Jason Hartman interviews Kyle MacDonald, author of One Red Paperclip, about Kyle’s amazing bartering journey from one red paperclip to eventually a movie role opportunity to a house in Saskatchewan, where the biggest housewarming party ever was held.
The idea began with a childhood game of Bigger and Better. Kyle’s opinion is that anything in life is only worth what someone is willing to give for it. Things are worth different amounts to different people, and that worth may surprise you! Kyle MacDonald grew up in Belcarra, near Vancouver. He’s really into projects, usually fun things that take on an obsessive element to some degree. Most noteworthy of these projects was the time he started with a red paperclip and traded it for bigger and better things until he wound up with a house. It was a silly idea and turned out to be a big deal. So big that the red paperclip has become his de-facto symbol and he’s somewhat known as the “red paperclip guy.”
To Kyle, a ‘red paperclip’ is more of a symbolic thing, an idea that you’re ready to launch. A new project about to happen. That spark of insight or inspiration. The most important thing about an idea is to do something with it. Today, Kyle lives in Montreal with his wife and does speaking engagement, photography, art projects, and “Who are These Guys?” to name a few of the projects he has embarked on.
