Randy Pausch (1960 – 2008)
Professor of Computer Science, Human-Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States and a best-selling author, who achieved worldwide fame for his speech The Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and having only a few months to live.
We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Look, I'm going to find a way to be happy, and I'd really love to be happy with you, but if I can't be happy with you, then I'll find a way to be happy without you."
Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear."
So what is today's talk about then? It's about my childhood dreams and how I've achieved them — I've been very fortunate that way; how I believe I've been able to enable the dreams of others, and to some degree, lessons learned: I'm a professor — there should be some lessons learned — and how you can use the stuff you hear today to enable your dreams or enable the dreams of others. And as you get older you may find that enabling-the-dreams-of-others thing is even more fun.
Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcomed.
When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."
Apologize when you screw up.
The questions are always more important than the answers."
It's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you get hit...and keep moving forward."
Time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think."
A good apology is like antibiotic, a bad apology is like rubbing salt in the wound."
It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match. And it's very important to get out of it as quickly as possible.
What he said was: "You obviously don't know where the bar should be, and you're only going to do a disservice by putting it anywhere." And boy was that good advice.
We're not going to talk about spirituality and religion. Although I will tell you that I have experienced a deathbed conversion. I just bought a Macintosh.
You can always change you plan, but only if you have one.."
If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, "tell the truth." If I got three more words, I'd add: "All the time."
Don't complain; just work harder.
I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left.