THE LITTLE-KNOWN
STORY OF
WILLIAM BORDEN

THOSE SIX WORDS—NO RESERVES. NO RETREATS. NO regrets—made a huge impression on me. But wait until you’ve heard the story behind them.

William Borden was already wealthy when he graduated from a Chicago high school in 1904; he was the heir to his family’s massive fortune. For his graduation present, William’s parents gave him a trip that would take him around the world, to countries whose suffering he never could have imagined within the confines of his comfortable life.

At some point, as he traveled through Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, a simple burden began to grow heavy in his heart. He wanted to help these people who were far less fortunate than he had ever been.

At that moment, William decided to become a missionary once he finished college. He wrote home, explaining his decision to family and friends.

When he finished his travels, he attended Yale, where he quickly distinguished himself from his typical peers. He started a small morning prayer group, and by his senior year, a thousand students were meeting in similar prayer groups inspired by his.

William’s actions even reached beyond the campus. He founded the Yale Hope Mission in order to rehabilitate drunks forgotten on the streets of New Haven. A friend wrote that William “went down to the meetings a great deal, and might often be found in the lower parts of the city at night—on the street, in a cheap lodging-house or some restaurant to which he had taken a poor hungry fellow to feed him—seeking to lead men to Christ.”²

Given his family’s position, he received numerous high-paying job offers after he finished his studies at Yale, but he turned them all down. After completing graduate work at Princeton Seminary, William sailed for Egypt, where he planned to learn Arabic before beginning his missions work in China. But while in Egypt, he was infected with spinal meningitis. The same month, William Borden died at the age of twenty-five.

The story of his life and death quickly made its way around American newspapers, capturing the attention of the entire country. His biographer Mary Taylor wrote, “A wave of sorrow went round the world. . . . Borden not only gave his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it was manifestly a privilege rather than a sacrifice.”³

William’s all-out dedication to making his life matter is reflected in a story that circulated after his death. According to the story, William had jotted down resolutions in the back of his Bible each time he faced key decisions in his life. The first, when he decided to become a missionary: “No reserves.” The second, when he rejected the high-paying job offers: “No retreats.” And the last, before his death: “No regrets.”⁴

No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.

William Borden made every day count. In the process of following his dream to become a missionary to the far corners of the world, he had a remarkable effect on those in his own community. He remained focused on his goal without losing sight of the here and now.

Did he reach his goal? No. But he fulfilled his purpose.

Before we can move forward and discuss how you, too, can truly live every day with purpose, we have to talk about a topic that is uncomfortable. Scary. Depressing. Taboo, even. We have to talk about death. Why? Because facing death, acknowledging it, and coming to terms with it is the best way to really live.

The next few chapters will explore the amazing, freeing perspective that comes from acknowledging our mortality. It’s simple, attainable, and life changing, and you can work it into your daily mind-set in positive, uplifting ways.