For those of you who have never heard of Prof. Randy Pausch or his famous "Last Lecture", you would do yourself a favor to acquaint yourself with his marvelous speech, and his enduring message. He was a Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in Aug '06. And in Sept '07 delivered his "Last Lecture". This talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk," i.e., "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"
I heard of him from my Husband over a year ago, and saw him on TV as a guest on Oprah Winfrey in Oct '07. Click this LINK to see his 10 min presentation on Oprah. It is a more condensed version of his original "Last Lecture" (which was over an hour long when delivered). This is a warning to all you pregnant and/or emotional folks out there, it is quite moving. I of course cried.
Today 7/25/08 Randy Pausch died of Pancreatic Cancer.
After being diagnosed two years ago, and given 3-6 mos of a prospective further healthy life, he outlived his doctors expectations, and in the process changed the lives of his audience members who gave ear to his message. It is touching, and amazing, it is WORTH IT. Never take life for granted.
4 comments:
I saw him on Oprah too, and his lecture is absolutely amazing and inspiring. What a remarkable person? That is just awful to hear that he passed away, but man did he live a great life. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah, I had never heard of this man! What a moving and inspiring story. Made me cry too. Thanks for posting this!!
His book is really great too. I think it has a little different stories and life lessons then his lecture.
Everything he said was true, and is true. I cried. Wow.
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