Have you heard the story of Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who is terminally ill with pancreatic cancer? He was asked to give a “last lecture” this past September. This is apparently a tradition at some colleges and universities in which a professor (who might or might not be retiring) is given the opportunity to share what is most important to them. In this particular case, the nature of the talk changed drastically when Professor Pausch learned that he was dying from pancreatic cancer. No one would have blamed him for canceling, but in fact he was even more anxious to give the lecture- and a video of it posted online for the sake of interested students who couldn’t attend the lecture in person eventually found its way on to the world wide web and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. He’s been on Oprah- was interviewed last night by Diane Sawyer for ABC’s 20/20- and some high points of the lecture were published in Parade magazine. And still more of Professor Pausch’s thoughts on life are gathered together in a remarkable book called “The Last Lecture.’
Just a couple of my favorite excerpts:
ALWAYS HAVE FUN: Before I spoke, Carnegie Mellon’s president Jared Cohon said to me “Please tell them about having fun, because that’s what I’ll remember you for.” I came to an early realization. Each of us must make a decision, best captured in A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh characters. Am I a fun-loving Tigger or a sad-sack Eeyore? It’s clear where I stand. . .
LOOK FOR THE BEST IN EVERYBODY: I got this advice from Jon Snoddy, my hero at Disney Imagineering. “If you want long enough,” he said, “people will surprise and impress you.” When you’re frustrated with people, when you’re angry, it may be because you haven’t given them enough time. Jon warned that this took great patience, even years. “In the end,” he said, “people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.”
DREAM BIG: (here he tells a story about how he was at summer camp in 1969 when NASA first landed men on te moon- and the plan was for the kids to watch the moon landing on television- but then it feel behind schedule and the campers were sent off to bed because it was their bedtime. Pausch thought to himself ‘My species has gotten off our planet and walking on a new world for the first time, and you people think bedtime matters?!?” He goes on to say “Give yourself permission to dream – and fuel your kids’ dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.”
TELL THE TRUTH: These three words are so incredibly important. And if I could add just three words to these, they would be: ALL THE TIME. . .
(This last one is especially tough for me. I wish I were more courageous when it came to the tough love I should be giving to my voice students when they are not stepping up to the plate. ‘You are being lazy’ or ‘You are wasting your time and mine’ are words I should have spoken to students MANY times, but I have never said them even once. But I am thinking about Professor Pausch and wondering if I can find the courage to finally speak them for the first time.)
The special last night on ABC was truly riveting television- and it was impossible not to hang on every word that this guy uttered. (His wife was remarkable as well.) Excerpts from the lecture were interspersed with interview footage as well as candid video of Pausch with his wife and three children (his kids have not yet been told that their dad is dying; they won’t be told until his illness becomes unmistakably obvious from his deteriorating condition. For now, they want their children to enjoy as much of this last time together without any thought of how all of this will end.) There was also a neat sequence in which we see Pausch fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing in the NFL. No, he doesn’t exactly manage to do that, but ABC engineered an invitation to him from the Pittsburgh Steelers for him to join them for a day of training camp. . . and he gets to cavort on the field with some of his favorite NFL stars, including Hines Ward. And Diane Sawyer tells us that Pausch managed to catch every single pass that was thrown to him – AND successfully kicks a field goal as well. Incredible. The guy just exudes energy and vitality and joy, despite what hangs over him.
I am tremendously excited to say that I am scheduled to interview Professor Pausch for WGTD- for only fifteen minutes, but still . . . I am thrilled and honored and humbled at the prospect. However, at the end of the ABC special we see Diane Sawyer’s most recent interview with Pausch from about a week ago and it is alarming to see how the illness has progressed. And out of pure selfishness, I fear that he may deteriorate to the point that by Monday the 21st – the day we are scheduled to speak – he may no longer have the strength to do interviews. But the guy is an extraordinary fighter and I am hoping that our talk will happen as scheduled. And truth be told, just the thought of speaking with this incredible guy is inspiring in and of itself. And if his illness ultimately prevents our conversation from taking place, I vow here and now not to waste a minute feeling sorry for myself. Not when I think of what this guy is facing, and how bravely he is facing it.
pictured: Professor Pausch delivering “the last lecture” at Carnegie Mellon University. The entire lecture can be viewed at Parade.com and I believe that at least some of it has been posted on YouTube as well.