“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” — Randy PauschA lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to … If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave–“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”–wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have…and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
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The Last Lecture was incredibly insightful. Written by a man who had a bright future ahead of him only to have it limited by his terminal illness; his perspective on life and living it to its fullest reminds us all of just how precious each day really is.
Bring a hankie! As a teacher, I can feel so much how important it is to leave a legacy for my students. In sharing his thoughts on life and death, Randy Pausch leaves a legacy for the world.
I was a little hesitant to read this one because the cover reminded me of The Secret, which I didn’t really enjoy. I’m glad that I had to read this for book club, though. There were so many cute stories and sayings throughout the whole book. I’m going to have to reread it and flag everything that was funny or cute or insightful. I’m thinking that …
If you only read one book the rest of your life, read this book.
Great heartfelt book…Great lessons.
I love books that inspire me! While reading The Last Lecture, I just kept thinking how amazing Randy Pausch’s story is. Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and this book is how he decided to make the most of the life he had left. The legacy he left behind for his family, for everyone, in The Last Lecture is truly fantastic.
The whole book …
This was a good. It is full of life lessons. He is forever memorialized. His children will get to know him as the man he was and know the love he felt for them.
A reminder that life is short and it’s possible to live consciously, and well
Life changing read. His words stuck with me.
This book is full of a positive approach to life, while encompassed with sadness as the author wrote it when he knew he was dying and would leave his wife and young children. I was moved, inspired and sad all at the same time when I read this book and that is how I know it is good because I felt something, and that is what all authors (fiction or …
A must read! I read this for a book club, and couldn’t put it down.
You are faced with dying and what is your legacy? How do you want to be remembered? In this book, the author is giving his last lecture live and it is a reminder on how life is short and the things you need to complete before you leave.
One of the most inspiring, uplifting, make-you-examine-your-heart books I’ve ever read. Highly recommend.
I felt like I was on his journey with him.
Superb story that provokes the reader to ponder what is significant in life.
If you knew you had months to live what thoughts would you want to leave with people? Randy Pausch’s book is filled with great life advice.
This is a book that everyone should read once. The way Randy tells a story is beyond captivating. He was clearly a gem of a man and the world is not the same without him. This book is inspiring without feeling preachy. It is a favorite of mine that I read at least once a year.
This is a book to live by. It is filled with the words of a man who …
A man dying, but making the most of his time left on Earth.
Great story. Makes you think about things to think about when a person is facing death
Powerful.