Monday, November 19, 2007

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

I blogged about this in a previous post (Sept 28), but it seems like it's getting a lot more follow-up press. A friend pointed me to a recent NY Times blog post about Randy Pausch, the computer science professor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given only a short time to live. See the original WSJ article and video here.

What I really liked about his lecture was that it was focused on getting the most out of life. Apparently it's become a widespread hit and "big media" is getting involved:

Dr. Pausch had spoken of his belief that people ultimately will impress you if you wait long enough and his view that kids should be allowed to draw on their bedroom walls. A video of the talk quickly spread over the Internet: the lecture was translated into German, even Mandarin. Dr. Pausch was asked to appear on “Oprah” and “Good Morning America.”

Apparently publishers are convinced the public wants to hear more. Today, the New York Post reports that in a frenzy for rights to a book based on Dr. Pausch’s lecture, co-authored by Mr. Zaslow, bidding has reached nearly $7 million. The proposed book reportedly will tell the stories behind the wisdom Dr. Pausch dispensed that day.

It's great that his wisdom will be shared widely...think about all those people whose insights never get passed on! We each have lessons that we've learned along the way, and it's exciting that his lecture has struck a chord with so many people. Maybe it's because his message about getting the most out of life is so inspiring!

  • What lessons have you learned that you would you include in your last lecture?

No comments: