Have you ever noticed the ongoing dialectic that asserts these apparent opposites: “Cold calling doesn’t work!” and “Cold calling is very effective”?

“Which is it?” you might be wondering, head spinning.

As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, it’s both. But how can that be? Cold calling works for some people, who know how to work the process and steady their minds for it.

It fails for those that don’t master its mechanics and that riddle themselves with doubt they’ll succeed.

Still, you might be scratching your head. There is a reason for that. You may not be bright enough to consider both possibilities, simultaneously.

As F. Scott Fitzgerald said: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

Most folks shut down when they see a crossroads, a contradiction of any kind. Either-Or is the only apparent choice. Seldom do they consider two simple additions: Neither and Both. muug.