It’s not every day – you’re a flipping through channels (especially when you don’t watch much TV) and come across something that truly inspires you. Well for me that day was today. I ran across Dr. Randy Pausch. He recapped the original speech he had given as his “last lecture” at Carnegie Mellon. The wrinkle in all of this, he is dying from pancreatic cancer. Therefore, he used his last lecture to discuss the life lessons he learned and gave advice on how you can achieve your very own childhood dreams. The truth was, he really didn’t create this speech for his 400 people at Carnegie Mellon who came; he did it for only three people, his three children.

Here are some notable quotes that Randy said that stuck with me:

•    The Inspiration and Permission to Dream is Huge.

•    You can’t control the cards you’re dealt, just how you play the hand.

•    Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

•    If there’s anything I want to do so badly, I should have already done it.

•    Find the best in everybody. Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.

•    If you want to achieve your dreams, you better learn to work and play well with others. You have to live with integrity.

•    When you are doing something badly and no one’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are the ones still telling you they love you and care.

•    Better to fail spectacularly than do something mediocre.

•    Understand the importance of People vs. Things

•    Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.

•    Be prepared. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

And my favorite quote from his lecture was:

•    Never stop dreaming. If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you.

I believe Dr. Randy Pauch’s philosophy and courage is a true inspiration for all of us. Hopefully we can all ground ourselves this way, as we choose the way we live our lives.

I realized that the show I had just watched was an actual rerun but then found the original lecture. For those of you that haven’t heard his entire speech by now, I encourage you all to dedicate at least 77 minutes and watch it here:

It will inspire you, as it inspired me.

Tags: childhood dreams, dr. randy pausch, inspiration, life lessons, philosophy, way of life