Learning from a last lecture

by Ryan Grindle

“What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?” In many universities, professors have been asked to give hypothetical last lectures. Seven months ago, on September 18, 2007, Professor Randy Pausch was asked by Carnegie Mellon University to give one of these hypothetical lectures. Ironically, only a few weeks later, Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
Faced with only months to live, Pausch decided to go through with what was supposed to be a hypothetical situation. The lecture, titled “How to achieve your childhood dreams” has become known worldwide over the past few months. This one speech has now taught millions of people virtues of life that he believes everybody must hold true to. In a self-written article in Parade Magazine, Pausch points out seven aspects of his life that he found to be most important: dream big, ask for what you want, dare to take a risk, look for the best in everybody, make time for what matters, and let kids be themselves. He also says that nobody should ever give up, and t hat the brick walls that can hold us back “let us prove how badly we want things”.
These merits only ask that every person follows his/her heart and look on the bright side of life. His words act as inspiration for others who learned “If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you”.