Today, Dr. Randy Pausch died. He has been a hero of mine ever since the day that I watched his “Last Lecture”, and I believe he’ll forever be one of the greater influences on my life.
For those of you who haven’t heard of him, he was a professor of Computer Science from CMU known for founding Alice, innovative cross-discpline courses, and passion for computer education. A few years ago, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which he fought bravely - but in August last year he was told he had only a few months left to live. On September 18, 2007 he delivered his now famous Last Lecture, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” a lecture written to answer the question: “what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?”. Even though he knew he was near death, he was energetic and comedic - using jokes and entertaining tales from bits of his life to dig deep into his beliefs on education, happiness, and above all, dreams.
Watching that lecture changed the way I think about living life to it’s fullest and what it means to contribute as a human being. His courage and his bravery facing death still shock me when I think about it now, and I wish to be able to be face living with half the enthusiasm he had as he faced dying.
If you have never watched his final lecture before, I highly, highly, highly encourage you to do so. Perhaps it’ll touch your life - as it has forever changed mine. The full video is available here. And the transcript is here.
A few of my favorite quotes from the lecture:
“We’re not going to talk about spirituality and religion. Although I will tell you that I have experienced a deathbed conversion. I just bought a Macintosh.”
“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the OTHER people!”
“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”
“It’s not about how to achieve your dreams, it’s all about leading your life. If you lead your life in a right way, karma will take care of itself. And dreams will come to you.”
Farewell, Dr. Pausch - and know that your teachings will live on long after you have passed away.
requiescat in pace
2 responses so far ↓
1 Jordan // Jul 25, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Rest in peace, Dr. Pausch.
Your “Last Lecture” was touching, funny, witty, and just outstanding. You and your teachings are remembered through the lives you have greatly influenced.
2 PrimeMinister3 // Aug 4, 2008 at 11:21 pm
someone just wrote a book about this lecture
forgot the name, but it is on the b&n bookshelves
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