Art Workshops

ABC World News with Charles Gibson names Randy Pausch "Person of the Week"

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric highlights Randy Pausch in "A Dying Professor's Words to Live By"

Good Morning America highlights Randy Pausch in "Dying Professor's Lecture of a Lifetime"

The Wall Street Journal highlights his lecture and staff journalist Jeff Zaslow named to write Randy's book about the "Last Lecture."

That list goes on and it touches on some of the world's most recognized news sources. Randy Pausch is in our hearts and minds because of his most prophetic "Last Lecture." Over 6 million people have viewed his video which circles the internet even now, months after he gave it at Carnegie Mellon.

I've been given the opportunity to ask Randy a few questions and he hasn't responded yet. But, when he does I'll be sure to update everyone on what he has to say. Because his words are so meaningful especially now that he faces his illness with bravery and unwavering faith in his belief system.

"Never lose the childlike wonder. It's just too important. It's what drives us. Don't complain, just work harder. Find the best in everybody. You might have to wait a long time, but people will show you their good sides. It's not about achieving your dreams. It's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you," Randy Pausch and his bites of wisdom.

While everyone who listened to that lecture got at least one main point, "Don't pity me!" I picked up on an entirely different lesson, one that hits home to me because it's what I have seen in Art myself. First, Randy outlined his childhood dreams.

To be in zero gravity.

To play in the NFL.

To author an article in the World Book Encyclopedia.

Being Captain Kirk.

To win big stuffed animals in an amusement park.

To be an imagineer with Disney.

After outlining his dreams, he went through how he had either achieved each one or learned a valuable lesson. And it is in the lessons where I found the words of wisdom that rang home to me.

Randy never played in the NFL. But, he learned football. He practiced hard when he was young and his coach drove him especially hard. Randy says that a person who is willing to drive you and scorn you for your mistakes is a person who hasn't given up on you yet. So, what did Randy get out of football?

He says that your parents don't send you to things like football to make a better player out of you. Sure it's nice that Randy knows the three point stance and can read certain plays. But, what people get most out of activities like football are, "Teamwork, Sportsmanship, Preserverance%u2026etc."

Randy calls that the "head fake." When the quarterback gets the ball and drops back to make a long pass, he can throw the defense off with a little head fake. You are acting like you're throwing right when you are really going to throw left. In other words, we send our kids to a fun activity that they will enjoy and get into. But, what is happening is that they are learning so much more about life. They just don't know it.

That hits home with me because I see it in art all the time. Children and adults alike come into my workshop to learn art. They want to know how to paint like Picasso and what they get is whole lot more than that. They get to learn how to organize their thoughts, how to think outside the box and how to find solutions from different angles. They get the head fake.

I can't wait until Randy responds to my questions. I know that they are going to be full of even more inspiring words that I am going to get to take with me and apply to my own life. Why is it that some of the greatest people have to leave before their time?