Kyle MacDonald

Over Kyle MacDonald

One Red Paperclip: How an Ordinary Man Achieved His Dream with the Help of a Simple Office Supply

Kyle MacDonald had one red paperclip. He also had a dream of owning his own home, but no regular job. How could he buy a house, something way bigger than a paperclip, without a steady income? So Kyle MacDonald put an ad on a classifieds website with the intention of trading that paperclip for something better. A girl in Vancouver offered him a fish pen in exchange for his paperclip, and so it went... in less than a year, Kyle MacDonald achieved his lofty goal and along the way made new friends and learned valuable life lessons. At the podium, Kyle MacDonald shares his true, irreverent and insightful anecdotes and inspires audiences to find their own red paperclip... and realize their dreams.

Kyle MacDonald's fantastic journey was first immortalized in his blog and is now an acclaimed new book, One Red Paperclip. When he began his quest, he was at a low point in life, living in his girlfriend's apartment in Quebec and trying to figure a creative way out of the financial hole he'd dug for himself. A job would help... but was there a more innovative way? Inspired by the childhood game, "Bigger and Better," Kyle MacDonald moved around the globe as he moved from paperclip holder, to proud owner of a fish pen, a smiley face doorknob, a camping stove, and ten trades later, to legitimate homeowner. From the start, Kyle MacDonald insisted on making each deal in person, and these personal exchanges turned out to be as meaningful in the end as the net result, his new house in Kipling, Saskatchewan. Quirky and inspirational, Kyle MacDonald's story that began with a small, red, now-legendary paperclip ended with not only an amazing adventure, but with an abundance of inspirational and practical tips on how to live life your own way and achieve your dreams on your own terms.