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?

Your Last Lecture?

Last week there was a column in the WSJ about a computer science professor, Randy Pausch, who was recently diagnosed with liver cancer and was delivering his last lecture.

"They had come to see him give what was billed as his 'last lecture'. This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted 'Last Lecture Series', in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?"

At 43, and a father of 3 young kids (ages 5, 3, 1), he focused most of his lecture on LIVING and has been determined to not let the diagnosis impede his vitality (he did some one armed-pushups to prove it!). With this truly being his last lecture, his sense of humor and perspective are all the more valuable:

"I've experienced a deathbed conversion," he said, smiling. "I just bought a Macintosh." Flashing his rejection letters on the screen, he talked about setbacks in his career, repeating: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." He encouraged us to be patient with others. "Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you." After showing photos of his childhood bedroom, decorated with mathematical notations he'd drawn on the walls, he said: "If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let 'em do it."

Here I want to give props to my parents who actually let me paint my walls growing up. I wish I could say I was working on non-euclidean geometry, but it was more or less a mess of finger paints and random decoupage. It was an interior designer's nightmare, but it was all mine. Thanks MOM and DAD!

• What advice would you give in YOUR last lecture?