Little Red Paper clip

I am lucky enough to have a really good monitor (actually two) at work -- large, vibrant, crisp display. I use them extensively throughout the day as I shuffle between applications I use to perform my job duties. I also use them for something else though. I use them to remind myself of different things. Sometimes those things are represented by pictures of my family as a wallpaper, but more often than not I use images that I find on Flickr to express my mood (a tranquil sea-shot perhaps or a beautiful shot of lightning), alter my mood (a funny animal picture, or nice nature shot), or shout encouragement (see below) whenever I have a little desktop showing. I change them several times a week usually, and I let them scroll randomly through on their own as a screen saver when I'm away from the desk.

The image I have on my desktop this week is of a little red paper clip. It's a little philosophical to most, but when I see it, I remind myself that little things can turn into big things -- for better or worse.

"What the heck is he talking about?!" I know you're thinking it :-)

Several years ago, a brilliant, but eccentric Canadian decided that he was in need of a house, 'cept he couldn't afford one. So he took what he had, a little red paper clip, and decided that he was gonna trade up -- all the way to a house. Kyle MacDonald was that man.

According to the Wikipedia article:

• On July 14, 2005, he went to Vancouver and traded the paperclip for a fish-shaped pen.
• He then traded the pen the same day for a hand-sculpted doorknob from Seattle, Washington, which he nicknamed "Knob-T".
• On July 25, 2005, he traveled to Amherst, Massachusetts, with a friend to trade the Knob-T for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel).
• On September 24, 2005, he went to San Clemente, California, and traded the camp stove for a Honda generator.
• On November 16, 2005, he made a second (and successful) attempt (after having the generator confiscated by the New York City Fire Department) in Maspeth, Queens, to trade the generator for an "instant party": an empty keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the beer of the holder's choice, and a neon Budweiser sign.
• On December 8, 2005, he traded the "instant party" to Quebec comedian and radio personality Michel Barrette for a Ski-doo snowmobile.
• Within a week of that, he traded the snowmobile for a two-person trip to Yahk, British Columbia, in February 2006.
• On or about January 7, 2006, the second person on the trip to Yahk traded Kyle a cube van for the privilege.
• On or about February 22, 2006, he traded the cube van for a recording contract with Metal Works in Toronto.
• On or about April 11, 2006, he traded the recording contract to Jody Gnant for a year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona.
• On or about April 26, 2006, he traded the one year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona, for one afternoon with Alice Cooper.
• On or about May 26, 2006, he traded the one afternoon with Alice Cooper for a KISS motorized snow globe.
• On or about June 2, 2006, he traded the KISS motorized snow globe to Corbin Bernsen for a role in the film Donna on Demand.^[2]
• On or about July 5, 2006, he traded the movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.

In less than a year, a piece of metal less than 6 inches long (or, I guess, 15.25 centimeters since this guy is from up north), it turned into something so much bigger! And the journey was worth just as much as the final trade I suspect -- the people he met, the press coverage, the travel...

But back to my little world. My point is that often I let the little things get in the way of my accomplishing the big things. I let some little jerk ruin my day because of what s/he did or didn't do, or did or didn't say. I let those little things add up to a much bigger thing, but in a much different way than Kyle did. I need to remind myself that it's up to me what that little paper clip turns into. It can turn into a piece of metal all twisted and contorted or even broken into pieces, or it can lead to something much nicer and more fulfilling, even if it's not a new house.

My "in-your-face reminders" don't always work, but I've gained some notoriety for my desktops and now people stopping by ask me what they mean. Even the discussion with my coworkers aims to reinforce my goal. It gets them thinking a bit too... It's worth a try anyway.