Professor Randy Pausch died last week, after his valiant fight against pancreatic cancer, but not before touching the lives of millions of people with his Last Lecture, which you can view at his website, www.randypausch.com. His talk also led him to write, with Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal, a book entitled “The Last Lecture”, which is now on bestseller lists.
What made Dr. Randy Pausch so beloved by so many people? There are many answers to that question, to be sure. All were moved by his bravery, for surely facing an early death is heartbreakingly sad, yet Dr. Pausch wasn’t asking for sympathy. We all have limited time, he said. It’s just that I know that my time is limited.
Dr. Pausch’s most famous lecture was actually entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” He gave the lecture last September as part of a Last Lecture series held by Carnegie Mellon University in which professors are asked what they would communicate to their audience if it were the last lecture they would ever give. In Dr. Pausch’s case that charge was all too real. And he prefaced it by saying that he really wasn’t doing it for the students of Carnegie Mellon. He was giving this talk for his own three young children.
In this speech, which became an internet phenomenon after it was posted on youtube.com, Dr. Pausch talked about growing up in a family where his dreams were encouraged. He even had a slide showing his childhood bedroom with walls covered in space ship paintings. “Please, for me,” he pleaded, “let your kids paint on their bedroom walls.”
He talked of the importance of dreams, of goals, of being patient with people, of seeing barriers to our dreams as just ways to help us realize how badly we want them. Dr. Pausch said, “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.”
Dr. Pausch also gave a reprise of a speech he used to give during one of his courses concerning time management at the University of Virginia last November. He did it, he said, because a.) he could and b.) he had promised his friend. He talked of the importance of keeping promises, while acknowledging that renegotiating was always an option.
In that speech, he talked about the quadrants of tasks we face in life: there are things that are urgent and not urgent; important and not important. Some things we must do are urgent and important—they usually make it to the top of our To Do lists. Other things are urgent, but not really important—they take up a lot of our time. Still other tasks are not urgent and not important—those can rightly wait their turn. But the most compelling tasks are the ones that are important but not urgent. These can include reading a book to our child; writing a letter to a friend; spending time with our family. There are no bosses to answer to about these things, but these are the things that will ultimately enrich our lives the most.
If Randy Pausch’s life taught us anything, it was the importance of following our dreams and keeping our priorities straight. When he received his prognosis, he left his profession and moved his family to Virginia where they could be near other family members for support after his passing. He then zealously guarded his privacy and his time with his family, leaving them only briefly to give the lecture that has touched so many lives. He did it the right way and his legacy enriches us all.
What made Dr. Randy Pausch so beloved by so many people? There are many answers to that question, to be sure. All were moved by his bravery, for surely facing an early death is heartbreakingly sad, yet Dr. Pausch wasn’t asking for sympathy. We all have limited time, he said. It’s just that I know that my time is limited.
Dr. Pausch’s most famous lecture was actually entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” He gave the lecture last September as part of a Last Lecture series held by Carnegie Mellon University in which professors are asked what they would communicate to their audience if it were the last lecture they would ever give. In Dr. Pausch’s case that charge was all too real. And he prefaced it by saying that he really wasn’t doing it for the students of Carnegie Mellon. He was giving this talk for his own three young children.
In this speech, which became an internet phenomenon after it was posted on youtube.com, Dr. Pausch talked about growing up in a family where his dreams were encouraged. He even had a slide showing his childhood bedroom with walls covered in space ship paintings. “Please, for me,” he pleaded, “let your kids paint on their bedroom walls.”
He talked of the importance of dreams, of goals, of being patient with people, of seeing barriers to our dreams as just ways to help us realize how badly we want them. Dr. Pausch said, “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.”
Dr. Pausch also gave a reprise of a speech he used to give during one of his courses concerning time management at the University of Virginia last November. He did it, he said, because a.) he could and b.) he had promised his friend. He talked of the importance of keeping promises, while acknowledging that renegotiating was always an option.
In that speech, he talked about the quadrants of tasks we face in life: there are things that are urgent and not urgent; important and not important. Some things we must do are urgent and important—they usually make it to the top of our To Do lists. Other things are urgent, but not really important—they take up a lot of our time. Still other tasks are not urgent and not important—those can rightly wait their turn. But the most compelling tasks are the ones that are important but not urgent. These can include reading a book to our child; writing a letter to a friend; spending time with our family. There are no bosses to answer to about these things, but these are the things that will ultimately enrich our lives the most.
If Randy Pausch’s life taught us anything, it was the importance of following our dreams and keeping our priorities straight. When he received his prognosis, he left his profession and moved his family to Virginia where they could be near other family members for support after his passing. He then zealously guarded his privacy and his time with his family, leaving them only briefly to give the lecture that has touched so many lives. He did it the right way and his legacy enriches us all.
