Read This Next #2: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
This book has inspired me for a lifetime. His lecture is the best antidote for sadness. Something I will keep coming back to.
Hey there!
Well, I turned 23 last Wednesday.
It feels like an age that is rough all around the edges. You're on the edge of your seat as everything, including yourself, rapidly changes. And sometimes it just feels like you're not a part of it all.
You falsely believe you’ve entered the real world, but it hasn’t fully hit you yet.
Taylor Swift’s hit song isn’t singing, “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 23” for a good reason.
Anyway, moving on.
The book I am sharing with you today is something that’s truly priceless.
It probably is the most feel-good book ever. It’s only a 2-hour read.
I love it so much that
Some people liked it too!
The book 🤝 The Lecture
The book is basically a transcript of this very lecture.
I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. - Randy Pausch
If you don’t know, Randy Pausch was a CS professor at Carnegie Mellon University. The university is known for its last lecture series.
Randy got diagnosed with terminal cancer. The Last Lecture is the hurrah- a final note to the world and his family about how to live, love and let go. It is beautiful.
I recommend this book for fans of memoirs, computer engineering and heartfelt narratives.
Then, once I finished the book, I looked up Randy's actual last lecture on YouTube.
The lecture was so full of optimism, clarity, hope, humour, and sincerity that the YouTube video was published as a book. “The Last Lecture” contains everything that Randy covered in the lecture, plus some other anecdotes and pearls of wisdom from his life.
I will suggest reading the book, just don't read it too quickly.
This is a father's love letter to his family.
Find out more about Randy’s life, his contribution to the Virtual Reality space and more by clicking here.
My favourite bits from the Book/Lecture
#1 Obstacles
Randy says that it’s important to have a set of specific dreams.
He wanted to be an Astronaut but he knew that astronauts couldn’t have glasses, he was OK with that. He didn’t really want the whole astronaut gig. He just wanted the floating.
The story of how he found a small loop-hole & flew in zero gravity truly proves “If you can find an opening, you can probably find a way to float through it.”
#2 Dreaming and valuing your critics
I love this part of the book.
…even though I did not reach the NFL, I sometimes think I got more from pursuing that dream, and not accomplishing it than I did from many of the ones I did accomplish.
When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you.
Your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.
#3 Experience
“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”
That’s an expression I learned when I took a sabbatical at Electronic Arts, the video-game maker. It just stuck with me, and I’ve ended up repeating it again and again to students. It’s a phrase worth considering at every brick wall we encounter, and at every disappointment. It’s also a reminder that failure is not just acceptable, it’s often essential.
#4 Family
Take a time out. It’s not a real vacation if you’re reading email or calling in for messages. When Jai (wife) and I went on our honeymoon, we wanted to be left alone. My boss, however, felt I needed to provide a way for people to contact me. So I came up with the perfect phone message:
“Hi, this is Randy. I waited until I was 39 to get married, so my wife and I are going away for a month. I hope you don’t have a problem with that, but my boss does. Apparently, I have to be reachable.” I then gave the names of Jai’s parents and the city where they live. “If you call directory assistance, you can get their number. And then, if you can convince my new in-laws that your emergency merits interrupting their only daughter’s honeymoon, they have our number.”
They received zero calls.
In the end, “time is all you have,” writes Randy. “And you may find one day that you have less than you think.”
Cherish it with your loved ones.
Conclusion: Thank you, Randy.
As far as I'm concerned, this guy is a hero. He was happy, and yet he achieved so much. He was diagnosed with cancer, and instead of just letting it put him down, it was a motive for him to leave a lasting legacy. A legacy for his kids.
Thank you so much for making me realize that:
Time is finite, so make the most of it.
That is what it is. We cannot change it. We just have to decide how we’ll respond.
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
Everyone can gain something from this book, and it’s something I think his children will re-read and reflect on numerous times.
I enjoyed The Last Lecture and highly recommend it.
Until next week,
Best,
Darshil
👋 The End
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I will leave you with Randy’s short clip on the Oprah Winfrey Show. This is so incredibly worth watching. Just a great, genuine, creative, terrific guy.