At the age of 16, Russell Redenbaugh WG69 was building a toy rocket when it exploded. Two months and 25 surgeries later, he’d lost half his fingers and his sight. The investor and entrepreneur now considers his story one best told in two acts: “pre-accident” and “post-traumatic gifted.” In addition to establishing a successful money management career and raising three children, Redenbaugh went on to serve on the U.S. Commission for Civil Rights, win multiple jiu-jitsu world championships against sighted competition, perform a TED Talk, and author a memoir titled Shift the Narrative, and today, he writes a Substack newsletter, “Blind Vision: Uncommon Economic Insights.” The 79-year-old spoke from his home in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, about his remarkable life, how fishing translates to business, and the power of declarations.

I remember as a 10-year-old, I wanted a gas-powered toy airplane. My father said, “You can have anything you can work for.” I got a bunch of side jobs and earned enough money to buy the plane.

When the doctor said, “You’ll be blind for the rest of your life,” I declared that I would not live as a blind man. I would live in the sighted world, doing sighted things, being valued by sighted people. And then, what kind of career works well in this situation? I realized: any career in which your results are quantifiable, highly measured, and accurate.

We inherit narratives: “In our family, we do it this way.” It’s important to examine those narratives and either accept or reject them. As Anaïs Nin said, “We see the world not as it is, but as we are.” We generate narratives about the world that may not match with reality. I found myself thinking, “I don’t know why I believe that.”

Harvard and Stanford both said, “There’s no way a blind person could manage our program.” I took the train to Philadelphia from Salt Lake City, and the Wharton dean of admissions said, “You are admitted. If you can’t do the work, you won’t stay very long.” And I said, “That’s all I ever wanted. Just to be treated like anybody else.”

I finished fifth in my class at Wharton. And my mother said, “What did the other four do that you failed to do?” [laughs] Leave it to moms. Pay more attention to your failures than to your successes.

I’ve made so many mistakes. One big one is, I took on the CEO position of a computer software company. I failed; the firm failed. It was a product that was ahead of its time, and the marketplace was not ready. I realized that willpower is not enough.

I am retired — for entrepreneurs, that’s a strange notion. The last time I had a job where I had to show up in a place was 1990.

I like fishing with friends or my kids. I taught my kids how to fish. Fishing taught me patience. In business, patience has a high probability of success.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a very subtle martial art. It teaches you to stay in the moment, to stay focused. Be here now. The mantra is, “Let the other person lose to you.” Wait for his mistake to give you the match. Don’t push the river.

Change “I can’t” to “I’ll find another way.”

Moving to a retirement facility was a big step. I first went to a place that was sort of mid-market. I didn’t like it there very much. Then I found this place where I am now, which is about double the price but triple the value. I appreciate value.

Speech act theory is the philosophical notion that speech matters and changes reality. A part of this theory is declarations — statements that you make. One is, “I’m satisfied.” Success, for me, is connected to satisfaction, to fulfillment. I feel fulfilled.

What matters most to me is to live without fear.

 

Published as “Russell Redenbaugh WG69” in the Fall/Winter 2024 issue of Wharton Magazine.