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TEDx Talks
Published: 2015-11-20
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s3bdVxuFBs
my name is Kyle I'm the red paperclip guy but before I get started on that story I want to draw attention to the slide behind me on the beginning of every Ted video out there the %HESITATION whatever it's called the screenshot precede the video there everyone standing like this all of them so we don't demand more from Ted put post comments online poking fun at this
we need better screen shots from his videos we can make a better world of Ted with better screen shots under the paperclip though %HESITATION this is just kind of crazy idea I had when I was about ten years ago I was looking down at my desk and I saw a red paperclip sitting there I said you know what I earned this game called bigger and better
re start with something small you trade it for something bigger and then you repeat I wonder what would happen if I took this red paperclip and tried to treat it so I posted a picture of that red paperclip on a website called Craig's list and two girls named Ronnie intranet respondents said Hey that's pretty cool we'd like to trade with you got a pen shaped like
a fish I was really excited this is the cool pen this is bigger and better than a red paperclip how far can I go to stadia anybody want to fish she had a penchant like a fish absolutely my name's Annie and I've got a door knob with the crazy face on it to trade then of RD gone way up from a paper clip and I was
thinking like how far can I go with me to keep going to look one day own a house or something from Shawn says come down to my place will cook burgers and I'll trade you my camping stove for that or not because I need it fix the knob on my stovetop espresso maker move removing assets and moving liabilities and assets were creating value improving each other's
lives albeit on a small scale the sergeant David J. of the US marine corps he's that I've been looking for that exact model of camping stove and I've got extra generators would you like an electric generator and to me this was a dream come true electric generator finally my teenage dreams of being able to create power were realism unfortunately most people on the internet arm didn't
suffer from a blackout they didn't need power so my trading in for bigger and better things that I thought had value turned into a liability and it took me several weeks three of the trade that's but actually found another person just recently out of his teenage years I did want create power this generator lives there was watching and he was in New York City and he
says look I've got an empty beer keg attribute I owe you to fill the cake with beer and and younger Budweiser sign and what do you what do you say so I met up with them we made the trade and hears us showing all parts of the trade work IBM rebranded the mishmash of I or you beer keg and young Budweiser sign and called it an
instant party does anybody out there want to party my name is Michelle Brett I'm a famous radio and TV personality in the province of Quebec and I want to make a trip with you absolutely Michelle would you have betrayed I'll trade you my worst snowmobile have intrigued by the idea of somebody's worst snowmobile implied that he had not only had more than one snowmobile these kind
of cheeky and willing to prove to me that you know I got better ones but achievement worth is really happy to trade oil and who the great guy and it was a pretty nice no bill seeing how was the middle of winter in Canada and it was very cold and it was the kind of thing where a snowmobile at that time year had more value than
in the summer snowmobile magazine called snow riders west called me up and said Hey we would like to offer you two trips for two to the Canadian Rockies in exchange for that snowmobile it'll probably give our magazines and publicity and who doesn't want to go to the Rockies this time here I said yes and is that alright what's the catch in the said the catches you
can come to the Rockies you can't come to the town of yak in British Columbia and I thought I was gonna find a loop hole around this week we decided to kind of blackmail and national news organizations are really long story but what ended up happening was I got on TV wearing the logo for the shirt I was wearing %HESITATION was called sent us the uniform
company and it was a sort of an inside joke my cousin's husband give me this shirt and even longer story to explain the whole thing however the head honcho of that company saw me on TV with his corporate uniform on is that with this is a huge liability to me but it's also an opportunity and we met up one night he says I'd like to make
you a trade but he said I like I think that's the perfect way we can work together without selling out are sold to the corporate ownership devil he said great let's meet up we met up he offered to trade this van for the trip to the Rockies I drove the van to the Rockies Luke is a trip include that and I wound up with this giant
machine much bigger than a paper clip arguably better worse fuel mileage but transport a lot better things than is that like that is anybody out there want to trade and I realized bigger and better was just really getting bigger but how could he get better what was the opportunity here and I realize that I've been offered %HESITATION recording college paper a promise and opportunity to someone
who is good at music does anybody want to be a recording artist so I traded the van for the recording contract with Brendan he used it to drive around in his band which was currently traveling around in nineteen eighty eight Volkswagen Jetta moving up the van really help him out I took a recording contract does anybody want to be a recording artist and it turns out
pretty much everyone in the world wants to record music I was offered on my soul from a soul singer inky finger at someone actually offered me their virginity which is I don't legalities or eight needless to say I said no because Jody says said to me look about a half a duplex in Phoenix Arizona half of its own rented I'd like to trade you a year
free rent in a duplex that what he's that said yes %HESITATION we went down there made the trade for the white picket fence very americana and now had a year free rent her next door well it was one of attendance actually her next door neighbor Leslie found out about this and she said I want that figure and so she offered me up an afternoon with her
boss and at first alcoholic with who because they didn't know who her boss was and then she stood up I'll bring a moat and I'm like well this is kind of weird she brings out her bosses had her boss %HESITATION was Alice Cooper issue with it Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix AZ that the manager the restaurant so I was like an afternoon Alice Cooper that's pretty amazing
what's what's gonna be worth his tour manager called me up and says we're on tour in Fargo North Dakota why do you come up experience enough without Cooper and see what it's like and then after all afternoon this happened live on stage now this is a really nice guy this picture displayed on a few look it's it's great you're doing that you're gonna find an Italian
billionaire who the big Alice Cooper fan you probably have several mentions he easily trade one of them you promise me one thing without you promise you won't trade afternoon with me for a weekend with the rolling stones are a nightmare cast as there are in all of drive in full ring and it was mark mark that I'm an amateur photographer and I've got a lot of
kiss memorabilia would you be interested in any of that of the it's hard like the really one attribute this guy but what do you have any says well I got this I got the holodeck his posters I got his guitars like a kiss snow globe we think kids snowglobe I immediately said yes and only the snow globe so I went up met up with mark traded
they yeah after without Cooper a priceless opportunity for kids know bloom and the whole world kinda sort of like Mulu and I like this is great lights up changes colors here's some of the various online responses from the media is the worst trait that I've ever heard of bar none this is possibly the dumbest decision I've ever seen anyone may ever except for the people in
tears other people were much more eloquent in their delivery in this was the only time during the entire project where I had another tree lined up every other traded come along serendipitously it and it just been this amazing experience however two months previous all this this guy had called me up and said Hey my name's carbon burns and I'm a huge Hollywood actor %HESITATION I'm making
a movie and I would like to offer a paid speaking credited role in a Hollywood film would you be interested in trading for that I I just done they are recording project you know that yes absolutely th the sound perfect he hung up the phone and I'm like Corbin Bernsen who is this guy turns out he is very well known he's been in many major movies
and he also according to wikipedia has the world's largest snowglobe collection over six thousand five hundred children since it was wikipedia I knew it was true and I just wanna kept in the back of my head and when mark said he had kissed noble about how perfect called Corben Corbett you want the kiss no movies except if you're sending a picture carbon callback not only do
I want it I need and while these comments were coming in late dumb asses etcetera %HESITATION had no back up plan and luckily for the project and for Corbin he did get hit by a bus and he was still alive we made a trade and he showed us into a snow globe lair of over six thousand snow globes which looks kind of like this following this
%HESITATION did too economic development officer town of Kipling's the schedule on a fellow named Burt wrote called me up and said see that you've been doing this project our town has a couple extra house that we own would and would there be a potential that maybe we could trade one of these houses for something you haven't I think why right now have a role in the
movies perfect but we're thinking is having a huge house when party a huge celebration inviting everyone in the world come to Kipling and we can offer an opportunity local Kipling idle and we'll have live auditions for the movie role here right in town and I said that's absolutely perfect Burt what do you need to do to make this happen is that what we need town council
approval as I will if you can get it that be great he called me back two weeks later is like I did it I got town council approval we can make the trade turns up town council approval of getting to people to put their hand in there but full credit to Burt you made it happen and %HESITATION each other the Kipling and they're there we are
that's how you treat people for a house not the host the best part about this whole project those fun making the trades for thing that these are to tell the story with the objects but with the people behind it and Kipling apparently they have Mounties that signed the deeds to house when you make the trade we had a huge house one party over three thousand five
hundred people came to the town of Kipling the town of under a thousand people for an entire weekend there was live audition things on stage five six hundred people in the crowd including the fire the volunteer fire department in a capacity three hundred person buildings of the theater they let it slide but it was an amazing amazing experience Corbin Bernsen went out on stage the next
day in town and said here's the winner of the movie role and a written on his back with the name Nolan Hubbard milling Hubbard had just graduate from high school was making minimum wage the bottle depot in two months after this picture was taken he was down in Los Angeles working on a film with Corbin %HESITATION and an amazingly telepaths and who other without this opportunity
to make a film might not have that chance it was all about the people saying yes let's build something with you from any other with collaborate let's see what happens that was what one repeat loop was all about they're at that Mister postman partying in Kipling's catch one %HESITATION Trina had the original red paperclip around her neck in a in a picture frame and people are
saying to me like while you trade with people but don't you wish you had back now that's got to be worth a lot of money it's gonna be it's really famous and I said to them that they would I still think today it wasn't what the paper clip it's not about having it selling it or what it's worth if I hadn't traded away that red paperclip
I just be a guy sitting there is death holding a paper clip in his hand wondering what would happen if I did something with the paper clips of you have a paper clip traded away you might only get a Fishman but it might be the single step that leads to an amazing journey and for me that journey will be off this red circles wish you the
