Blog Post 6

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

This video is about what he would talk about if it was his LAST lecture of his life. His explains that he was given 3-6 months to live due to liver cancer and that was a month ago. He explains that he isn't depressed, he is in great shape given the circumstances, and that he wants to talk about his childhood dreams and not about natural remedies or religion. He explains that he had an amazing childhood and couldn't find a picture of himself not smiling. He says that anything is possible and the inspiration and the permission to dream is huge. He then lists his childhood dreams.

One of his dreams was to be in zero gravity. He was able to accomplish this dream by manipulating the system and bringing something to the table for NASA and having the media there for them. He shows a video of his students and him in zero gravity. His next dream was to be in the NFL football league. He explains that he was the smallest boy on the team when he was 9 years old and even though he didn't accomplish this dream, he got more from it than from some of the dreams he DID accomplish. He says his coach showed him that he loved him by showing him what he was doing wrong and being his critic. He also says that he feels most comfortable on a football field and sometimes when he is wandering the halls thinking about something he usually has a football in his hand because it has become a part of him. Football got him where he is today and a great quote he has is "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

This really hit home with me because one of my childhood dreams was to become a singer. I know I am still young and I have a lot of life ahead of me and we never know what could happen in the future. At the same time, I may never become a singer but singing passionately at church and even at home with my little sister has become a part of me. It has helped get me where I am today and even though I may never be famous or a rock star, I still sing when I am feeling down, when I am stressed, or when I am trying hard to figure something out. I love this quote and I will have it in my classroom someday.

He goes on to say that football, soccer, or any sport is a "head fake" which means that when we send our children to play football, we don't necessarily want them to learn football, but we want them to have experiences. He says the best way to teach someone something, is to make them think they are learning someone else. I also believe that children need to play sports and/or show their creative side to help them become who they are.

His next dream was to be like Captain Kirk. When he got older, he realized he didn't want to be him, but rather meet him. He says that it is such a cool experience to meet your childhood idol but it's even cooler when your idol comes to YOU to see what you have been accomplishing. What an amazing feeling to know that someone you have looked up to your whole life has come to you to see your accomplishments. I hope that we can all strive for this and want this for ourselves one day.

When he was younger and went to an amusement park, he would see all these big buff guys carrying these huge stuffed animals that they had won. He wanted to win those too and made that one of his childhood dreams. He then goes on to show picture after picture of all of these HUGE stuffed animals that he won and proceeds to bring them out onto the stage with him. He also went to Disney World when he was young and loved the environment so much that he decided he wanted to work there one day. Once he graduated with his PhD, he sent his applications to Disney World and they turned him down and told him they had NO positions available for him. He explains that these brick walls (such as Disney World completely turning him down) that we come to in life are there for a reason and that reason is to let us prove how badly we want something. They are also there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. After meeting the right people years later, he was able to have lunch with a man named Snoddy who was the top imagineer for a top secret Aladdin project that was going on at the time. The lunch turns into a two hour ordeal where Snoddy says he will try to work something out to get Pausch on the project Snoddy was doing. He explains that he learned so much from Snoddy but one of the things that really stuck with him was Snoddy told him that if he waited long enough, people will really impress and surprise you. Snoddy says that if you are really mad at someone, you just haven't waited long enough for them to come around and surprise you. Finally, a contract was made that he could work with Snoddy for 6 months on the project until it was published. He says he loved the project and working there so much and it forever changed him. They ultimately asked him to stay but he explains it was so stressful that he said no. Be careful what you wish for. :)

The one thing that Randy Pausch wanted to share with the world is accomplishing one's childhood dreams. He decided to teach a course on it. He took a class of 50 students from all different departments and put them in groups of 4 and gave them assignments to build virtual worlds. He says that the students amazed him with their first project but instead of telling them how awesome it was, he told them they could still do better. He explains that is the the best advice he could give them because they did just that... they got better and better. Because of how interesting it was and how passionate the students were, it became a campus phenomenon and people lined up to see their ideas. He explains that it was such a privelage and an honor to teach this class for so long (about 10 years).This was done at Carnegie Melon Univeristy and it is the only place this is offered. He created a masters degree program that does away with book learning and the entire degree is comprised of students getting into groups and making things virtually. He created the Alice program where students can make movies and video games which tricks them because what they are really learning is how to program. This helps millions of kids have fun while learning something hard. He says that he will live on with the Alice project. This is so amazing to me. The fact that he wanted students to feel the same passion and accomplishments he felt by giving them the oppurtunity to give these childhood dreams a chance. He allowed them to show the world what they were capable of by letting their creativity flourish and proving they could create their own worlds. He also created a way for students and kids to learn difficult something in a fun atmostphere so they could understand it better.

Another thing Pausch talks about is parents, teachers, mentors, and colleagues are the people that can help you accomplish your dreams. He explains how blessed he was to be born to two amazing people who were passionate and helped others every chance they got. They allowed him to be himself and be creative and he encourages parents around the world to do the same. He explains that his friend/boss Andy told him he was such a good salesman and any company that gets him is going to use him as a salesman and he may as well sell something worth while such as education. What an awe inspiring thing to sell! Education and experiences make us who we are, and he has the privelage of helping make young people who they are. One day, we all will too and I hope that we are all as passionate and wonderous as he is.

The best things about this lecture in my opinion are the last things he says. Never lose the child like wonder. This really fills my soul with hope. I hope that we can all keep this awe and wonder we have when we are children because he is right... it is just too important. Help others. The people that have helped him along the way are the memories he cherishes the most. If we all lived with love in our hearts and helped others the way he does the world would be a better place. In order to get people to help us, we must live our lives by setting the example: telling the truth, being earnest, apologizing when we screw up, and focusing on others, not ourselves. When we choose to do the right thing and have gratitude, good things have a way of happening to us. Never give up. There are always going to be things that get in the way of us accomplishing our dreams. We must remember that these things shouldn't stop us or weigh us down, we have to keep going. We have to remember that these things are there to show us that we can prove how much we want them and to prove our dedication to getting them. His ultimate advice: get a feedback loop that you listen to and use, be good at something, work hard, find the best in everybody no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it, and be prepared because luck is simply where preparation meets oppurtunity.

Close to the end of his presentation when he was talking about focusing on others, he explains that his wife's birthday was the day before and he felt bad because he wasn't able to give her a proper birthday because he was doing his "last lecture." So he brings out a cake with a candle and has the audience of around 500 sing happy birthday to her. This brought me to tears. What an amazing man to give his one moment that he has for himself to her. It was so selfless, and I believe we should all try and live our lives this way. Even though he was only given a certain amount of time to live, he still wasn't thinking only about himself, he wanted to make the people he cared about happy and show them that he loved them. At the end he says, the talk wasn't for us, it was for his kids.

The thing that really amazes me about this man is that no matter what was thrown his way, he never gave up. Similar to Rafe Esquith, he is passionate about what he does and he wants to show the world that anything is possible. I think the purpose of this lecture is to show that no dream is too big. Everything that stands in your way on your journey to making your dreams come true is just to weed out the people who don't want it bad enough. If you perservere and are passionate about the things you want and try to get them, they will happen for you. You make your own path, and YOU are the only one who can make your dreams come true for yourself.