The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch and his Last Lecture

Randy Pausch and his Last Lecture

I have taught at the college level for nearly two decades and have loved the experience of teaching. In addition, I have spent almost that much time listening to professors lecturing while going to college, graduate school, and post-graduate school. Never have I given nor heard a more moving and honest lecture in all those years than the one given by Dr. Randy Pausch as his Last Lecture. I have watched that video many times.

Mike Schmitt, who is a friend of mine, gave me the link to that video. Part of the reason was that he saw some similarities between Pausch and me.

One of the similarities that I discovered while watching Pausch's Last Lecture was that we have both danced with death. He had pancreatic cancer, and I had prostate cancer. However, while my cancer was treated and I am fine, he was not as fortunate. Nevertheless, Pausch was a man who truly understood life, because he understood that he would die within several months of his lecture.

If you have not danced with death and learned the lesson of truly living, please set aside the time to watch this video. It will change your life. Trust me.

There are several additional similarities between us. The critically important one is that both of us love our children. However, I also have three grandchildren. Sadly, his children were too young to remember him before he died. Another comparison is that Pausch and I both grew up in Presbyterian families. Finally, we both lived in Pittsburgh and loved the Pittsburgh Steelers. This photo is of Pausch after he caught a pass during a Steelers practice.

Pausch practicing as a wide receiver

Pausch practicing as a wide receiver



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The Donald as the Dark Knight thumbnail The Donald as the Dark Knight He Ain't Don Quixote 09/19/16
Why Do I Care? thumbnail Why Do I Care? More to the Point, Why Doesn't Everyone Care? 09/16/16
Confucius Say thumbnail Confucius Say, "Petty Man Understands Profit" 09/14/16
Moh Moh Spoke thumbnail Moh Moh Spoke And She Sounded Like Don Quixote 09/09/16
Jack Began His Yellow Brick Road... thumbnail Jack Began His Yellow Brick Road... Of Academia 09/05/16
thumbnail Return to Myanmar Dream Big 09/02/16
Rediscovering the Past... thumbnail Rediscovering the Past... Eleanor Roosevelt 08/31/16
The Meaning Behind the Man thumbnail The Meaning Behind the Man The Man of La Mancha 08/29/16
Trying and Failing... thumbnail Trying and Failing... Is Better than Failing without Trying 08/26/16
The Strangest Thing Happened to Me at Jimmy John's thumbnail The Strangest Thing Happened to Me at Jimmy John's Warren Buffett's 10 Ways to Get Rich 08/24/16
Listening to My Mentors thumbnail Listening to My Mentors And Dreaming Impossible Dreams 08/19/16
The Terrorism Trifecta thumbnail The Terrorism Trifecta Three More Dances with Death 08/12/16
The Kiss thumbnail The Kiss From Life to Death 08/08/16
We Must Address Conservativism... thumbnail We Must Address Conservativism... For Two Essential Reasons 08/05/16
The Value of Giving Gifts... thumbnail The Value of Giving Gifts... To Young Children 08/01/16
Bobby Kennedy thumbnail Bobby Kennedy Still Reaches Out to Us. 07/29/16
My Love Letters thumbnail My Love Letters They Must Be Written 07/22/16
We Shall Overcome thumbnail We Shall Overcome A Belief Amid Darkness 07/18/16
Last Words thumbnail Last Words Or Don Quixote's Joists with Windmills 07/04/16
Talking to a Tree thumbnail Talking to a Tree Growing in a Silo 06/24/16
Bloody Hands and No Backbone thumbnail Bloody Hands and No Backbone What a Legacy 06/20/16
The Angel Spoke... thumbnail The Angel Spoke... And I Listened. 06/10/16
The Thinkers Three thumbnail The Thinkers Three Jack, Owen, and Me 06/06/16
The Advice of Master Kong thumbnail The Advice of Master Kong Enjoy Life by Not Working 05/30/16
Master Kong Said... thumbnail Master Kong Said... Don't Remember Being Wronged 05/16/16
Morphing of the Flu with Polio thumbnail Morphing of the Flu with Polio A Strange Juxtaposition 04/29/16
The Third Dance thumbnail The Third Dance Apparently Was a Misstep 04/27/16
The Relationship Between Death and Life thumbnail The Relationship Between Death and Life Death Can Cause Us to Live Life 04/25/16
I am Don Quixote thumbnail I am Don Quixote But I Am Not from La Mancha 04/15/16
thumbnail Maude Adams Found Somewhere in Time 04/13/16
In My Life thumbnail In My Life I'll Never Lose Affection for People and Things 04/11/16
Christopher Reeve thumbnail Christopher Reeve Another Dancer Who Could Also Fly 04/08/16
Worthless Windmills thumbnail Worthless Windmills Time Will Tell Their Worth 04/01/16
Learning from My Mentor thumbnail Learning from My Mentor A Knight-Errant On His Deathbed 03/28/16
I Want to Have Dinner for Two thumbnail I Want to Have Dinner for Two A Date and Someone Who Has Done the Dance 03/23/16
Einstein's Other Theory thumbnail Einstein's Other Theory From a Genius 03/18/16
Could I Have This Dance... thumbnail Could I Have This Dance... For the Rest of My Life? 03/11/16
What Drives Me? thumbnail What Drives Me? And the Answer Is.... 03/07/16
On Seeing the Light thumbnail On Seeing the Light Chuck, Paul, and Me 03/04/16
Paying Tribute to Steve, Anne, and Dave thumbnail Paying Tribute to Steve, Anne, and Dave For Their Assistance 03/02/16
My Casablanca Party thumbnail My Casablanca Party Morphed Into My La Mancha Party 02/29/16
Two Roads in the Wood thumbnail Two Roads in the Wood Choose Wisely 02/26/16
The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper thumbnail The Art of Beating the Grim Reaper Follow Randy Pausch's Example 02/24/16
Grave or No Grave thumbnail Grave or No Grave That is the Question 02/22/16
Best of Times, Worst of Times thumbnail Best of Times, Worst of Times It Is Your Choice; Choose Wisely 02/19/16
I Am Looking for Another Dancer thumbnail I Am Looking for Another Dancer The Ultimate Partner 02/17/16
Buddha's Strange Parable... thumbnail Buddha's Strange Parable... Which We Need to Understand 02/15/16
The Value of Dreaming thumbnail The Value of Dreaming About My List of Dulcineas 02/12/16
The Third Dance... thumbnail The Third Dance... Maybe or Maybe Not 02/08/16
Somewhere in Time thumbnail Somewhere in Time The Importance of Memories 02/04/16
The Drinkable Book thumbnail The Drinkable Book I Wish I Had One While in Indochina 02/03/16
Another Dancer thumbnail Another Dancer David Hume 02/01/16
Revitalizing My Brain thumbnail Revitalizing My Brain After Winding Up in ICU 01/25/16
Dreams will come to you.... thumbnail Dreams will come to you.... If You Are True to Your Quest 01/22/16
A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination thumbnail A Pit Stop Can Be Our Destination Don't Miss Your Destiny 01/20/16
Miguel Cervantes thumbnail Miguel Cervantes As Don Quixote 01/18/16
"I'm Dying, and I'm Having Fun." Randy Pausch is Correct 01/15/16
The Little Match Girl thumbnail The Little Match Girl And The Golden Statue 01/11/16
The Very Strange Year of 2008 thumbnail The Very Strange Year of 2008 A Year to Remember 01/08/16
The Gift of an Angel thumbnail The Gift of an Angel It is More About My Feelings 01/06/16
New Year thumbnail New Year New Booty 01/01/16
Swallow, Swallow, Little Swallow thumbnail Swallow, Swallow, Little Swallow One of the Saints 12/25/15
Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me thumbnail Don Quixote and Confucius Told Me To Get Off My Arse 12/18/15
Going to Hell in a Handbasket thumbnail Going to Hell in a Handbasket And the Tibetan Mask 12/14/15
Doing the Dance Again thumbnail Doing the Dance Again How to Address Both New Dances 12/11/15
I Know Who I Am... thumbnail I Know Who I Am... And Have Found Two People Who Understand Me 12/04/15
Take Your Passion and Make It Happen thumbnail Take Your Passion and Make It Happen Flashdance Follow-up 11/27/15
Responses to Paris thumbnail Responses to Paris Both Are Vital 11/25/15
What a Feeling thumbnail What a Feeling And It Is a Great Feeling 11/20/15
Pandora Provides Hope... thumbnail Pandora Provides Hope... Don Quixote Provides Determination 11/09/15
Don Quixote thumbnail Don Quixote Then and Now 11/04/15
Dr. Marchand Knows Medicine Well... thumbnail Dr. Marchand Knows Medicine Well... And He Knows Life Well Also 11/2/15
Doubling Down... thumbnail Doubling Down... To Make Dreams Come True 10/19/15
The Old Pine Table thumbnail The Old Pine Table An Object of Renewal and Rebirth 10/14/15
It's Confession Time... thumbnail It's Confession Time... And It Isn't Sunday 10/09/15
The Mahogany Bench thumbnail The Mahogany Bench A Place for Dreaming.... 10/07/15
The Right to Live thumbnail The Right to Live And the Right to Die 10/05/15
Squirt's Observations of Her Papa thumbnail Squirt's Observations of Her Papa A Modern Day Eppie's Reflection 10/02/15
The Little Wooden Box thumbnail The Little Wooden Box An Updated Pandora's Box 09/30/15
Collecting Coins thumbnail Collecting Coins A Tradition Continues 09/28/15
A Great Dancer with Death thumbnail A Great Dancer with Death A Sobering Experience 09/21/15
Putting the Pieces Together thumbnail Putting the Pieces Together The Joy of Coming of Age 09/18/15
The Tulip Pitcher thumbnail The Tulip Pitcher A Picture of Springtime 09/16/15
The Felt Picture thumbnail The Felt Picture A Picture of Hopefulness 09/09/15
A Second Look at Life thumbnail A Second Look at Life Toward the End of Life 09/07/15
From Whence Does the Spark Come? thumbnail From Whence Does the Spark Come? The Creative Act of Pondering 08/24/15
The Value of Pain thumbnail The Value of Pain Or How to Retrieve the Torpedo 08/21/15
A Man with a Mission... thumbnail A Man with a Mission... Sinking a German U-boat 08/12/15
Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: thumbnail Riders on the Streetcar Named Desire: Elizabeth and Rosa 08/03/15
The Pied Piper of Hamelin thumbnail The Pied Piper of Hamelin A Strange Tale 07/31/15
Dinner with GiGi thumbnail Dinner with GiGi The Socratic Method of an Older Woman 07/17/15
What Makes Me Tick thumbnail What Makes Me Tick Finally, an Explanation 07/12/15
What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, thumbnail What Matisse Taught Me Years Ago, Which I Finally Fully Understand 07/10/15
Alan Seeger thumbnail Alan Seeger And His Dance with Death 07/04/15
What I Learned About Life... thumbnail What I Learned About Life... From Facing Down the Dragon 06/29/15
Wading Through the Water of Life thumbnail Wading Through the Water of Life Advice by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin 06/24/15
Career Opportunity... thumbnail Career Opportunity... Being a Gladiator 06/19/15
The Benefit of Problems thumbnail The Benefit of Problems Or the Only Means to Success 06/08/15
Cancer and Crabs thumbnail Cancer and Crabs Strange History that They Both Share 06/05/15
Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death thumbnail Milky Way and Andromeda's Dance with Death Parallels Our Dances with Death 06/03/15
Slaughterhouse-Five thumbnail Slaughterhouse-Five Vonnegut's Dance with Death 06/01/15
thumbnail Dancing with Death Allows You to Live 05/22/15
It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... thumbnail It Has Been Seven Years Since I Fell... And Cracked My Head 05/18/15
It Is About How You Lead Your Life thumbnail It Is About How You Lead Your Life Start With Refining Words 05/11/15
Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens thumbnail Steve Jobs and Charles Dickens How to Avoid the Ghosts 05/08/15
It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. thumbnail It is a Choice between Excitement and Desperation. Choose Wisely 05/04/15
Nepal Then thumbnail Nepal Then And Now 05/03/15
The Value of Writing thumbnail The Value of Writing It Forces You To Remember 05/01/15
We Get Old Too Soon... thumbnail "We Get Old Too Soon... And Wise Too Late" 04/27/15
Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today thumbnail Booth Died 150 Years Ago Today How Has America Changed? 04/26/15
Fertilizing Daffodils thumbnail Fertilizing Daffodils But in the Meantime.... 04/24/15
How Do We Learn? thumbnail How Do We Learn? The Lessons in Learning 04/13/15
Live as if You Were to Die Tomorrow thumbnail "Live as if You Were to Die Tomorrow." "Learn as if You Were to Live Forever." 04/06/15
Lead Death as You Dance with Death thumbnail Lead Death as You Dance with Death It Will Change Your Life 03/24/15
A Choice between Tigger or Eeyore thumbnail A Choice between Tigger or Eeyore Choose Wisely 03/20/15
Some People Feel the Rain thumbnail Some People Feel the Rain Others Just Get Wet. 03/16/15
The Value of Walls thumbnail The Value of Walls Brick Walls Prove Your Desire. 03/13/15
Experience thumbnail Experience Redefining the Word 03/05/15
My Head Fake thumbnail My Head Fake During My Last Lecture 02/03/15