| | I stumbled across this youtube video that someone posted and later realized that apparently this is an inspirational speech that is kind of taking people by storm right now, so I guess I caught on a little late. In any case, as I am in the habit of doing with things such as videos that inspire or challenge me, I decided to watch it a number of times back to back, in this case twice. The second time I decided to take notes to enable me to further reflect on some of the things that were said. I am posting this more for my own benefit so I may look back at it and think more on it, but I thought that making it a public posting would be much more beneficial and much more edifying to others around me who don't have the time to watch a 75 min video multiple times and really soak up what's being said.
Extremel brief background, Randy Pausch is a tenured professor of computer science at Carnegie-Mellon University and he lives life in a truly optimistic and really inspiring way. He was actually voted as one of the top 100 influential people in 2008. He gave this talk as part of a "Last Lecture" Series where professors would give a lecture regarding what they think is the most important things that people should know, based on their experience. At this point, he was actually in that situation since he had just been diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer and he has actually just passed away about 4 days ago (slightly less than 2 years after he gave this last lecture). I highly recommend people to take some time out or make the time to watch the video on youtube if at all possible, since it has a much greater effect and makes much more sense than the context-less quotes I have posted underneath. He gives a very fresh perspective on life. Not one that is naive or ignorant, but one that really challenges you to push yourself and to focus on others and to lead your life in a meaningful way. It isn't even his words, but how he describes his experiences shows that he has really been living life in that way, and it's amazing and inspiring. It makes me think about certain perspectives I myself hold that I realize I should be striving to change as well. Anyway, take a look at the video if you have a chance. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo.
Here are the quotes/notes that I took out of the lecture and again, this is mainly for my own personal reflection and though some of it is cliche, it's still a good reminder. Sometimes, when we hear something often enough, we stop putting any weight in it, and sometimes, it's worth it to take a step back, and realize that it can actually mean quite a bit if we don't immediately shut it out and think "yea yea, heard it before, whatever". Anyway, here I go.
We cannot change the cards that we are dealt, just how we play the hand
Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things, let us show our dedication
You might get more from pursuing a dream than actually accomplishing it
You have to get the fundamentals down otherwise the fancy stuff isn't going to work
When you're screwing up and no one's saying anything to you anymore, you are in a very bad place because it means they have given up on you. You should cherish these people because these are the people who really care and love you.
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted
Most of what we learn, we learn indirectly ("head fake") - i.e. learn football not for football, but to learn perseverance, teamwork, sportsmanship...etc.
Wait long enough and people will impress and surprise you - if you're annoyed at someone, you just haven't given them enough time
Ask yourself, how can I enable the childhood dreams of others?
You are doing people a disservice if you set them a bar of expectation. Push them to keep going.
Can tell how well the end result produced by a team is going to be just by seeing how well the team interacts
If you're going to do anything that's pioneering, you will get arrows in the back and anything that can go wrong will go wrong, but you have to keep going with it and all's well that end's well.
When you hand something over, find someone better than you to hand it over to
Best gift an educator can give is to get someone to become self-reflective
Best way to teach someone something, is to make them think they're learning something else (i.e. he set up computer games where people think they're just writing script lines for a story but are actually learning the JAVA computer programming language)
If you are perceived as arrogant (or something like that), it will limit what you are going to be able to accomplish (because it will limit how you see things, and will limit how people see and respect you and what you do)
Learn from your students. When you're the teacher, it doesn't mean you only teach and the student only learns. It is two-way.
Teach people in a way that is presented as a story telling opportunity
Decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore in life. Very important point regarding the perspective we take in life.
Never lose the childlike wonder, it's just too important and it's what drives us
Loyalty is a two-way street
Ignore everything that people say, and only pay attention to what they do, that's what matters. This quote was framed specifically as advice for girls who are being pursued romantically by guys, but I think it is very important for everyone. As I always say, words are empty, actions speak much louder than words. If you live a certain way, they don't need to use words to tell you anything, you will know. If they use words to tell you but aren't living it, their words should not be able to convince you of anything. This is true for relationships (i.e. girls being pursued by guys or vice versa, girl interested in a guy or vice versa) but also just very generally in terms of examining someone's character.
There are moments that change your life and if you recognize it 10 years later, you're blessed, but if you recognize it earlier, all the better.
You can't get there alone, let others help you.
Tell the truth
Be earnest (long term character trait)
Apologize when you screw up
Focus on others, not yourself, it's not about you, make it about others
Don't bail, the best gold is at the bottom of the barrel of crap
Get a feedback loop (i.e. mentor, friend) and listen to it - the hard part is listening to it. Cherish the feedback.
Show gratitude
Don't complain, just work harder - Jacky Robinson, baseball player, had a clause in his contract not to complain, even when fans spit on him
Be good at something, it makes you valuable
Work hard, that's the secret
Find the best in everybody, no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it
Be prepared. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity
It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the dreams will come to you.
We don't beat "the reaper" by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully. The reaper will come for all of us, but what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up is what's important, because by the time he shows up, it's too late.
Life is not about the things in life that we regret, it is the things that we do not regret.
You need to find your passion. Don't give up on finding it, because otherwise you're doing nothing but waiting for the reaper.
Find your passion and follow it. You will not find that passion in things, nor in money, because the more things or more money you have, the more you will use that as your metric and there will always be someone with more.
Passion must come from the things that fuel you from the inside.
Honours and awards are nice things but only to the extent that they regard the real respect from your peers, and to be thought well of by other people that you think even more highly of, is a tremendous honour.
No matter what you do at work, at leisure, passion should be grounded in people, and it should be grounded in the relationships you have with people and what they think of you when your time comes.
Find your passion and find true love.
You know you've found true love when you find someone whose happiness means more to you than your own.
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| | Posted 7/31/2008 1:42 AM - 24 Views - 6 eProps - 3 comments
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