People F17
By Margo Ragan
Russell Redenbaugh likes to say that he is just an ordinary man. To the rest of the world, however, his life story is awe inspiring. For starters, he is a welfare recipient who became a self-made millionaire, an economist, jiu-jitsu world champion three times over, a writer, rock climber, an athlete, a motivational speaker, a Commissioner on the US Civil Rights Commission under Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. The list of his accomplishments is much longer, but his greatest accomplishment is that he has lived a life that one could only imagine. The fact is that Russell has been blind since the age of seventeen, and missing 6 fingers, rendering one hand useless as a result of a rocket experiment gone awry.
A native of Salt Lake City Utah, Russell was more interested in space travel than school, and Bucks County and the Philadelphia area weren't places he ever thought or dreamed about. As life happened, he spent the majority of his adult life in our area, and how he got to this point is a testament to his strong belief in making declarations— figuring out what you don't want to do, and focusing on what you do want, clearly and definitively.
“I was an average C student in my teens, and graduated last in my high school class," he admits,” but I was fascinated by space travel. President Kennedy had declared that we were going to go to the moon within the decade, and I had a relative, Uncle Jake Garn, who eventually became a Space Shuttle payload specialist. Space travel was a major topic of interest. I decided to make my own solid-state rocket in our garage. Not the wisest decision I have ever made."
The experiment went horribly wrong. Russell lost one eye immediately in the explosion, and six fingers, his right hand disfigured, his body badly burned. Fortunately, his next door neighbor Ruth Johnson was hanging her sheets and towels on the clothes line at the time, and as an Army surgical nurse she knew what to do. Her laundry became life-saving tourniquets.
Multiple surgeries later, and the subsequent loss of his other eye, Russell faced this major event with a clarity and declaration that has defined his life—the first of many declarations he would make.” My father used to read poetry to me, and one poem in particular made its mark on me. It was William Ernest Henley's poem, Invictus, which ends with a couplet, ‘I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul,’” he said.” At that moment in the hospital, I decided I would get a guide dog, and go to college at the University of Utah. My declaration was to be independent, and the way to that independence was through a degree in banking and finance. Willie Sutton had famously said that he robbed banks because that's where the money is. I chose my major for the same reason. The tuition was moderate and accepted all in-state students. I was on welfare, which paid for my education.”
Despite graduating first in his class, Russell had difficulty being accepted by the top tier schools to which he had applied for an MBA. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania decided to take a chance on him since they had never accepted a blind student before. “I graduated fifth in my class and waited for the job offers to flow in,” Russell said. “However, fifty letters of rejection came in before I received an offer as a security analyst from Cooke and Bieber, a small firm in Philadelphia."
How does someone stay positive while classmates with lesser academic achievement were receiving unsolicited job offers? When rejection letters 36, 37, 38 were mailed to you, how did you summon the inner strength to continue the job search? I asked. For Russell, the answer lies in how he interpreted the rejections. “I viewed the letters as declines. I had a lot of experience with being declined, and the word has a more positive connotation than rejection,” he said. “Being declined only strengthened my resolve to find a position that would help me reach my declaration of being financially independent."
Russell not only did well at Cooke and Bieber, he thrived, as did the firm. He became the Chief Investment Officer, then partner. His 40-year stay in Philadelphia/Bucks County area was productive on many levels. Russell married, purchased a home in New Hope, worked in Philadelphia and made a life on Aquetong Road. “Besides becoming quickly a lover of Philly cheese steaks, I found the city to be energetic, very compact, making it easy to navigate with my guide dog," Russell said. “I discovered you never had to decode anything that was said to me by a Philadelphian. Conversations were upfront and honest.”
New Hope was a major contrast to the city of Philadelphia. The property was serene, filled with animals, birds and woods. Russell added wood splitting skills to his growing repertoire. “Friends would cut the trees down, and I would use my log splinter to cut the logs to size. The house had an extra-large fireplace, so I had to measure the logs appropriately.” Bucks County was the perfect environment for someone like Russell who loves the outdoors. With his guide dog and a little help from his children and granddaughter, Russell has enjoyed boating, fishing, camping, even waterskiing. “You don't have to see in order to feel the presence of the outdoors," he explained. “There is an exhilaration and freedom with all these activities."
When one is in Russell's presence, it is easy to forget that he is blind and disabled, a term he disputes for its negative connotation. This is a man who believes, “You are not a character in someone else's story. You have a thing called free will and the will to act on it.” He is an able person who just so happens to be blind.
A pivotal moment happened in the late 1980s. For a variety of personal and professional reasons Russell left the economic safety he enjoyed with Cooke and Beiler, and left for the West Coast, to become the CEO of a software company in Silicon Valley. That venture was not a success, but Russell saw it as a learning experience, saying “We learn more from our failures than from our victories."
The narrative of his life had shifted, and he shifted with it, using his life experiences as the basis of a book called, what else, 'Shift The Narrative.' It wasn't too long after that business failure that Russell formed an investment advisory business called Kairos Capital Advisors, where he has applied the investment narratives he has learned from over 40 years in the business.
In many ways Russell seems to be fearless. When I made that observation, he quickly reminded me how nervous he was when he presented a TEDx Talk about his life and beliefs. “I don't think of myself as a gifted public speaker, and I wasn't sure what the audience reaction would be. In many ways I was terrified,” he admitted.
The declaration that keeps Russell going is his maxim, “Prepare yourself in mind and body. Have the courage to be larger than your fears.”
That belief was put to the test when at age 50, Russell's personal trainer encouraged him to study jiu-jitsu. Not only did Russell take the art of jiu-jitsu as a personal training endeavor, he took jiu-jitsu to the world stage. A sighted competitor would have made a tremendous mistake in strategy thinking that a blind man would be easy to take down. Not so with Russell.
“I looked at the sport as a 3D chess game, where I would have to use my legs and back to full advantage,” he said. “My hands are of limited value. I have no grip with my left hand, and a very modest grip with my right. I use my head and body to full advantage.”
Russell thinks of his matches as a David vs Goliath experience. Few spectators in the crowd expected a blind competitor with problems with his hands to be able to challenge the seemingly stronger participants. But they were only just getting to know Russell.
“I won three world championships in Rio de Janeiro Brazil and participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City by carrying one of the torches,” he said. “My son Jamie walked with me, and I felt great pride to be with him and my daughter Allie, in the city where I grew up and being a part of this worldwide athletic event. It was a tremendous moment, humbling for sure.”
While Russell has spent much of his life in the private sector, he actively pursued an appointment to the Federal Reserve Board. “I felt my expertise and experience would be helpful to our country,” he said. “Uncle Jake was now a US Senator and on the Senate Banking Committee so I thought my chances of getting appointed were pretty good.”
Instead, Uncle Jake introduced Russell to Senator Robert Dole, a disabled veteran of World War II. Senator Dole asked him to join the US Civil Rights Commission, where Dole felt Russell could make a positive contribution for the millions who are handicapped. Unfortunately, Russell's time on the commission ended up being a frustrating situation. Russell wanted to make the organization more transparent and efficient, but he met with opposition from both sides of the aisle. He recommended that Congress eliminate the Commission, and that idea went over like a lead balloon.
One incident relating to his time in Washington reveals his mother's unwavering faith in her son. Russell and his guide dog were among a group of dignitaries standing in line at the White House Rose Garden. “I was there with my guide dog, as President George H.W. Bush walked down the receiving line," Russell said. “When he came to me and my guide dog Royce, he knelt down to pet the dog, and there is a photograph of the president doing so. When my mother saw the photo, she exclaimed, ‘I always knew that presidents would one day kneel down in front of you!’ Such was the faith of my mother in me.”
There is now a school in northern India for blind students, thanks to Russell. He and his wife Natalia give not only financial support to the Russell School, but they actively participate in helping students navigate a sighted world. That kind of philanthropy fits into Russell's views on life. “My desire for wealth was to ensure that I would not be a burden upon those I love. I was able to accomplish this goal by years of hard work, diligence to the task at hand, and never allowing what others would call my disabilities to stand in the way," he said. “I want to give this power to others who face the same challenges I did.”
Russell's book 'Shift Your Narrative' allows the reader to accompany him on his life's journey. He says he has a second book in mind, composed of words of wisdom that seem to flow effortlessly in conversation with him. In fact, his friends call these messages, Russellisms, and he admits that he carries a tape recorder with him so that he can capture the thought immediately when he thinks of it.
“I want to leave a legacy of Russellisms to my children, grandchildren and others," he said. “No one lives a life without showers, but some people prepare by carrying their own umbrellas. I am now 72, and the adventure ahead is to find out what it is like to be 72.” For information about Russell Redenbaugh’s investing firm, visit www.kairoscapitaladvisors.com.