Living your childhood dreams: Randy Pausch

In my experience, I find that ever so often some of my peers and closest friend are so easy to succumb to the fears in life and different roadblocks that they encounter. Individuals are frequently complaining about an insurmountable disaster in their lives and never seem to want to step up to the plate to take on the challenge. You may wonder, "What does this have to do with anything?" Well before you turn away because you think I'm ranting aimlessly, read on a little further.

A few months ago while browsing the internet, I came across an awe-inspiring and heartfelt story; it was an incredible story about a dying man who taught America how to live. His name was Randy Pausch. Pausch was known for giving his version of "The Last Lecture"; known really as an old tradition where those in the field of academia were to allowed one lecture to sum up and pass on to their students the wisdom and important lessons they have learned through the years. Well Pausch did just that and he reached out to millions in the process. A 47-year old father to three young children who was earlier diagnosed with a terminal case of pancreatic cancer gave his version of the last lecture to a packed hall at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. In just over an hour, Pausch delivered a touching speech which told stories about his life and different experiences he went through to accomplish what he had.Because of technological advances in our day in age, this video was syndicated virtually everywhere and within a few weeks Pausch eventually found himself a spot on the Oprah show discussing some of the important topics he spoke about just a few weeks prior.

I mention this famous lecture because it is one that has really hit the head on the nail for me and probably so many others out there. When you see your life through an hourglass and step back for a moment, it gives you a sense that maybe your problems aren't so big after all and some real perspective is finally exposed. Pausch not only exemplifies the quintessential individual to give a last lecture, but he also shows with some cognitive dissonance he is able to not only stay composed during the lecture, but also do it is a comedic manner. An important theme that Pausch mentions throughout his lecture is to accept that there are inevitably going to be failures in your life, but you have to diligently work past them. He couldn't have thought of it in a better way, "The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." 

Although it is a difficult task to describe the brevity and effects this speech had on millions without actually watching the lecture, I hope I have at least sparked some topics of interest to reflect upon.  And if you are not one of the 12 million people that have already viewed it on youtube.com, you can put aside an hour of your time to watch him speak.