"The Last Lecture"

On Oprah a while back, I watched a show about Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture." I had never heard of him before the show, but as soon as I started watching, I was intrigued. She interviewed him and he gave a mini version of his famous lecture.



Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon and was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer not long ago; he lost that battle this past week and died on July 25th. Today, I found his entire lecture on YouTube. I learned so much from his short lecture and was in tears the entire time. He was so passionate about teaching and having fun while doing it. I took notes of what really stuck out to me:





1.) "Brick walls are there for a reason; They let us prove how badly we want things."


This was, as all of his comments, an eye opener to me. Things happen in our lives everyday that prevent us from getting what we want. We should not let these stop us. They are there for a reason and only make us stronger.





2.) "Wait long enough, and people will surprise you."


I really liked this because there are so many people out there who rub you the wrong way, or you may think negative of them because of something they have said or done, or even not done...if we wait for them to make a move, it will surprise us and we will learn something about ourselves as well as see them in a new light.





3.) "Don't bail. The best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap."


I thought a lot about this statement. Giving up is giving in and you never know what great things you'll have if you bail. This goes for anything; a relationship, a job, a dream. Everyone goes through crap and if you keep pursuing, you will find the reward someday.





4.) "Decide if you're a Tigger or an Eeyore."


This was personal to me because I love both Tigger and Eeyore, but which one should you be in life? Today, I choose to be a Tigger.





It's funny how the lives of others, even people you don't know, influence yours for good. Randy Pausch was an amazing man, and I only watched him through a tv screen for about 2 hours. His life touched so many people and his legacy and spirit will continue - as I think he wanted; it was his dream to influence people for good. He had 6 dreams in his lifetime and they all came true because he worked hard for them. He accomplished "Life" and "his Dream."