Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture - Let Us Never Forget

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
quote from this youtube link
"Uploaded on Dec 20, 2007
Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch (Oct. 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.
For more on Randy, visit: http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture
Learn how to support the Randy Pausch Memorial Bridge,
visit: http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/images/ex..."


My favorite quotes from his lecture:

"you've gotta get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff isn't gonna work."

"when you are screwing up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up. and that's a lesson that stuck with me my whole life, is that when you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell anymore, that's a very bad place to be. your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care."

"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

"the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough."

"wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you.  when you are pissed off at somebody and you are angry at them, you just haven't given them enough time."

[Virtual reality course] "it gave kids a sense of excitement of putting on a show for people who were then excited about it and i think that's one of the best things you can give somebody - the chance to show them what it feels like to make other people get excited and happy. i mean, that's a tremendous gift."

"sharing an office with don was really like sharing an office with a tornado, right? there was just so much energy and you never knew which trailer was next, but you knew something exciting was gonna happen!"

"head fake: the best way to teach somebody something, is to have them think they're learning something else. ...millions of kids having fun while learning something hard."

"mothers are people who love you, even when you pull their hair."

"president cohon, when i told him i was gonna do this talk, he said please tell them about having fun cause that's what i remember you for. i said i can do that, but it's kinda like a fish giving a talk about the importance of water. i mean, i dont know how to not have fun, right? i'm **dying** and i'm having fun. and i'm gonna keep having fun every day i have left. cause there's no other way to play it."

"it's kinda fun to do the impossible."

"when you do the right thing, good stuff has a way of happening."

"when people give you feedback, cherish it and use it."

"show gratitude. when i got tenure, i took all of my research team down to disneyworld for a week and one of the other professors at virginia said 'how can you do that?' and i said 'these people just busted their ass and got me the best job in the world for life - how could i not do that?"

"don't complain, just work harder."

"be good at something; it makes you valuable."

"find the best in everybody; no matter how you have to wait for them to show it."

"be prepared: 'luck' is where preparation meets opportunity."

"did you figure out the head fake? it's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life. if you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you. have you figured out the second head fake? talk's not for you, it's for my kids."

Hard Times Quote

A friend shared this with me once so I wanted to post it here too:

So there's this quote I really like. I stumbled upon it when I was going through a tough time
“It's like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”   -E.L. Doctorow
This quote gave me hope when I needed it, which is why I thought it worth sharing. Hang in there--this will pass, I promise.