Motivational Monday: If You Dream It…
Potential.
What is the potential of an object? Well, that depends on your attitude.
You may have heard this story before, but it's about a man who traded one red paperclip for a house and how he did it.
Was the paperclip special? Like made of diamonds or with a rare healing power? Nope. It was just a plain old paperclip.
What was special is that the man, Kyle MacDonald, mastered a skill that is highly valuable in business – how to offer a valuable Joint Venture or win-win scenario. It took him a year, and several trades, including a snow globe and a snowmobile, but he did it – and everyone involved was happy. He only made trades that made both parties feel they got a great deal.
Watch this short 20/20 special about his idea and how he implemented it here:
So, what can we take from this?
You are ONLY limited by your own beliefs. If you have something to offer – anything – and you can figure out how to help others, you can do amazing things.
How can you use this information in your Online Business?
– Barter for things you need in your business.
Whether you have ad space, a skill like writing, technical abilities, software, neglected blogs or websites that you can trade, or even courses at your disposal, you have something of value that you can offer.
– Get your affiliates excited about promoting you by offering them a deal they can't refuse.
Think outside of the box and you'll be amazed at how excited people get about promoting your affiliate program.
– Figure out how to get JV partners lined up to work with you.
Why do you think my Blog World Tour was so successful? I came up with a way to get people to feel silly to turn me down. Now, I have over 50 people waiting for me to guest blog on their blogs. I honestly am swamped by number of requests – and it's FABULOUS exposure for me.
It's all about figuring out what you want AND what others want. Then, offering value. What do YOU bring to the table? What “red paperclips” do you have that you can offer to others?
I would love to hear your thoughts below.
Warmly,
Nicole
Here's the book, if you'd like to learn the whole story.
Click here to check out the book.
Arika Lewis
November 23, 2009 at 5:27 pmProving once again anything is possible if you put your mind to it! :0)
Lisa Marie Mary
November 23, 2009 at 6:19 pmLove this post – this was a great story. Shared it with my 15yr old son, who hadn’t heard of the story before – he really enjoyed it!
It really does make me stop and try to think of my business in a fresh, new light.
(Oh boy, I was feeling motivated a little bit ago and neglected to comment – now I have grumpy teens in the background, sucking out my brain cells and I can’t really think of what exactly it was I wanted to comment about the fresh, new thoughts. But I totally did have them. LOL)
Adam Bean
November 23, 2009 at 7:11 pmThanks Nicole
This is an awesome reminder of the power of idea’s.
The other really important point is that Kyle began with the end in mind.
He knew that the house was the end goal, but didn’t let that effect his principles in any way always making sure that the other party got what they wanted as well.
This story is living proof that:
“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that”
Norman Vincent Peale
Cheers Adam Bean
Lisa Marie Mary
November 24, 2009 at 7:09 amTotally awesome comment, Adam! Thank you! (Even if it isn’t my blog!) 🙂
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November 24, 2009 at 9:28 pm“You are ONLY limited by your own beliefs. If you have something to offer – anything – and you can figure out how to help others, you can do amazing things.”
– I really like this line. It’s true that the only thing that can stop us from achieving what we want is ourselves. Nothing is impossible for someone who will do the right thing to achieve a goal.
Thanks for sharing Kyle MacDonald’s story. 🙂
Collette Schultz
December 14, 2009 at 6:38 pmIs that story ever cool. It puts so much light at the end of the tunnel. I love coming to your site every Monday. I was just thinking how unmotivated I was feeling this week.
Done with that. Thanks so much. Keep us posted.