It was very early to finish rich, I wrote an article about Kyle McDonald and the great adventure that he lived through a red paper clip that has traded in a crazy series of fourteen transactions. Its purpose was to share what he had in hand to something "bigger and better" ("bigger and better" in his terms) until until it happens to get a house. A house for a paper clip. In 2008, the adventure was still fresh in people's minds (the story is no longer outstanding from July 2005 to July 2006, in just one year). People have not forgotten.
At the time I did that relay information based on what was written on his blog and on information available on the net. I decided to really immerse myself in history to revive the past and I picked up the book at the library. It sounded too easy air all that, I wanted to know exactly how the plot took place. I was hooked on the book itself. The version available at the library there is nothing written on the cover (see above), it's just a drawing of a red paper clip, and frankly, a picture is worth a thousand words. It's about!
Certainly, appearances are deceptive. The book cover is simple, at this point I would say minimalist style of the book is simple and alive. It's more of a "spoken" style rather "writes". Besides, if you want to improve your English I strongly recommend the original version of the book. Kyle tells twelve months rampant that led to swap the red paper clip that was lying on his desk for a home in just fourteen transactions and that led across Canada and the United States. And this is where we realize, immersing themselves in history, there is nothing simple or easy about his adventure.
It all started completely by chance. Kyle is undeniably a person both down-to-earth and blessed with natural intelligence, some "trick". He is also opportunistic in the best sense. Thus, chance has served well. His adventure illustrates very well the fact that we make a chance that we must work to arrive. In his case he also did something he likes, he has chosen, which is of course enrich his experience. "Luck favors the brave," said Virgil. This is a quote which dates from the 1st century before Christ, I would say it has been proven over time; -) Of course, Kyle was lucky but he also used and built upon the strengths that came to him throughout his adventure, he was able to recognize. He did not win the lottery, it worked, and even very hard to achieve his goal. The way the story was reported in the newspapers and on television around the world (Kyle and his girlfriend were even invited to a television interview in Japan) suggests that it is simple to carry out a series of barters, Kyle did not really "worked" for his house. It is not. If it was that easy it would have been the only one to try and get there.
Here in my opinion the essential ingredients for a successful challenge of this style:
Trusting life
You have to trust in life, trust in his abilities. We must dare; Kyle has clearly been raised by loving parents, who taught him that nothing is impossible. He speaks of his parents as if they were friends, but with great respect. Personally I found myself confronted with this question: How would I react if one of my children came to me 25 years ago, still unemployed or between jobs, to say he does not feel ready to work and that he intends to engage in barter ... I know that my first reaction would be to pass judgment, even if not necessarily express. I do not know what her parents thought but they accompanied him on the first day, throughout his journey.
Work very well under pressure
The pressure was very high because local newspapers had publicized the fact that Kyle wanted to achieve its goal within twelve months. Gradually, as the swaps were advertised on the site Kyle, potential participants, the curious and fans assailed his blog; he even received 30,000 hits in one night (several million in all), a situation that would make the dream of any blogger, but is on the other hand very demanding. Kylevait put his personal phone number on the site, and cell kept ringing. The story was that he had also chosen a horse neighing ringing, and of course it had to be quite comical. He answered every call, every email. He no longer had sleepless nights. Moreover barter were simple at first but the more value items or services that were offered and traded rose, the pressure to make the right choices was high. Besides the portability of objects. He had big problems to move the generator for example, that could not be transported by air.
Establish clear objectives
The famous objectives: -) A house for a paper clip in twelve months. Kyle would never have succeeded if he had not focused all his energy during those twelve months. I did not put this at the beginning of the list because at the beginning of the adventure Kyle had no defined time constraint. He is a journalist who played a trick on him by announcing the period of twelve months. Kyle had told him while asking him not to make it public because he himself did not. From the moment this notion of time materialized, she became an obligation. Kyle had no choice but to put all his energy to get there. Dare, give yourself goals and challenges. It gives you wings!
Answer the phone and email, accept interviews on radio and television. With its barter, Kyle met celebrities like Michel Barrette and Alice Cooper. He exchanged with the first, used the second part of its trade. Some interviews were done a few times without preparation, cold directly to the phone. There is even an anecdote where Kyle is an airport between flights. During the time he has available, it takes possession of the payphone at the airport to give an interview in Australia (DJ took a chance and called him), respond to potential trade talk with her family (still very present in his entourage). A life of jet-setter!
Use your instinct
Kyle doubted a few times but I must say infrequently compared to what I would have doubted, faced with situations in which he found himself. Pressure from the media and Internet users was such that it was very easy to put all the adventure in question.
Having a keen sense of shared
You have to be resourceful, do not be intimidated. It is especially in this register Kyle demonstrated cunning, and shows a raw intelligence. On several occasions Kyle took full limelight. This is a person who is comfortable under the cameras, although he admits that it was often very nervous, but who would not? The most concrete example is when he announced in an interview that he would never exchange in the city of Yahk, British Columbia. Why Yahk? He felt that he had to provide an answer during the interview; he could just as well say that he would trade anywhere in the world, a typical and expected response that would not have made waves. By isolating the people of Yahk he unwittingly created a need, a demand. He has ostracized its inhabitants. He came out of this situation brilliantly taking witness surfers, writing on his blog that he had been hypnotized by George Stroumboulopoulos, personality fashionable at the time, during the interview, and therefore "put the blame" on the interviewer. The conclusion of the story? The exchange was made in Yahk under the spotlight. Brilliant!
Flexibility, Adaptability
Kyle has never hesitated to go where exchanges took place. It is dedicated to 100% in this activity for a year. It is clear that he would not have had a full-time job at the same time.
Keep it simple and humble
The importance of not losing its values, not to get caught. With all the media attention that surrounded, he could have lost his head, taken to another and destroy all he had managed to build.
As we can see, Kyle created from scratch own job: -) He used this experience as a springboard to do what he loves. At the time, he vaguely looking for a job and sent her without conviction resume to prospective employers when his eyes fell on the red paper clip. It was not a restful activity nor an easy activity, exchanging a paper clip against a house. What started like a joke soon turned into an adventure that took Kyle and his family across North America. In fact he would have gone anywhere. This adventure has been made possible because people wanted to believe they followed the dream of what Canadian Anglophone without borders. If he did it is of course because he has demonstrated a strong will, but also because people, people who do not even know him, wanted to believe in his dream, and contributed to make it a reality.
Through the book, in fact at the end of each chapter, Kyle writes simple, real truths in white on a red background; it's kind of milestones that motivate and forcing the reader to question it. This is a great book to take with you when traveling, reading almost anywhere. We dig very well in history.
If you go to the site Kyle oneredpaperclip.com now, you will find there is obviously much less activity but it still seem to enjoy a lot. It was in Vancouver for the Olympics. He had intended to put the house in exchange for (I had also mentioned in my original post), it seems to have received a lot of offers (and a lot of red paper clips (!)) For the exchange, and in the end he decided to make a donation to the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan, the last entity with whom he exchanged there 4 years. Until proven otherwise, the adventure is over. This adventure anyway, but it leaves room for many more! This year sensationalism shook the planet. People with Kyle was a breath of fresh air, a ray of sunshine. Just now apply his example to his own life. Besides, do you have clear objectives? ; -)
Certainly, appearances are deceptive. The book cover is simple, at this point I would say minimalist style of the book is simple and alive. It's more of a "spoken" style rather "writes". Besides, if you want to improve your English I strongly recommend the original version of the book. Kyle tells twelve months rampant that led to swap the red paper clip that was lying on his desk for a home in just fourteen transactions and that led across Canada and the United States. And this is where we realize, immersing themselves in history, there is nothing simple or easy about his adventure.
It all started completely by chance. Kyle is undeniably a person both down-to-earth and blessed with natural intelligence, some "trick". He is also opportunistic in the best sense. Thus, chance has served well. His adventure illustrates very well the fact that we make a chance that we must work to arrive. In his case he also did something he likes, he has chosen, which is of course enrich his experience. "Luck favors the brave," said Virgil. This is a quote which dates from the 1st century before Christ, I would say it has been proven over time; -) Of course, Kyle was lucky but he also used and built upon the strengths that came to him throughout his adventure, he was able to recognize. He did not win the lottery, it worked, and even very hard to achieve his goal. The way the story was reported in the newspapers and on television around the world (Kyle and his girlfriend were even invited to a television interview in Japan) suggests that it is simple to carry out a series of barters, Kyle did not really "worked" for his house. It is not. If it was that easy it would have been the only one to try and get there.
Here in my opinion the essential ingredients for a successful challenge of this style:
Trusting life
You have to trust in life, trust in his abilities. We must dare; Kyle has clearly been raised by loving parents, who taught him that nothing is impossible. He speaks of his parents as if they were friends, but with great respect. Personally I found myself confronted with this question: How would I react if one of my children came to me 25 years ago, still unemployed or between jobs, to say he does not feel ready to work and that he intends to engage in barter ... I know that my first reaction would be to pass judgment, even if not necessarily express. I do not know what her parents thought but they accompanied him on the first day, throughout his journey.
Work very well under pressure
The pressure was very high because local newspapers had publicized the fact that Kyle wanted to achieve its goal within twelve months. Gradually, as the swaps were advertised on the site Kyle, potential participants, the curious and fans assailed his blog; he even received 30,000 hits in one night (several million in all), a situation that would make the dream of any blogger, but is on the other hand very demanding. Kylevait put his personal phone number on the site, and cell kept ringing. The story was that he had also chosen a horse neighing ringing, and of course it had to be quite comical. He answered every call, every email. He no longer had sleepless nights. Moreover barter were simple at first but the more value items or services that were offered and traded rose, the pressure to make the right choices was high. Besides the portability of objects. He had big problems to move the generator for example, that could not be transported by air.
Establish clear objectives
The famous objectives: -) A house for a paper clip in twelve months. Kyle would never have succeeded if he had not focused all his energy during those twelve months. I did not put this at the beginning of the list because at the beginning of the adventure Kyle had no defined time constraint. He is a journalist who played a trick on him by announcing the period of twelve months. Kyle had told him while asking him not to make it public because he himself did not. From the moment this notion of time materialized, she became an obligation. Kyle had no choice but to put all his energy to get there. Dare, give yourself goals and challenges. It gives you wings!
Answer the phone and email, accept interviews on radio and television. With its barter, Kyle met celebrities like Michel Barrette and Alice Cooper. He exchanged with the first, used the second part of its trade. Some interviews were done a few times without preparation, cold directly to the phone. There is even an anecdote where Kyle is an airport between flights. During the time he has available, it takes possession of the payphone at the airport to give an interview in Australia (DJ took a chance and called him), respond to potential trade talk with her family (still very present in his entourage). A life of jet-setter!
Use your instinct
Kyle doubted a few times but I must say infrequently compared to what I would have doubted, faced with situations in which he found himself. Pressure from the media and Internet users was such that it was very easy to put all the adventure in question.
Having a keen sense of shared
You have to be resourceful, do not be intimidated. It is especially in this register Kyle demonstrated cunning, and shows a raw intelligence. On several occasions Kyle took full limelight. This is a person who is comfortable under the cameras, although he admits that it was often very nervous, but who would not? The most concrete example is when he announced in an interview that he would never exchange in the city of Yahk, British Columbia. Why Yahk? He felt that he had to provide an answer during the interview; he could just as well say that he would trade anywhere in the world, a typical and expected response that would not have made waves. By isolating the people of Yahk he unwittingly created a need, a demand. He has ostracized its inhabitants. He came out of this situation brilliantly taking witness surfers, writing on his blog that he had been hypnotized by George Stroumboulopoulos, personality fashionable at the time, during the interview, and therefore "put the blame" on the interviewer. The conclusion of the story? The exchange was made in Yahk under the spotlight. Brilliant!
Flexibility, Adaptability
Kyle has never hesitated to go where exchanges took place. It is dedicated to 100% in this activity for a year. It is clear that he would not have had a full-time job at the same time.
Keep it simple and humble
The importance of not losing its values, not to get caught. With all the media attention that surrounded, he could have lost his head, taken to another and destroy all he had managed to build.
As we can see, Kyle created from scratch own job: -) He used this experience as a springboard to do what he loves. At the time, he vaguely looking for a job and sent her without conviction resume to prospective employers when his eyes fell on the red paper clip. It was not a restful activity nor an easy activity, exchanging a paper clip against a house. What started like a joke soon turned into an adventure that took Kyle and his family across North America. In fact he would have gone anywhere. This adventure has been made possible because people wanted to believe they followed the dream of what Canadian Anglophone without borders. If he did it is of course because he has demonstrated a strong will, but also because people, people who do not even know him, wanted to believe in his dream, and contributed to make it a reality.
Through the book, in fact at the end of each chapter, Kyle writes simple, real truths in white on a red background; it's kind of milestones that motivate and forcing the reader to question it. This is a great book to take with you when traveling, reading almost anywhere. We dig very well in history.
If you go to the site Kyle oneredpaperclip.com now, you will find there is obviously much less activity but it still seem to enjoy a lot. It was in Vancouver for the Olympics. He had intended to put the house in exchange for (I had also mentioned in my original post), it seems to have received a lot of offers (and a lot of red paper clips (!)) For the exchange, and in the end he decided to make a donation to the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan, the last entity with whom he exchanged there 4 years. Until proven otherwise, the adventure is over. This adventure anyway, but it leaves room for many more! This year sensationalism shook the planet. People with Kyle was a breath of fresh air, a ray of sunshine. Just now apply his example to his own life. Besides, do you have clear objectives? ; -)
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