The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture
by Randy Pausch

First ... my apologies for running off at the mouth. This post far exceeds my personal limits for how much I would ever read in a blog posting. If you do nothing else, watch the video and get the book. Have you ever read a book cover to cover without getting out of the chair? This is one of those books.


You may have seen the popular YouTube video (watch video) about a Carnegie Mellon University professor who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. (See the lecture on Randy's home page, look on the lower left hand side of the page. Click to view.) The video is one of the most inspiring things I saw on the web in 2007. This is partly because I watched it while visiting my brother, who was recovering from kidney cancer surgery. Randy appears to be the kind of person I would love to be. I have much to be thankful for, but to have his positive outlook and creative energy would be icing on the cake.

His major goal for the last several months of his life has been to leave something for his three young children and wonderful wife. He believes they need something to help them remember who he was and how much he wanted to be there for them. This project has left something for all of us to look up to. His book is a very public part of the equation. The book is also called The Last Lecture, and is a quick and easy read.

This is where I'd recommend that you click over to B&N to order the book, or (even better) turn off the computer and head to your local book store for a copy of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch .

Each chapter has a particular lesson, complete with plenty of personal stories.

• "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you." Assistant coach
• "I don't believe in the no-win scenario." Wm Shatner
• Question from a guest: "What time does the park close?" Walt Disney World worker reply: "The park is open until eight PM."
• Pour the Coke onto the upholstery before the kids have an accident. It's only a car.
• "Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something." Randy

One of the more interesting chapters is about Time Management. The chapter apparently was good enough that he created a second video, which he considers at least as useful as the first. It's also on Randy's home page.

• Time must be explicitly managed, like money
• You can always change your plans, but only if you have one
• Ask yourself: Are spending yout time on the right things?
• Develop a good filing system
• Rethink the telephone
• Stand up when you're talking
• Hang up on telemarketers while you're talking. (Not when they're talking.)
• Call someone when they want to go to lunch
• Delegate
• Take a time out (do not do work email on vacation)
• Leave a very difficult, but possible, path for people to find your phone number

"Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think!" -Randy

Give your kids permission to break the rules now and then ... they don't always have to be in by bed time.

When Mom says "Stop leaning back in that chair," Tell her " If I break the chair, I'll replace the dining room set." How to meet people (work groups)

• Exchange contact info, pronounce their name correctly
• Find things you have in common
• Let everyone talk
• Check your ego at the door
• Praise each other
• Phrase alternatives as questions. Not "I think we should do A." Instead "What if we did A instead of B?"

As I was working on this review, I realized that every chapter wanted a piece of me. There's just too much to say about this book. Here's something you don't hear me say very often: You must read this book.




More pithy things I want to remember from the book.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Seneca (Roman philosopher 5 BCE

Send a Thank you note. On Paper. Hand written. Do something on the same scale. If they did a big thing, do a big thing for them.

How to apologize

1. What I did was wrong.
2. I feel badly that I hurt you
3. How do I make this better?

Tell the truth.

No job is beneath you.

All you have to do is ask.

Make a decision ... Tigger or Eeyore?

However well they did on the project, the response is "Guys, that was pretty good, but I know you can do better." No matter how good it was!

Virtual world programming: http://www.alice.org