I’m stealing this title a little from a Washington Post blog from a few months ago, calling attention to the phenomenon that Randy Pausch had become. By now, I’m guessing most of you have probably heard of him, as he’s been in and out of the news. He died today, but outlived his initial prognosis by 4 months.
I wouldn’t normally bring this up, but I found some of what he had to say to hit home. I’ve actually been trying to figure out how to work this one into the blog, but once they announced that he had died today, I figured it was time to pull it together.
There’s an interesting message in all of this. I actually first heard about him in a 10-minute abridged version that he had done on Oprah (which was on YouTube once, but obviously was pulled down because of it coming from the Oprah show). Someone had sent me a link to that 10-minute version, and it really hit home. The 76-minute official, extended version (which you can view here via YouTube) can be a bit tedious at times, but it does tie together. He’s a very good speaker and lecturer, with a good sense of humor. If you have the time, try to sit through all of it. But the last 20 minutes really pulls everything together.
So, I’m just offering this up as something to watch and give some introspection time to, if you want. Carnegie Mellon had set up a special site for things that came from his Last Lecture, and he also had a “blog” of sorts for catching his thoughts and activities.
Don’t forget to tell the ones you love how much they mean to you. And no matter what life throws at you, vow to be a Tigger.
*7/25 update: *Interestingly enough, I thought the 10-minute Oprah bit was gone. But someone else has wound up posting it, so you can always view this abbreviated version (until it gets pulled). This version gives the best highlights. I shed a few tears toward the end of this one.
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