When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care. Randy Pausch
A few days ago we had no idea who Randy Pausch was. We were visiting a good friend of ours on Sunday and she had us watch a Barbara Walters interview on Youtube and said it would change our lives. She was absolutely right! By the end of the interview we both sat in tears because this man’s outlook on life was just so incredible and inspiring.
Randy Pausch, who was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in September of 2006 at the age of 45. Sadly, he passed away on July 25, 2008 but he did not go without leaving a legacy for his wife and three young children.
It is a tradition at CMU that at the end of a professor’s career they give a “last lecture” which is a time for former students and colleagues to hear the professor speak for the last time. Nobody thought the lecture would be viewed by over 6 million people on Youtube!
We are posting the lecture below and would hope that anyone and everyone would take time to watch. There are many lessons to be learned from it!
Here are just a few points that stood out as we watched:
• We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
• Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
• Tell the Truth!
• Focus on others…not yourself!
• Don’t complain, just work harder.
• Find the best in everyone…no matter how long it takes!
• Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?
The interview with Barbara Walters (highly recommend watching it as well!) gives a little more insight into Randy’s family and how they have dealt with his illness, but we didn’t want to overwhelm this post with too many Youtube clips as it will take some time to watch this one!
A few days ago we had no idea who Randy Pausch was. We were visiting a good friend of ours on Sunday and she had us watch a Barbara Walters interview on Youtube and said it would change our lives. She was absolutely right! By the end of the interview we both sat in tears because this man’s outlook on life was just so incredible and inspiring.
Randy Pausch, who was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in September of 2006 at the age of 45. Sadly, he passed away on July 25, 2008 but he did not go without leaving a legacy for his wife and three young children.
It is a tradition at CMU that at the end of a professor’s career they give a “last lecture” which is a time for former students and colleagues to hear the professor speak for the last time. Nobody thought the lecture would be viewed by over 6 million people on Youtube!
We are posting the lecture below and would hope that anyone and everyone would take time to watch. There are many lessons to be learned from it!
Here are just a few points that stood out as we watched:
• We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
• Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
• Tell the Truth!
• Focus on others…not yourself!
• Don’t complain, just work harder.
• Find the best in everyone…no matter how long it takes!
• Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?
The interview with Barbara Walters (highly recommend watching it as well!) gives a little more insight into Randy’s family and how they have dealt with his illness, but we didn’t want to overwhelm this post with too many Youtube clips as it will take some time to watch this one!
