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"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
--Randy Pausch A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come. |
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Book of the year : Powered by Amazon
Posted on 2008-11-19 |
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This is one of the few books I have read this year that I can strongly recommend. Randy Pausch tells it like it needs to be told. He doesn't hold anything back and I was absolutely moved to tears.
Many times in our lives, we know what we should be doing but don't always do it. The things that Randy says in this book are things we should be doing NOW instead of waiting for a terminal diagnosis.
The thing about Randy that impressed me the most was that he refused to feel sorry for himself. What a terrific thing for us all to remember and live by. Many of us may have terribly difficult circumstances in our lives that are hard to live with. If a man with a terminal diagnosis can find happiness and productivity with a prognosis of pancreatic cancer, then we ALL can.
If you read no other book this year, please read this one. I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed. |
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What's not to love? : Powered by Amazon
Posted on 2008-11-19 |
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| He had me at 'hello' . . . . Randy Pausch shares his journey with humor and pathos, reminding us that we, too, can live our lives and die our deaths with honesty and integrity. Having read his lecture earlier, I had hoped for more 'padding' in the book but found it satisfying, nonetheless. |
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The Last Lecture : Powered by Amazon
Posted on 2008-11-17 |
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| Very intelligently written. Not what I expected, though. I thought it would be the lecture itself, so I was a bit disappointed. However, the message was inspirational and kept me turning the pages, so I guess that's what really counts. |
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Better than expected : Powered by Amazon
Posted on 2008-11-11 |
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| A book for everyone, but especially our kids and grandkids that are going off to college. For a man who was so closely associated with science, he had great emotional insight. |
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excellent book! : Powered by Amazon
Posted on 2008-11-10 |
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I am amazed by the most inspirational words that I have ever read in my life!
It is a terrific book of guiding one's life, especially for teenagers. |
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