As you sit and read this I want you to pick something up. It may be a pencil, your mouse, your phone, or whatever it may be. Now look at that object. Can you imagine it being turned into a house?
Your answer is probably no, but for a 27 year old, unemployed, Canadian, his answer was yes. While he was sitting at his desk, he picked up a red paper clip and said he wanted to trade it for something a little bigger.
If you are anything like me, you’d be thinking that this guy is a lunatic wasting his time, until you hear what he did.
Kyle, “The Red Paper Clip Guy,” took to Craigslist to make a trade. His offer… a pen shaped like a fish.
***Alright c’mon Kyle stop there.
No. Kyle was only beginning. From trade to trade he didn’t know what was going to come next, if anything. His list of trades are as followed. Each getting more and more valuable as he moved along.
This fish pen -> Doorknob
Doorknob -> Camping Grill
Camping Grill -> Electric Generator
Electric Generator -> Budweiser Sign
Budweiser Sign -> Snowmobile
Snowmobile -> A trip for 2 to the Colorado Rockies
A trip for 2 to the Colorado Rockies -> Cintas Truck
Cintas Truck -> Recording Contract
Recording -> A Phoenix duplex for a year rent free
A Phoenix duplex for a year rent free -> An afternoon with Alice Cooper
An afternoon with Alice Cooper -> A KISS snow globe
***Alright, you done messed up Kyle. The worst trade you could’ve made. All that work, for you to mess it up.
Turns out there is an actor, Corbin Bensen, who needed this snow globe to add to his collection of 6,500. His offer? A paid, speaking, credited role in a Hollywood movie.
A KISS snow globe -> Hollywood acting role
***Finally
Hollywood Acting Role -> A house in Kipling, Saskatchewan.
A town official in Kipling offered the house to Kyle under one circumstance. That the acting role would be awarded to someone who auditioned at the house followed by a party. While at that party Kyle was asked, “After all this, do you wish you had the paperclip back?” His answer was no and that the journey was more about the people he met along the way and not about what he received.
An important lesson that Kyle shares was that an amazing journey begins with a single step. If it weren’t for that first thought of wanting to trade the paperclip, one of this would’ve happened. Once you mix action with vision, anything can happen with roadblocks along the way of course. Secondly, it is important to know that everyone and everything has value. No matter how small some may feel at times, like the paperclip, we have the ability to value them at their full potential and turn them into something great.
Throughout his speech Kyle was very engaging. Whether it was his subtle jokes or funny stories, it was like he was having a conversation. Often times we think, “Oh a presentation, it has to be so academic.” Yes, we probably wouldn’t be doing a TED Talk if we weren’t in school however, we are having a conversation with the audience which is a skill that we will all need throughout life. His constant connection to the audience paired with his varied tone levels and body language revealed a true sense of comfort, which made for a great speech.