Randy Pausch - Amazing

I just saw an inspirational video lecture given by Professor Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon. He is coming to notoriety because of a recent segment on the Oprah Show, but I think his words will continue well beyond his recent fame.

If you don’t have time to listen to the full lecture, these are some of the comments that struck home with me. Unless indicated all quotes are from Mr. Pausch.

1. Brickwalls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things
2. Have something you bring to the table because that will make you more welcomed
3. Got to get the fundamentals down otherwise the fancy stuff isn’t going to work
4. When you’re screwing up and no one is saying anything to you anymore that means they gave up.
5. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you want
6. Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you – Jon Snoddy
7. Decide if you are a Tigger or a Eeyore
8. Never lose the child-like wonder
9. Help Others
10. Never Give Up
11. Don’t bail; the best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap
12. Get a feedback loop; and listen to it
13. Show Gratitude
14. Don’t complain; just work harder
15. Be good at something; it makes you valuable
16. Find the best in everybody; no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it
17. Be prepared: “luck” is where preparation meets opportunity
18. You can’t get there alone, believe in karma
19. Tell the truth
20. Be earnest, not hip
21. Apologize when you screw up
22. Focus on others, not yourself

Full lecture from September 2007 can be found on You Tube. (Searched for “randy pausch” posted by “thduynguyen”. It is an 11 part series starting with zero.)

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Watch a 10 minute version of Randy's famous "Last Lecture.”

Randy Pausch is a married father of three, a very popular professor at Carnegie Mellon University—and he is dying. He is suffering from pancreatic cancer, which he says has returned after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Doctors say he has only a few months to live.

In September 2007, Randy gave a final lecture to his students at Carnegie Mellon that has since been downloaded more than a million times on the Internet. Despite the lecture's wide popularity, Randy says he really only intended his words for his three small children. "I think it's great that so many people have benefited from this lecture, but the truth of the matter is that I didn't really even give it to the 400 people at Carnegie Mellon who came. I only wrote this lecture for three people, and when they're older, they'll watch it," he says. (Oprah Show)