Who is Randy Pausch
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Randy Pausch and the Last Lecture.
Note: Randy finally passed away on July 25th, 2008. We keep Jai and her children in our thoughts and prayers.
Why millions of people have already heard of Randy Pausch.
Randy Pausch was a Carnegy Mellon University professor. In September 2007, he gave his last lecture, knowing for a fact that it WAS going to be his very last. Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. Everything that could be done was done. But the doctors had to tell him at the end of last summer: you only have a few months to live.You could expect a lecture in the worst possible meaning of the word, something preachy, or even something teary. But Randy chose to share laughter and sharp vision on what matters most. His lecture was articulated in three parts :
- achieving your childhood dreams
- helping others achieve their dreams
- lessons learned
I'm not going to give details because I'd only spoil it for you and that's definitely not what my goal is here, but what I can tell you is that it has touched millions of human hearts and minds.
Links to The Last Lecture.
- SonnyRadio.com :: The Last Lecture
- The Last Lecture, shorter version for Oprah on October 18th. Beware, it'll probably make you want for more...
- Randy Pausch: Childhood Dreams Lecture - Carnegie Mellon University
- Here, you have the full, original lecture. It last a little over one hour and fifteen minutes. And here you can see and hear it all in one shot, which was not possible on YouTube where it is broken into parts.
- Randy Pausch's Home Page
- Randy Pausch's Web Page
"I am flattered and embarassed by all the recent attention to my "Last Lecture." I am told that, including abridged versions, over six million people have viewed the lecture online."
""A good apology:
1)I'm sorry.
2)It was my fault.
3)What can I do to make it right?""
'The Last Lecture' as a hardcover book, available in English, Spanish, Portuguese but also in Russian, Korean and more. DVD and
The Last Lecture
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." --Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
La última lección + DVD (Spanish Edition)
The Last Lecture in Spanish.
Randy Pausch on Wikipedia: achievements, facts and numbers.
Randolph Frederick "Randy" Pausch (October 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008) was an American professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pausch learned that he had pancreatic cancer, a terminal illness, in September of 2006. He gave an upbeat lecture entitled "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" on September 18, 2007 at Carnegie Mellon, which became a popular YouTube video and led to other media appearances. He then co-authored a book called The Last Lecture on the same theme, which becam...
The Last Lecture on pdf!
- The Last Lecture, transcript.
- This is at the beginning:
"© Copyright Randy Pausch, 2007 (1)"
And then you find this:
"(1)This is temporary; we will be doing a creative commons license or some such; for now, please consider this footnote your permission to use this transcript for any personal or non-commercial purposes. -- Randy"
Videos of Randy Pausch's last lecture on YouTube.
"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things."
Well, what do you think of Randy Pausch?
Randy Pausch on time management.

A father forever.
Leave your thoughts here!
Share what you find most inspiring, most touching or even most fun in Randy's lecture...
Jennifer Miller in UK wrote
Just now I finished the book 'The Last Lecture'. I shed a few tears along the way but mainly I smiled an ear to ear grin as RP touched my heart with his.
What a gift he gave the world. That mistakes are part of learning, courage is facing something that scares you and doing it anyway, honesty is always best, tough love works, brick walls are there to be scaled and our dreams are meant to be achieved.
How lucky are the people who met and knew Randy. What an amazing friend, teacher, son, husband and father to have.
I know Jai and his children will have wonderful lives and that he will always be with them. I also know they will grow up knowing that too.
I was filled with such peace as the book ended. I came to my PC to check if and when he died.
Now I simply bow to a great human being who showed me what 'greatness' really is all about. And that just maybe I can achieve it too.
Leaving a worthwhile legacy - of Love, not money - makes it all worthwhile.
Thanks Randy. See you around.
Keith wrote
I only knew Randy since first seeing him on Oprah. I felt it when he passed on July 25th... sad that such a loving and smart person had to go. But I guess it's just God's wake-up call for all of us who think we have all the time in the world to follow our dreams... in truth, we don't. Randy, thank you for your courage. And to the family he's left behind, you were truly, truly blessed to have such a great person for as long as you did. Each day is precious, each day is a gift. To me, that's Randy's biggest lesson. Thank you, Randy Pausch.
Dear_Amelie wrote...
Respect Randy. He taught me a lot, about life, about dream, and about love. Thank you so much, Randy!
May he rest in peace.
Pray for Randy's family.
Still feeling sad for the heartbreaking fact...
triathlontraining wrote...
My Dad recommended this book to me. What a great story!
Very nice job on your lens too. :)
BrockO wrote...
A diamond in a world full of pebbles. Would have been a pleasure to meet him. My prayers go out to his wife and children.
Celine S. wrote
My sincere condoleances to the Pausch Family. Through his "last lecture", Randy showed us how incredible a human being he was. Such a honor to have had the opportunity to hear him speak. Sometimes, life is cut short. However, when thinking of Randy, it's clear that his presence, brilliance and memories will remain forever.
alicesy wrote...
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qlcoach wrote...
Yes Randy Pausch was incredible! For me he emphasized the importance of living in the now, and to not fear death. Please see how I try to
help people too: http://www.squidoo.com/ebyway
Gary Eby, author and therapist
"And always remember that PEOPLE matter. People, not things."
The updates page and the final CMU news.
- Randy Pausch Information
- The last months of Randy Pausch are recorded here, by himself. Stories, pics and links.
- An Enduring Legacy - Carnegie Mellon University
- Randy passed away on July 25th.
Pictures of Childhood.
Some people, I know, would rather not think of their own childhood. But we all get second chances when we get to build the childhood of other children, our own or simply those that are a part of our lives.
P.S. If you buy something from this page...
... you'll automatically be making a donation to http://www.preventcancer.org/Doesn't that feel good?
by CLB
I love a lot of things: music and family, books and writing, fairies and chocolate, creative thinking and learning. Why settle for less than the... (more)










