him and calmly said, “Philip… is it you or the plant pots?”
I’m not a salesman. I don’t do pressure sales, but the truth is there’s never a perfect time. Life will always throw plant pots, bills or busy seasons at you.
And if Philip reads this, I’m sure he’ll comment below that it turned out to be a great decision!