Yes, a paperclip. A red one at that. If you don't know the story, please indulge me.....
Was checking out the 'Recommended Book's section of the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago, one book caught my eye: One Red Paperclip - a story about a Canadian (Kyle MacDonald) playing a trading game he once played as a kid, called "Bigger and Better" - trading miscellaneous items to get something better. The goal, 14 trades later, was to take a red paperclip and to work his way up to a HOUSE. This book chronicled his amazing journey ~
Yup, you probably guessed it; I bought the book. Was done with it in a matter of days (if you know me, that's pretty much a world record. We'd normally survive another Ice Age before I finish any book). A simple story, yet to me it was truly motivating. Here's a guy that had barely any inhibitions, and the ones he did have, he simply pushed them aside. Decided one day to do something amazing. Something no one has done before. Something that would change his life. And just did it. Made me think about all the things I want to accomplish in this life.
As much as it sounds simple, it's actually one of the hardest things to do - to move from a stagnant state of mind, and move into a new direction. Be it for your personal or professional well-being, this is a trait that isn't too common. Let's say you want to learn how to play guitar. Or run a marathon. Or learn how to speak French. What's stopping you? In life, it's easy to make plenty of excuses - yet hard to make enough effort to overcome those excuses.
In the most basic sense, it comes down to how much you want something. When you look at some of the most successful people around - baseball players, real estate moguls, founders of the hottest Internet startups - they all share one common trait: the unrelenting drive to achieve their goal(s).
And that's what makes a red paperclip so great.
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