"Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and was given only a limited amount of time to live. He lost his battle in July 2008. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon and was a part of the Carnegie Mellon "Last Lecture" series. The series encouraged invited professors to present what they would like to be remembered for in their lives. The series does not target "dying" professors, but in Randy's case it worked that way. I have not viewed the actual lecture, yet, but I did read the book he wrote to go with the lecture. It tells his thought processed behind giving the lecture. The book (and the lecture) was meant for his young children so that they can still have a piece of their dad while growing up. It is a book/lecture on how to live your life. They are full of great advice and thoughts. I jotted down a few phrases from the book that really spoke to me. That list is below. For more information on Randy, his website is http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

To say the least, I highly recommend the book to everyone! It's a short read.

From Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture”

- Have something to bring to the table because that will make you more welcome.

- Get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work.

- When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.

- Self-esteem for kids: You give them something they can’t do; they work hard until they find they can do it, and repeat.

- Mantra: The brick walls are there for a reason.

- Not everything needs to be fixed.

- No matter how bad thing are you can always make them worse; it is often within your power to make them better.

- Time must be explicitly managed, like money.

- You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.

- Are you spending your time on the right things?

- Develop a good filing system.

- Rethink the telephone.

- Delegate.

- Take a time out.

- Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

- Luck is where preparation meets opportunity (from the philosopher, Seneca)

- Head Fake: Teach someone something when they think they’re learning something else.

- Dream Big.

- Being earnest is better than being hip; Earnest is long-term; hip is short-term.

- Don’t complain, work harder.

- Treat the disease, not the symptom.

- Don’t obsess over what people think.

- Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

- Experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.

- When we’re connected to others, we become better people.

- All you have to do is ask.

- It’s not about achieving your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself.