the last lecture.

someone recently gave me this book, and if she is reading this thank you!
if you have time you NEED to watch this lecture. it is powerful, moving, and challenging.
this is a speech by randy pausch, a professor who died recently of cancer. this was
his last lecture to his college students and fellow professors where he taught.
i hope you get as much out of it as i did.
-stephen

Comments

switchkosterice said…
My mom actually just got that book. I'll be sure to borrow it.
malinna said…
so happy you read this! i thought, along with the chocolate chip cookies, this would be a good rainy afternoon read.

although kelli (my daughter) is living on the CMU campus, and currently attending Pitt, we didn't get a chance to attend the lecture or get to know randy, but he, in life and now death, has reach so many people with his inspiring words.

i believe his words teach us what's really important in this world... our interaction with others and the love we have for our families.

thank you for sharing this with others. may we all learn and be so blessed!
. said…
I haven't read the book, but I have watched the lecture before. It's inspiring and very entertaining. He was a man that truly appreciated life. The ending of his speech really shook me, very powerful. It's incredible that a man like him can get dealt such a bad card and turn it around to inspire so many people.
Book of James said…
Ha, he hit the nail on the head with the second head fake. I'm there...

I felt compelled to respond to your previous post about writing our own obituary, but there were so many thoughts and I felt so conflicted, I could not bring myself to respond. And now I know why.

Children really are the penultimate legacy. If you or anyone else reading this is fortunate enough to have children you will come to realize this.

Since we all have parents alive or not, known to us or sadly not known to us, we must embrace our responsibility of being their legacy.

So when you ask us to write our own obituary, I would tell you to instead write your parents obituary.

Face your demons and celebrate the successes. I believe that our future will be clouded until we reconcile with our past. If you haven’t already, you may soon find that you are the mirror for your parents just as your children will be a mirror for you.

As a child of 30 I was totally unprepared for my parent's death. As a parent I got many things right and to my dismay some things wrong. I've seen it all in the mirror.

Cheers
throughHislens said…
I saw this on PBS the other day and I watched it to the end...

very interesting how one turns the bad into good and just reflects the bigger picture/story of the guy who really took the bad for our good.

:)
Love or Nothing said…
that was amazing, thanks for posting that. i got a lot out of it as well.
Latrina said…
That was the most amazing speech I think I have ever heard. I watched it from the beginning to end. It's beautiful that someone, even faced with something as terrible as cancer, can see the good in everything. It's truly amazing! And such a wonderful gift to share. I am so thankful you shared this with us, I got a LOT out of it and I plan on sharing it with my friends and family.

The ending was so surprising and I'm not going to lie, I totally cried. What a wonderful gift he has given US, his students and his children. What a remarkable man!

I love it.
Thank you for sharing. :)
Anonymous said…
I read the book and it was AMAZING. I totally agree with his idea of brick walls being there to see how much you want something. Every time something comes up that prevents me from getting what I want, I just tell myself that God wants me to be patient and that he's ensuring I TRULY want what I am striving to achieve.
Anonymous said…
Ah yes I've heard of him. I'll have to get the book and watch the video tomorrow.

You know, I'm so glad I have people like you, people like this man, people like my dad, to teach me about truly living when I'm young. I'm so blessed not to have to learn the hard way.

thank you.
Anonymous said…
Well I finally finished watching this all the way through. I've a very busy college student and hardly ever have free time so I watched sections of this in between class times. It served as a terrible(wonderful) distraction from school work. I would be sitting in class and all I could think about was what Pausch was going to talk about next. His uses of experience, perspective, and the ability to live life for the well being of others is truly remarkable. In my opinion I believe there is an overall third "head fake." To use the closeness of death to draw so many people into an intriguing lecture was surely a head fake to me. You would think death fortified his words with so much charged emotion, but in reality I can really tell that this man didn't need to be dieing to touch/inspire so many people. He didn't need death to help conjure a sense of giving life meaning. He's a man of experience, honest words, and inspiration. He just so happened to be dieing. Very brilliant.
Anonymous said…
yeah, YAY for Randy Pausch :)
Anonymous said…
I was really happy to see that others had found an interest and really got something out of something as powerful as the last lecture. I remember months and months ago dateline nbc did a story about randy and his life, and it really touched me but I never got around to watching the actual lecture, nor reading the book. I came across the blog and finally watched it and it honestly has changed my life, the way I do and look at things, and how I act as a person. It's one of the most powerful things I've seen in a very long time and I'm glad to see others enjoying it as well.
Anonymous said…
Wow. That was the best 1:16:27 I've seen in a long time..a long time. It's all so relevant and I held on every word...totally laughed and got a bit teary eyed. The determination to break past brick walls and the grace to persist with patience can sometimes be lost to the daily grind. I almost forgot how I used to live for the thrill of meaningful acomplishment..and so

Inasmuch as it is profoundly inspiring, it also makes me feel bad because I can see the pieces of my life that need to fit..I mean I can see all the pieces of my heart's desire clearly on the table...even the pieces I thought I lost years ago, but like a complex puzzle, I can see a picture, but I don't know how to arrange the pieces. I'm a visionary myself, not a construction worker (metaphorically speaking). But motivation is a good catalyst, so hopefully karma will someday balance out the effort, if I make it; however seemingly insignificant, all one can act on is what seems important and dear to their heart.

You know, I think you're on to something here. :) Nothing you ever post is random or out of place. I can see a fluid connection between the memoirs in your book and the blogs you post. I feel like you're really working to sort out the details of your own legacy! And I have complete faith you're achieving it.

Thanks for letting me write along on the journey..
abbi said…
Thanks for posting this!
I read a bit of the book in a bookstore a few weeks ago and enjoyed it, but didn't buy it...definitely going to find it again now!
Melanie said…
That was amazing. Thank you so much for posting it.
Anonymous said…
"to be absentt from the body IS TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD"

He lives and walks today among the most awesome hero's of scripture: Moses, David, Joshua and so many otehrs!!! This is what we as believers long for and that is to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!!! Remember what we are her for and it's not for worship of people but of working to increase the kingdom!!!!
[Cr*] said…
I was reading your older post from Calcutta and maybe you've already seen this documentary "Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids ("Los niños del barrio rojo") but it's really good. I saw it on my Men and change class; gives you a lot to think about

Good luck
Anonymous said…
He was from my area, & it was all over the news when he died. This is just one of the many, many books I really want to pick up.
dana said…
i got this book for my birthday.
very good read.
very good motivation, among other things.
burnthesun said…
this man was brilliant. its sad, but amazing how strong he was. im so glad i watched it, the video has reminded me to appreciate brick walls that come up in life. powerful
Anonymous said…
I splurged and bought The Last Lecture on impulse when on a 'college supply shopping trip' because it looked like 'something I would read.'
It was.

I have to admitt I take a great amount of joy in achieving my own dreams. Bragging rights at times. But beyond that, something personal that no one else can see, but that I take with me everywhere I go. I wouldn't be the same person without them.

'Brick walls.' I'm taking that with me.
malinna said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
malinna said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
malinna said…
there will be a celebration of randy pausch's life on september 22at the cmu campus in pittsburgh.
go to this website for more info... http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/September/sept2_pauschmemorial.shtml

it will be streamed live on abcnews.com so all can watch.
Anonymous said…
wow, that spoke so much to me, it seems as i get older I face so many brick walls, my own or my friends. it is amazing the wisdom that God has given to those who do not know him. so how much more will he reveal to those who seek him.
Raechel said…
This is my second time watching the lecture, but I still teared up in the end. :)

Thanks for posting Stephen!
If you ever do become a professor, I look forward to seeing all that God will bless you with and everything that comes out of it.
Anonymous said…
Great piece in Relevant this past month!
N said…
thanks for posting this, I wouldnt see this if you didnt post it

thank you =)
this was amazing!
Mizz.Donna said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
malinna said…
Just a reminder that the memorial for Randy Pausch is Monday, September 21st at 4:30 p.m. It will be streamed live on abcnews.com so we can share in celebrating his amazing life. :)
Anonymous said…
I want to read this book!!!!
I saw Randy's interview on Dateline (is that right? I can't remember it was a while ago). I was inspired.
malinna said…
here's an article on the celebration for randy pausch...

http://postgazette.com/pg/08267/914333-298.stm

so, are you a tigger or eeyore?
Anonymous said…
Wow. I'm so glad I took the time to watch this. I've been desperately in need of inspiration.
Sarah said…
that was beautiful. the last slide made me want to cry out of joy. what a great man.
-JEss- said…
wow. im glad i watched that video.
it has really inspired me.
i want to thank you stephen for posting this. i got ALOT out of this.

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