Above is a link to a video on youtube called Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving your Childhood Dreams. I watched this video as a class assignment for EDM310 and was pleasantly surprised to find it moving, informative, and inspiring. Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He gave this lecture with the knowledge that he only had months to live.
The lecture was not created simply because he had found out he was terminally ill with cancer. It was a lecture that was given by others before him but he was the first to actually be giving it under his unique circumstances. Initially Pausch adresses what he calls "the elephant in the room" and talks about his condition. He did this because he wanted to focus on the topic of the lecture and not his illness. Just to get it out of the way it seemed.
When he did move on he discussed the importance of achieving your childhood dreams. While listening to him speak knowing he wants to not focus on the fact that he has only months to live it is easy to realize how qualified he is to know what is really important about living. Randy Pausch had a list of dreams he wanted to achieve when he was a child. His list was: being in zero gravity, being in the NFL, publishing an article in the encyclopedia, being Captain Kirk, winning a stuffed animal as a prize, and being an Imagineer with Disney.
The remarkable thing about Randy Pausch is that he achieved most of these dreams before he found out he had any illness at all. He managed to overcome challenges at every turn. He says that brick walls were made to be overcome. His message is one of encouragement. A true American spirit of achievement seems to have really pulsed within Randy Pausch. He was always taking it to the next level. He didn't give up on his dreams and had a life full of achievements to show for it. He shares excellent advice and insight on how to tackle the problems life seems to throw at you.
With the exception of being in the NFL Randy Pausch achieved all of his childhood dreams. But from watching his lecture it seems pretty apparent that his greatest achievement is his family. He ends his lecture with a dedication to his children. Life lessons shared by Randy Pausch are a treasure. Click on the link above to watch.
You are absolutely right about the speech. This speech is given no matter what the person's circumstances are. Even though his circumstances were different, the advice that he gives is still very helpful. People need to be good at something, whether it be public speaking, painting, or anything else that you may excel at.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I really enjoyed his talk about the importance of achieving childhood dreams as well. I thought it was neat that even if he didn't do exactly what he dreamed of as a child, he managed to capture it in some way or another. For example, although he didn't play in the NFL, he did meet a coach that inspired him. I thought this was an amazing speech and that he was such an amazing person. It's really sad to see someone who had accomplished so much live such a short life...
ReplyDelete"I ... was pleasantly surprised to find it moving, informative, and inspiring." Why were you surprised?
ReplyDelete"The remarkable thing about Randy Pausch is that he achieved most of these dreams before he found out he had any illness at all." Why is that remarkable?