You can read about all his trades by Googling Kyle McDonald or the Red Paperclip Project. But here\u2019s the point\u2026<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not so much about what<\/em> he was able to get for his red paperclip. But how he did it. A little bit at a time. The process of gradualization.<\/p>\n Gradualization has been called the most powerful force in the universe. And when you think about it, you can see why.<\/p>\n Gradualization is the amazing, almost-unstoppable power of little steps over time. It\u2019s how the Colorado River carved the mighty Grand Canyon over millions of years. It\u2019s how you eat a proverbial elephant: one bite at a time. It\u2019s how you accomplish monumental tasks that seem impossible at first.<\/p>\n Gradualization can also work against you. Think of how empires have collapsed. Rome wasn\u2019t built in a day \u2026 nor did it collapse in a day. It happened gradually.<\/p>\n Think about the American empire. Many people believe that America is crumbling \u2026 not because of some cataclysmic event \u2026 but because of a series of small events that are gradually eroding the fabric of American society and the lifestyle that Americans have come to expect.<\/p>\n Think about your own life. Think of how a single bad habit, like eating too many carbs or baked goods, can gradually build up 5-10 lbs. of extra weight around your belly. One day, it suddenly \u201cappears.\u201d Or how clutter can gradually build up in every nook and cranny of your house until one day, you\u2019re faced with the overwhelming job of getting rid of it all.<\/p>\n The power of gradualization can work wonders \u2013 for or against you. No one points that out better than author Jeff Olson in his book,The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness<\/a> Olson points out that just one simple step, repeated daily and consistently, over time \u2026 can help you accomplish almost anything you want. In your career, your relationships, your health, your finances and much more.<\/p>\n The trouble is, it\u2019s just as easy not<\/em> to do these simple daily steps. Because the results are never immediate or visible. They\u2019re hidden, because they\u2019re so gradual.<\/p>\n If you want the secret to creating simple daily steps that will help you accomplish amazing things in 2014 and beyond, take a look at The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness<\/a> In fact, one of Olson\u2019s best suggestions is to simply read 10 pages of a life-changing, life-affirming book every day. How easy is that? Yet how often do we do it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not long ago, a Canadian named Kyle McDonald wondered about the power of bartering. More specifically, he wondered just how far\u00a0you could go by \u201ctrading up\u201d a little bit at a time, starting with something that had practically no value at all. So he started his experiment with a simple red paperclip. He traded that […] more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,11],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-self-improvement","tag-books","tag-self-improvement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293,"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions\/293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliancemarketing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=relianmarket-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1626340463\")