What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it - Alexander Graham Bell.
The telephone changed everything. Although near instantaneous communication over long distances had been possible since the early 1860s with the proliferation of the telegraph, Samuel Morse’s code proved no match for the power and instant appeal of the human voice, and the will to transmit it. Just as Western Union’s construction of the first transcontinental telegraph from California to New York rendered the Pony Express obsolete within two days of its operation, so too did Alexander Graham Bell’s seminal invention ultimately undo Western Union (the world’s largest communications company at the time). The ability to communicate via the human voice, live, from any point in the world, ushered in an industry and technology-driven culture that continues to evolve, amaze and enrich humanity to this day, over a century later.
The telephone progressed from a luxury to a necessity seemingly overnight, and it has been an important part of our daily lives for as long as anyone now alive can remember, but advancements in miniaturization, speed and the way in which data travel, along with a seismic shift in how and when it is appropriate to communicate, has jolted the medium from an essentiality to sheer compulsion (and quite ironically back to its telegraph-like messaging roots). From e-mail and texting to the Internet, as the flow of information, its transmission and our access to it, has become chronic and non-stop, so have we. As the “Me generation” gorged on 80s excess and was characterized by what it wanted (MTV apparently), Generation Next will forever be defined as the age when instant gratification came to mean instant access. Our patience currently measured in nanoseconds, we want to know, hear and watch everything now, and now never, ever turns off. We have become an on-demand, always on society.
Some see this hyper connectivity as technology gone too far, its repercussions on our culture a magnetic headache of data, a tsunami of radio waves drowning us in chatter, destroying our privacy, crashing the serenity of what must have been, at one time, priceless solitude a period when time to reflect, to contemplate, to recharge, meant we went undisturbed. The ever so short lived work-life-balance movement, upended by social media’s Trojan horse. The last step and final frontier: the direct feed, the hardwiring of our brains, such that we are always truly on, even when we are asleep.
Good, bad, blessing, ruination the fiber optics octopus, a billion miles of glass and switches linking every aspect of our lives means different things to different people. Waxing philosophical about the implications of technology and connected communication, from the loss of tranquility to the extinction of modesty, invites the prognostications of everyone from soothsayers to doomsayers, however, all Luddism aside, what this brave new world means for the nimble and quick, the astute and ambitious, is that if everyone is plugged in and switched on, then everyone is within reach anyone can be contacted, anytime, anywhere.
Whether you know who it is you seek to engage or have only read about them, the penetration and omnipresence of our communications technology allows a man from any walk of life to reach out and touch anyone, no matter how high up on the pedestal that someone may sit. The wealthiest tycoons, the most famous celebrities, from those at the height of political office to the titans of industry, all are reachable. No matter the phalanx of guards or rows of gates that prevent you from shaking hands with the richest of plutocrats or the busiest of Fortune 500 chief executives, the telephone, in all of its manifestations, gains you instant access to anyone you wish. If you research long and hard enough, if you are clever and you persist, you can obtain anyone’s number, you can unlock any door. I have personally pitched the heads of multi-billion dollar corporations, movie stars and Forbes 400 billionaires, and if there is one thing my experiences have proven to me, it is that you can reach out and talk to any person you set your mind to contacting there are no limits. It might take you days, months or even years, but you can choose to interact with movers, shakers and power players at the push of a button.
The right conversation with the right person at the right time can change everything. Your bold action and gutsy call can spark a prosperous new relationship or launch a ground-breaking idea; you can negotiate a fortune altering business deal or close your biggest sale. Whether you are broke and one big commission away from a brand new start or one conversation away from securing funding and becoming the entrepreneur you always dreamed about, one cold call can change your life.
