By now, you've probably heard of Randy Pausch and his powerful 'Last Lecture. I've been meaning to post a blog entry about him, his courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, and his amazingly optimistic and positive message about how to live a happy life. Although he outlived his 1-2 month to live prognosis by over a year, he passed today. If you've never taken the time to watch his 'Last Lecture' or read the book version, I highly recommend it.
Although I haven't made time (ironic) to watch his 'Time Management' lecture, also posted on his website, that looks really good too. You may have some trouble getting through to his website today, but I'm sure it will be easier in a few days.
There are countless great quotes from the talk, so I'll just leave you with a few...
Find the best in everybody…. Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.
- Decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eyeore. I’m a Tigger.
- It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.
- Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day, because there’s no other way to play it….Having fun for me is like a fish talking about the importance of water. I don’t know how it is like not to have fun…
- Never lose the child-like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us. Help others.
- To be cliché, death is a part of life and it’s going to happen to all of us. I have the blessing of getting a little bit of advance notice and I am able to optimize my use of time down the home stretch.
May we all be so fearless in the face of our own mortality.
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