Immortality is the genius to move others long after you yourself have stopped moving. - Frank Rooney
His rise to fame was like a comet siting: time specific, well-defined, yet limited. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and the video of his Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University circulated quickly by e-mail. The You Tube video that I've listed below, one of many available, has had over 6 million views as of today.
Randy Pausch's physical presence was also comet-like. We were transfixed by his bright and shining form, doing push-ups and laughing as no dying man is apt to do. Eventually, after many orbits, comets disintegrate and disappear, and Pausch too, died this year on July 25, leaving behind a wife and three young children.
Pausch viewed his situation as an engineering problem and decided to do the best he could with what he had. He considered himself lucky to have had the time to write a book, also titled The Last Lecture and written primarily for his children.
What I find remarkable is that we are all waking up everyday with the same fate as Randy Pausch. We may not have the x-rays and lab results to confirm our imminent demise, but we do have expiration dates, all of us. What would you do if you were given an exit date?
Pausch said that he chose to lecture because that's what he did in life. As a professor, he lectured. If you could leave a message by way of what you do best in this life, what would it be?
Randy Pausch's physical presence was also comet-like. We were transfixed by his bright and shining form, doing push-ups and laughing as no dying man is apt to do. Eventually, after many orbits, comets disintegrate and disappear, and Pausch too, died this year on July 25, leaving behind a wife and three young children.
Pausch viewed his situation as an engineering problem and decided to do the best he could with what he had. He considered himself lucky to have had the time to write a book, also titled The Last Lecture and written primarily for his children.
What I find remarkable is that we are all waking up everyday with the same fate as Randy Pausch. We may not have the x-rays and lab results to confirm our imminent demise, but we do have expiration dates, all of us. What would you do if you were given an exit date?
Pausch said that he chose to lecture because that's what he did in life. As a professor, he lectured. If you could leave a message by way of what you do best in this life, what would it be?
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Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
I love that question! Make it a good day.
Randy Pausch's Last Lecture: YouTube (1:16:27)
Randy Pausch discussing his book, The Last Lecture: Google Video (17:10)
Ten Questions for Randy Pausch: Time/CNN.
Photo: MortonM