It’s been 10 years since Randy Pausch delivered his “The Last Lecture” speech, and the message is still as powerful today as it was back then. Randy’s speech was titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”. His list included:
- Being in zero gravity
- Playing in the NFL
- Authoring an article in the World Book Encyclopedia
- Being Captain Kirk
- Winning stuffed animals
- Being a Disney Imagineer
His speech takes us through the journey of chasing his dreams, the lessons he learned along the way, and the people that helped him achieve them.
Randy’s lecture was meant to be his last. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was given six months to live. During his speech, he told his audience not to feel sorry for him and reassured them that he fulfilled most of his childhood dreams and felt truly blessed. Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” inspired millions worldwide and his story eventually became a book. What a legacy!
Randy gave us many lessons to consider:
- Keep dreaming
- Chase your childhood aspirations
- Never give up—especially if something is truly important to you
- And most importantly, leave a legacy you can be proud of
To me, the biggest lesson of all is “attitude”. Randy’s attitude was truly inspiring.
I have learned that attitude is everything—how you view things impacts how you act and how you act determines what you achieve.
“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” ―Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!