Wednesday, September 26, 2007

HW Assignment: Watch "The Professor's last Lecture" Randy Pausch of CMU

Professor Randy Pausch, of CMU (Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburg is dying of pancreatic cancer. "So in case there is anyone in the room who wandered in and didn't know my back story, my dad always said, 'If there is an elephant in the room, introduce him,'" Pausch said in the lecture.

"If you look at my [CT] scan, there are approximately 10 tumors in my liver. The doctors told me I had three to six months of good health left. That was a month ago so you can do the math."

The diagnosis was a grim reality, but Pausch doesn't do grim and he doesn't do self-pity.


The Wall Street Journal called it "the lecture of a lifetime" and those who have seen it have more than agreed.

-----> Mark sez: I agree, and I want EVERYONE who ever reads me to go Here to Google video (and spend TWO hours of your life, watching, listening, and if you're like me, making NOTES while he talks...)
(or play it HERE-- but it's TWO hours LONG!


A beloved professor at Carnegie Mellon, Pausch got a standing ovation from the 400-member audience before he even opened his mouth.

"Make me earn it," he told them.

And I really DO think he earns it.
I will (I hope) be annotating the video with specific points that I noted, such as at 1:18 (1 hour 18 minutes) in the videotape when he mentions one goal/point:
  • How do you get people to help you?
    • Truth
    • Be Earnest
    • Apologize if you're wrong
    • Focus on others
      • Example
        • Brings out birthday cake for his wife, whose birthday was day before lecture.
I really think that this is a life-changing lecture. For sure, it was for him, as at the end of it he reveals that it was really for his three children (who are now 5, 3 and 1, and wont really know him when they grow up--except from this video:

Challenge (NOT OPTIONAL)

Pick out THREE points of the video that you'd like your spouse/significant other/children
to internalize.

My List?
  1. His childhood list of things to achieve
    1. Disney Imagineer
    2. Experience Zero Gravity
  2. His entertaining story of how BRICK WALLS are placed in front of us to separate the WHEAT from the CHAFF.
    1. and how he eventually DID work for Disney, even after being rejected!
  3. How he worked with his team to introduce a new programming metaphor to encourage girls (and kids) to program, without telling them it's programming!
I'd like this to become a Meme to celebrate the spirit of Dr. Randy Pausch. I am much disappointed that I never met him, but his
  • Courage
  • Strength
  • Determination
  • and most of all, VISION
are truly inspiring to me. I'd love for you too, to view the video, and make this a tribute to him, and the values he represented.

Thanks again

4 comments:

Mitch & Cheryl said...

Thank you for this! You didn't warn me that I would be crying many times, as other people in the video. I wish I could do something that offered such a wide impact on so many lives. But for those of us who don't share the resources or talents of Randy, just following his advice and PUTTING OTHERS FIRST really CAN made a difference, even if it's only to a small handful of people and not the whole world.

Mark Brown said...

Thanks for Commenting, Cheryl.

so you say PUT OTHERS first is your FIRST of your three pieces of advice.

thanks for visiting.

Don't forget to pass it forward!

Mitch & Cheryl said...

My three points:

1) Experience comes from not getting what you wanted

2) Brick walls are obstacles for the serious people to get around and to keep the non-serious ones out

3) Never stop having FUN!

Sara Gold said...

Some lessons from Randy Pausch’s last lecture that especially moved me:

1. Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
2. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
3. Never lose the child-like wonder.
4. If we do something which is pioneering, we will get arrows in the back. But at the end of the day, a whole lot of people will have a whole lot of fun.
5. Be good at something; it makes you valuable.
6. If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you.

Check out the tribute quiz on the lecture at www.mystudiyo.com : you can add your own questions at the end of the quiz.
http://www.mystudiyo.com/activity.php?act=558