Many lecturers give speeches with the title “The Last Lecture.” Teachers are required to contemplate their mortality and think about the things that are most important to them. And as they do, the crowds listening can’t help but ponder the same question: What advice would we give to the people of the world if we knew it was our last chance? Why would we want to be remembered if our existence had to end tomorrow?
Randy Pausch’s last conference [Download pdf Below]
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to worry about whether it would be his last or not, because he had recently been told he had terminal cancer. But the talk he gave, titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” wasn’t about death.
It was about the importance of conquering challenges, making other people’s goals a reality, and making the most of every moment (because “time is all you have… and one day you may discover that you have less than you think”). It was a synthesis of everything Randy had finally come to believe. He was all about living.
Randy Pausch has taken the comedy, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a sensation and given it a form that will leave a lasting impression in this book. It is the kind of book that will be read and discussed for many years.