Just finished reading 'The Last Lecture'. The book is an expanded print version of the celebrated lecture delivered by Randy Pausch, the late Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor, in September 2007, after he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, and had just a few months left to live. He passed away in July 2008.I want to view the lecture too on YouTube, but the slow internet at home is not letting me enjoy the 76-minute video without interruptions.
The book is full of insightful gems... here is my selection:
I won the parent lottery.
I was born with the winning ticket, a major reason I was able to live out my childhood dreams.
(p. 21)
He'd [Randy's father] also warn me that even if I was in a position of strength, whether at work or in relationships, I had to play fair. "Just because you're in the driver's seat," he'd say, "doesn't mean you have to run people over."
(p. 23)
Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.
(p. 33)
The brick walls are there for a reason. They're not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
(pp. 51-52)
He was proof that, sometimes, the most impenetrable brick walls are made of flesh.
(p. 53)
Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.
(p. 111)
Remember the head fake? That's when you teach somebody something by having them think they're learning something else.
(p. 127)
Somehow, with the passage of time, and the deadlines that life imposes, surrendering became the right thing to do.
(p. 136)
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
(p. 147)
Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.
(p. 177)
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