The red paper clip

Have you ever heard of the guy and his "RED PAPER CLIP"?

An Australian friend recently visited and while chit-chatting she told us of "THE GUY WITH THE RED PAPER CLIP". It seems the guy who’s suppose to be Dutch started out by trading a red paper clip for some other item, which he traded and traded and traded.

At one point he came across some collectible toy, but before making the trade, he searched the internet for a serious collector of the toy. This led him to some TV/movie star who after a couple of emails agreed to exchange an internship slot on one of his hit series for the toy.

The paper clip man then turned around, found someone else who had something of great value but needed the internship more. Eventually, the guy managed to get airline tickets, free stays, travel, and last they heard the RED PAPER CLIP GUY now owns a house somewhere in Europe and is trying to figure out where to take the adventure.

It may all seem so farfetched but I for one have my own red paper clip stories. The concept is really all about trading goods and services for goods or services like the paper clip adventure trading one step ahead.

When I wrote my first column for The STAR I talked about a dream, a Porsche 911 fiberglass hull that I hope would someday become a complete car. That dream remains a dream restricted by real life concerns.

But the idea of eventually owning a real Porsche 911 was an option, a goal, an idea that need not be tied up as unreal. It was simply a matter of determining the goal, determining the means, and making it happen.

So much like the red paper clip, YOU START WITH WHAT’S AVAILABLE.

What I had was a bunch of run down mustang fastbacks, mostly without an engine, lots of rusts, half without interiors. One was a decent 68 GT and a two-door 1960 Chevy Biscayne that was halfway restored. Most of them came cheap as half sold-half gifted vehicles.

The idea came from Ramon Ang, president of San Miguel Corporation. Just buy up all the cheap junks you can afford until you drive up the prices in the market. It’s like managing the supply and demand chain, or selling chicken and pork at Christmas. But in this case the boy with the most toys wins.

At least at the beginning. So, just like any sport or game of chance, everybody wants what they don’t have. In Sabong, the minute you win a string of derbies, everybody wants your chickens so bad, some people will actually steal them.

At this stage, it’s all a matter of promotions. Word gets out that you have what most of the kids want, but you’re not really selling. Then you wait for the foreigners flashing dollars but really offering peanuts and you SNUB them. You say not selling! BUT . . . if there’s something interesting out there . . . why not!

So everybody on the street starts talking and before you know it, there’s a self evolving market of people signifying interest on each and every item. Sometimes a consolidator or agents come out of the wood work to try to package the deal.

But . . . you still need to find the other kid with the very interesting toy. And like the red paper clip guy you communicate, you post, you interconnect, and few months later, you negotiate.

And before you know it there’s an old dusty REAL LIFE PORSCHE 911 in your garage.

I share this experience because I realize how so many people have been brainwashed into thinking that the only way to own things or to get things done is by having cold hard cash.

I’ve read of organizations that actually post classified ads for exchange of services. In the world of television anybody given a show specially daily shows, quickly learn that there’s very little cash that goes around for clothes, sets and props, or airfare and accommodations.

Here you immediately experience and master the art of ex-deals. In the absence of cash it automatically becomes fashionable to get ex-deals. Sadly some people tend to overdo it or dismiss it as cheap and demeaning.

I actually know a few stories where some kids simply offered to work for free in a couple of companies just so they’ll be in the building when a vacancy occurs. These kids actually bought themselves actual on the job training, experience that they couldn’t pay for even if they wanted.

I recently hosted one forum of the TechnoNegosyo event under Joey Concepcion and it was quite interesting how veterans of telecom wars, media and politics all sang the chorus "you don’t need cash, you need ideas. You don’t need brains as much as you’ll need guts or courage."

From Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala of the Globe/Ayala group, Felipe Gozon of GMA-7, Deo Vea of Smart, and Senate President Manny Villar, each guy spoke of what many of us only realize later in life.

It’s not always about how much cash you have but how timely and real your ideas and goals are. But always bear in mind that in order to get something you must be willing to give up something.

The trick is giving up what you can’t keep, can’t afford to keep or don’t want to keep. Give up one thing of high value but not of great importance or give up a whole bunch of stuff that would create space, reduce potential expenses, and most importantly give you more time which you would have wasted with too many toys.

But be careful, always, always know the true value of things. Many people deal based on emotional value, public perception values, media hype or what seems to be an advantage value or I’m ahead of the deal.

The bottom line of your value decision must be of numerical sense, as in peso for peso, it’s either fair or profitable. Bottom line is pure practicality and common sense, boring but safe.

The middle ground is that it was such a magical trade if you will, it was exciting, educational, challenging, very profitable!

The high of it all is when you have your cake and eat it too. So remember trading can be fun, can be magical and can be real.

By the way . . . I know this bridge . . .