What would you tell your kids if you were told that you only have a few months to live?
Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, faced that very same question as he was losing the fight with pancreatic cancer. Tradition at CMU is that professors leaving the university had the opportunity to give a final lecture that was open to staff, students and guests where they could share their reflections and insights on their personal and professional journey. At the end of his lecture, Randy told the audience: "The talk's not for you. It's for my kids."
While Randy was lecturing, a student was recording the event and later posted it on YouTube.com where it became an internet sensation. Clips of his lecture have been viewed by more than six million people worldwide. He was invited as a guest on Oprah where he delivered a much-abbreviated version of his lecture. I highly recommend that everyone take 10 minutes out of their day and watch this video!
If any of Paul's words strike a chord with you, I recommend going to his website at http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/ and under the heading "Resources You May Find Helpful" near the middle of the page you will find links to watch the full lecture or download the transcript. There are also links to a lecture he delivered at the University of Virginia on Time Management that is just awesome. I recommend you watch that lecture and/or read the transcript as well because he gives many simple, practical tips that every one of us can benefit from.
And finally, if you have made it this far, and you are as impressed as I am with Paul Pausch and his message, his book The Last Lecture will be available April 8, 2008. Paul had to leave out a lot of thoughts and material from his lecture in the interest of time and because some topics were just too emotional for him to cover without breaking down. Now he is able to capture the rest of this in his book for his children's benefit and ours as well. I hope you will join me and support this amazing individual and the family he is being forced to leave behind by purchasing your copy here.
