William Reed | The World Race from William Benjamin Reed on Vimeo.
Living in a 9’ x 9’ shoebox is hard. Leaving this shoebox apartment is harder – just about the hardest decision I’ve ever made. I moved to New York City to attend college at age 17 with no idea what was in store for me. For the past four years, I have been living in a city built on unobtainable ideals with perpetual “walking-resume syndrome.” But I can say, without any doubt, that I have grown more than ever before into the man I was intended to be. Who in their right mind leaves a great job at the beginning of their professional career? Leaves a city that they’ve sacrificed so much to be in? Leaves a 9′ x 9′ shoebox apartment (well that one is going to be easy). Leaves friends they’ve known for almost half a decade? Moves back in with their parents for 2 months in preparation for a mission trip that’s only partly funded? Me. I’m going to 11 countries in 11 months across 4 continents with my backpack, my tent, and 41 other missionaries. It will be the opposite of a vacation. I will be living in a tent for a year. I will be perpetually hungry (save possibly Thanksgiving) and damp and cold and sore and humbled… and I am projected to radically improve the everyday lives of well over 300 men, women and children. It’s called the World Race.
I believe New York City, especially when living here from age 17 – 21, tests a person’s priorities to the extremes. When I moved here, I was focused on making money, so that I never had to tell my future children the dreaded response that I heard too often as a child– “no, it’s not in the budget.” My one and only goal was not a 6-digit income, but a 7-digit one. And if I was going to make that happen, there was no time for church let alone volunteering with those less fortunate.
I have struggled seemingly every step of the way: forced to leave college due to finances, months of loneliness, working any dead-end job I could get my hands on, $900 monthly rent, surrendering my loose change to the local Coinstar for money, and lots and lots of Top Ramen for dinner. And that’s how I saw it – a constant battle. Money could solve this. If only I could make 7-digits.
January 2011 I needed additional income and wanted to teach tennis to make extra money while in college. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I was determined that I would figure out a way. Turns out New York is rough. God was there, allowing me to meet Lorelei – a fellow Christian who took a risk in hiring me to teach in her tennis company. That year the Lord provided and I didn’t even realize it.
January 2012 My college savings ran dry, teaching part-time tennis wasn’t going to cut it and I needed to figure out another plan. I left my college and decided I had 1 month to establish enough income to support my $800 monthly rent and I would do everything I could. I hit the pavement, restaurant after restaurant, bar after bar, Careerbuilder ad after Monster ad just hoping that I would find a way. God was there again. I got a phone call from Lorelei saying that she was moving companies to the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and needed part-time help with a new program she was starting. The next day I get a call from a restaurant who ended up hiring me full-time. So I can pay rent with those two jobs. Later that month I get a call out of the blue from a Headhunting firm for a Manny job for a private family in TriBeCa that found my resume on Careerbuilder and wanted me to teach their 3 sons tennis and soccer. During the interview with the firm, they offered me an internship at their own office on Madison Avenue. For 5 months the Lord provided and I still didn’t even realize it.
Summer of 2012 I landed a dream college job, a “Manny” (male nanny) position for the 3 sons of a multi-millionaire CEO. Absolutely unbelievable: Private Jet Planes, helicopters, the Hamptons every weekend, Mansions with movie theaters and tennis courts to boot, Aspen Colorado, white water rafting, a “house credit card,” a private chauffeur, in- home $500 haircuts for each child, private fly-fishing lessons, swimming with sharks, and the list goes on and on. I travelled with the kids everywhere as their tennis instructor and soccer trainer. The family had a full-time staff of 7 and an on-call staff of over 40 (20 of them were Mannys – all with skill sets ranging from Chess Grand Master to professional DJ, from former Pro Skateboarder to personal trainer). These kids had it made. They certainly never heard the phrase, “No, it’s not in the budget.”
And then the fa?ade faded. I began to see things differently, beyond a luxurious lifestyle. The reality of this family’s situation was much sadder. The parents were absent and uninterested, with priorities elsewhere. Having been raised in a modest but loving home- this was unheard-of to me.
Father’s day was the most difficult; one of the sons asked me, word for word, “Why can’t I just write this father’s day card to you?”
That moment, although a small moment, was profound for me. Not only did I understand, for the first time, how important quality time was to a child, but I realized something about myself. That, given my goals and pursuit of wealth, I had potential to act similarly as a father. I also thought about people around the world, people in less fortunate situations, without families and without a helping hand; I thought about that these people the most. You hear it all the time, “money doesn’t buy happiness” and you think you believe it, but you don’t. At least I didn’t. Until then.
So, I made it my mission to just love them. I shifted my priorities. I adjusted my plan. Until the summer job ended, I worked and prayed to show love in a place where I know that it had never been a priority. I will remember that job for the rest of my life.
After the summer Manny job, a Headhunting firm on Madison Avenue that I had interned at prior offered me a full-time salaried position. At 19 years old, I took it and loved it. I still love it. In the last two years, I’ve worked my way up from Assistant Recruiter to Executive Recruiter to Senior Recruiter and now I am the Director of Business Development for the firm. But I have not lost sight of my new mission. Logically and professionally, it makes sense
to stay in this position and continue to build. But I wholeheartedly believe that is not why I was put on this earth. I have seen from an intimate setting what a person’s life is like who has so completely “succeeded” that there is literally nothing else the world can offer, but who has staked his happiness on the tangible without a second thought to the well-being of others. I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy.
Which brings me to now.
The day after Christmas 2013 I was officially invited to join the ranks of the World Racers. In July 2014, I head on a grueling 11-month mission trip to 11 countries across 4 continents. Through the World Race, my squad of 41 and I will serve in partnership with ministries and non-profits in local communities to work in orphanages, instruct English classes to women and children aged 9 – 40 trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, build schools (in the rainforest), assist in establishing general business practices for local businesses, lead a game of freeze tag, and bring restorative love to many tribes and nations. It’s estimated that I will work towards improving the everyday lives of well over 300 men, women & children in 11 countries across South America, Europe, Africa, & Asia. This is what I’ve been feeling. This is what I’ve turned down opportunities at other firms for. This is the chance that I’ve been waiting for – to show and share love, possibility, ideas and hope with people around the world.
I’m inviting you with me on my journey. And I don’t see it as leaving so much as I see it as growing. I’ve been kicked and challenged just about every month I’ve lived here. And I’d do it all over again. Now I won’t go on a rant about how much I love it here, but I do bring it up as a testament to how serious the World Race is for me. I’m growing. And I want to continue to grow. I believe in this cause. This next year will shape every action and every decision that I make in whichever professional strategic institution where I hold a position, for the rest on my career. But I can’t change anything until I am changed first.
Like most other missions organizations, World Race participants are required to fundraise financial support. In order to leave fully funded this July, I need to raise $16,285. This money will cover all of my field expenses, food, international health insurance, and travel for the 11 months of the trip. I’ve already given my office a two-month notice. I’ve already ended my apartment lease. I’m putting my career on hold for a year for this cause. As I take this large step, would you consider joining me at $100 monthly or some other amount?
To donate, click on the “Support Me!” link at the top of this page to easily give a one-time gift or set up a re-occurring donation. You can also visit my direct link: www.tinyurl.com/supportwilliamreed. Please reach out if you’d like to donate by check or in a different way. All donations are tax-deductible these ways. On this blog you can also find out more about me and follow my journey and calendar as I donate my time this next year.
In Him,
Will
