Really Achieving Your Dreams Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture
Really Achieving Your Dreams was the title of Randy Pausch's last lecture in June 2008. In the academic world it is common for professors to have one last shot at imparting wisdom before their demise and/or retirement. Randy had already left from Carnegie Mellon where he taught computer science due to a terminal cancer diagnosis. His reason for giving the lecture was to preserve the moment for his three young children.
Randy described his childhood as having won the Parent Lottery. In high school his parents allowed him to paint his dreams ('Things that matter to him,' he told his father) on his bedroom walls. Throughout his short life Randy was able to accomplish most of his childhood dreams. Brick walls are meant to be scaled was one of his antidotes. He had learned from his father and other influential adults in his life that nothing is impossible if you are persistent and work hard enough. Read this chapter Romancing the Brick Wall about courting his future wife, Jai.
I had wanted to read this book since I first heard about Randy's story, but it took me months to finally sit down and start reading. Why? Even though I wanted to glean Randy's life message, I was afraid it would be too much of a downer. I thought I would need a box of tissues next to my chair. What a surprise when I finally started reading! Randy's book is filled with humor, inspiration and geeky quirks that will make you chuckle and probably reflect on how you want to live the rest of your life. I only cried once. At the end of his lecture Randy's wife, Jai, whispered in his ear, "Please don't die."
I could continue writing on and on... I will be back in a future post with more lessons learned from this wonderful professor.
Updated 4-8-09 to include other posts about The Last Lecture:
The Park Is Open Until 8:00 pm
More to come . . .
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