关于稳定性和危害
Kansas Army National Guard
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF: BRIAN RUSSELL
A LECTURER WHO DOES IT ALL by Ryan Wright @ryanwaynewright
Brian Russell teaches a lecture class at the University, in addition to being an author, app developer, director, lawyer and more...
Baxter Schanze // Kansan
or lawyer and more
In the early 2000s, Brian Russell was visiting Lima, Peru, at the time the country was in political turmoil. Russell said the country was on the brink of a civil war due to its controversial president at the time, Alberto Fujimori, which led to bombings in the urban area. To get away from the violence, Russell traveled to a remote village in the Andes Mountains, a few hours away from Lima.
When Russell arrived, he saw people living in small huts made out of wood and corrugated metal with dirt floors.
However, the thing that surprised him was the people were genuinely happy, despite not having much.
Russell, a lecturer in the School of Business, has traveled to over 35 countries, many of them developing nations, and said people in those other countries tend to be more grateful for what they have.
"They've got nothing compared to what most Americans have and yet they are appreciative of the fact that they're not hungry, they're not sick [and] they've got family there," Russell said.
Baxter Schanze // Kansan Brian Russell's dog, Ruger, has visited his class at KU several times.
"They're not embroiled in the chaos in the political society just a couple hours down the mountain from them."
However, back home in the United States, Russell said he's noticed a trend of entitlement throughout the country. That sentiment led to him writing a book titled "Stop Moaning, Start Owning: How Entitlement is Ruining America and How Personal Responsibility Can Fix It," which was published in October of 2015.
"I think our society has become, certainly with many exceptions, too narcissistic. People are thinking not enough about things larger than themselves and too much about themselves," Russell said. "And when people think that way, it makes it easy for them to develop an attitude of entitlement where they feel that they are owed things by others."
For Russell, entitlement is something that has permeated throughout all of society, including the government.
“[Entitlement is] messing up kids, marriages, businesses, communities, and — by extension — the country.” Russell said. “Our [the United States] debt's out of control because people feel entitled as individuals and also as the nation to be living beyond our means.”
Beyond lecturing and authoring his book, Russell, a University graduate, has his hands in several different fields. He's an attorney, a psychologist and has appeared as an analyst on television shows such as "The O'Reilly Factor" and "Nancy Grace." He also co-hosts "Fatal Vows" with fellow psychologist Stacy Kaiser which airs on Investigation Discovery.
His work in television also helps in the classroom, said James Guthrie, associate dean of
academic affairs in the School of Business.
“[Russell] teaches big lectures and it certainly helps to have stage presence [...] with classes like those.” Guthrie said.
Russell said he decided to venture into so many different fields because he wanted to have an impact on a larger amount of people.
"I think you should try to figure out what is the contribution that you can make to something larger," Russell said. "Something that you can do uniquely well that is good for the world."
His desire to help the world led to the development of his app, "Check On Me," which launched two weeks ago. The app allows people to quickly check on the safety of loved ones.
The initial inspiration for "Check On Me" came from Russell's work covering crime cases as an analyst on the news and on his show "Fatal Vows."
He said he saw many cases about people that would go missing but could have been saved if someone would have checked on them earlier than they did. When he couldn't find an app that did that simple task, he made his own.
Whether it be developing an app or appearing on television, whatever Russell does, his ultimate goal is to simply help people.
"I'm not Ben Carson, but as a health care professional I've gotten to see how I can help people in that way," Russell said. "And I'm not Ted Cruz, but as an attorney I've gotten to see how I can help people in that way. I'm not Bill O'Reilly, but I've gotten see what it's like to have a successful television show and try to help people in that way."
- Edited by Samantha Harms
Master Sergeant Bartlett
Cell: (785) 633-0154
Email: keith.l.bartlett.mil@mail.mil
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