Lessons in living and achieving your childhood dreams…
It must have been a decade since I read this book fully. It was leant to be my a work friend and it had had a profound effect on her. Whilst I was aware of the story having seen a few bits online, I hadn't actually read it yet so now was the time!
Written by Randy Pausch (who was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University) and co-authored by Jeffrey Zaslow, it's based on a talk Pausch delivered in September 2007 titled Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.
Said lecture was part of a series where professors were asked to talk about their legacy and any final wisdom they would give if it were their last opportunity to speak to students.
And as Pausch had received a terminal cancer diagnosis, it most likely would be…
Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Randy used the lecture as a way to reflect on his life, achievements and lessons he'd learned along the way. His approach to his diagnosis was more with humour and grace, rather than the morbid aspects and generally focusing on living life to the fullest.
The central theme of the book and lecture is about achieving your childhood dreams. He shares stories from his own life, explaining how he was able to fulfil most of his own dreams like working for Disney and experiencing zero gravity, and also how he dealt with the ones he didn’t achieve.
Randy emphasises the importance of hard work, perseverance, and overcoming obstacles. He discusses how 'brick walls' are there to show how badly you want something, and how you can achieve goals through determination and learning from failure.
Beyond his own dreams, Randy highlights the importance of helping others achieve theirs. As a professor and mentor, he finds fulfilment in guiding students and enabling them to reach their potential.
Also covered are broader life lessons such as the value of honesty, gratitude and a positive attitude. Pausch approached life and death with joy and appreciation, and here stresses the importance of spending time with loved ones and creating meaningful experiences.
He wrote and delivered The Last Lecture as a legacy for his three young children. The book serves as a way for him to impart his values, wisdom, and love to them, hoping they will live meaningful and fulfilling lives.
I only highlighted 3 quotes so here they are, but I'm sure there are many more!
An injured lion wants to know if he can still roar
Have you still got it? Whether that be a terminal diagnosis or not, that 'lion' wants to know if it can still compete and win… why not try and see what's possible whatever state you're in.
Walt Disney himself, who famously had said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
Walt Disney dreamt up a whole new world. This kind of quote has been overused and a bit simplistic so we need to be careful, but the point is all things are possible with the right ideas, plans, and action to back it up.
“That is what it is. We can’t 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.”
Back to controlling the controllable. What is out of your hands can only be accepted and made the best of. If you do have some influence, great, do what you can, but there's no point trying to change things which you can't. All you can do is make the best of it and maybe seek an advantage from it.
I started to have a re-read a year or so back but went on to other things, but it may be worth revisiting. A profound book indeed, it didn't have as much of an effect on me as it had on my colleague but the messages and sentiment run deep, and it may be that it holds much wisdom for all.
Both an inspiring memoir and a motivational guide, The Last Lecture urges readers to live authentically, dream big, and make the most of the time they have… a powerful reflection on life, death and what truly matters!
Have you read it - or watched the lecture - and what did you think?
First image my own, other image and video linked to source
