Inspiration to Live Your Magic: 75 Inspiring Biographies

(John Hannent) #1

Randy Pausch


When computer science professor Randy Pausch was given a cancer


diagnosis and told he only had “three to six months of good health


left,” he prepared a now-famous lecture entitled “The Last Lecture:


Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”


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As the saying goes, sometimes people are like tea bags - you don’t know how strong they
are until they are in hot water.
Randy Pausch is an example of a seemingly ordinary person who rose to great heights
when he was in the greatest trouble. He took the most negative situation and turned it into
an opportunity to have a positive influence on the world.
Dr. Randy Pausch was a popular computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon
University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He had won awards for his teaching, and students
enjoyed his humor and sharp insights.
In 2006, Dr. Pausch got some terrible news - he had cancer of the pancreas and only had
a few months to live.
While some people would be paralyzed by fear or give up in self-pity, Dr. Pausch
decided to live his last months to the fullest. One thing he decided to do was to sign up
for a special lecture series his university offered. The idea was for professors to share
their life’s wisdom with students, as if it were the last lecture they would ever give.
Randy Pausch gave his lecture to a packed hall in 2007. He called it, “The Last Lecture:
Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” Many people called it the greatest

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