Randy Pausch died July 25.
The computer science professor had spent his last two years preparing for his death before it came in the form of pancreatic cancer.
Part of that preparation included putting together his “last lecture,” a presentation many college professors are asked to make. Pausch’s “last lecture” really was just that. He used this lecture to communicate to his wife and three small children, in terms the children would understand later, what he felt was important in life––primarily achieving your childhood dreams.
In the lecture, now viewed almost 6.8 million times on YouTube, Pausch reflects on how to live – truly live – our lives. The corresponding book, The Last Lecture, is something we maybe all should read.
Pausch had pretty typical childhood dreams. Stuff like playing in the NFL, achieving zero gravity, being Captain Kirk and being a Disney Imagineer. Reflecting on his life, while thinking of his children’s future, Pausch realized how “successful” he’d become. He achieved, in some form or other, many of his dreams. And he wanted to make sure his children (and anyone else who will listen) understand the importance of dream chasing.
Pausch, a self-described nerd, said when he was a kid, he wanted to play in the NFL. His youth-league coach rode him hard. Pausch never played in the NFL, but what his coach gave him was something far more valuable. “Coach Graham used to ride me hard. I remember one practice in particular. “You’re doing it all wrong, Pausch. Go back! Do it again!” I tried to do what he wanted. It wasn’t enough. “You owe me, Pausch! You’re doing push-ups after practice.”
Pausch said an assistant coach told him after practice that when you’re screwing up and nobody says anything about it anymore, it means they’ve given up on you. Self-esteem, Pausch said, is not something you can give to children; it’s something they have to build. His coach showed him that.
“There’s only one way to teach kids how to develop (self-esteem): You give them something they can’t do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process. If you work hard enough, there are things you can do tomorrow that you can’t do today,” the book states.
Pausch used his childhood dream of becoming a Disney Imagineer as an example of the power of hard work. A pioneer in virtual reality, Pausch heard that Disney was working on a virtual reality project for a new ride. He wanted to fulfill his dream of working with Disney, and despite being told ‘no’ by his administrators, Pausch, through lots of hard work was able to spend months in California working with Disney’s crack team of scientists on the project.
Although Pausch never actually became Captain Kirk, he did get to meet William Shatner in person – which, he said, is close enough. Shatner toured Pausch’s virtual reality lab one day while working on a book about how breakthroughs first imagined on Star Trek foreshadowed today’s technological advances.
“It’s cool to meet your boyhood idol, but it’s almost indescribably cooler when he comes to you to see cool stuff you’re doing in your lab,” Pausch wrote.
As a parent, Pausch never had the opportunity to follow his parents’ example of giving him creative carte blanche to put the things that mattered most to him on the walls in his room. What mattered to a high school boy? Well if you’re Randy Pausch, you paint quadratic equations, rocket ships with fins and silver elevator doors complete with buttons going to six floors (despite the fact that he lived in a ranch house) on your walls. Pausch never had the chance to fuel his children’s creativity and big dreams in person, but those who read the book may be inspired.
Read The Last Lecture for many reasons: to laugh, to cry (a lot) but mainly just to be inspired. And maybe even to learn how to inspire others.
As Pausch said, “Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids’ dreams, too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes” or writing on walls. |
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