Randy Pausch

Who is Randy Pausch?

Randy Pausch was a professor of "computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" (Wikipedia, 2024)

What was he known for?

In 2006, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He subsequently gave a lecture titled: "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" and also co-authored a book titled "The Last Lecture"

This lecture led to multiple media appearances and garnered a lot of attention within CMU and beyond.

5 points in his talk.

The most striking thing to me was how he spoke about his unwavering commitment to remain positive in the face of adversity. While watching, I was constantly reminded of how the legend of sisyphus persevered especially when faced with certain failure.

5 more points:

1. If I'm not contributing to 100 most important things in my life, what am I doing?
2. I'm never getting today back. If I don't spend it achieving my full potential I will never reach my full potential.
3. Thank you cards. The tangibility of appreciation is really important, and should be a bigger part of my life.
4. Don't put your feet up. If we slightly break the rules and apply this to more than just a phone call, we gain perspective.
5. You don't find time for anything, you make time for it by choosing not to do something else.