Professor Randy Pausch
I am humbled today by the passing away by a man who has touched my life so deeply. His name is Frank Pausch. He is the world famous professor who caught Internet fame for his lecture that he gave at Carnegie Mellon University as part of the traditional Last Lecture series there.
Pausch and His Children
He presented a moving philosophy on life as he faced terminal pancreatic cancer and made it a love song to his children. It literally caught You Tube frenzy ( viewed 3.2 million times) inspired a book, several appearances on talk shows like Oprah and a whole movement of inspiring talks and lectures.
Pausch’s courage in facing death and his prioritizing of life was an inspiration millions, including me. I have his book by my nightstand that I reread. It touches a chord in me that brings a clarity to my life that I needed.
He was only given six months to live when he was diagnosed back in August 2007. He beat those odds.
At the end of his lecture he states, “It’s not about how to achieve your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.”
He loved his wife Jai and his three children, Dylan, Logan and Chloe. He wanted to make sure that he left his children memories of him or least images and his his thoughts and love for them. That is why he gave the lecture. We all benefited from this dying father’s love for his children.
As an encore, here is that great man, Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture. We have a lost a bright light in the world. May his words continue to inspire us to live as he taught us by example and with courage.
The Last lecture Offcial Site : http://www.thelastlecture.com/
Tasithoughts' Weblog 
Wonderful post, JP. I’d heard about Professor Pausch’s death through status updates from friends on Facebook book. When I saw your post, I thought, okay, got to check this out.
Glad I did. I couldn’t agree more with his philosophy. When I had a diagnosis years ago (that later turned out to be false), I completely changed my life’s priorities. It’s a terrible thing to go through, but well worth it, because now I focus on what matters and the “good karma” has come my way.
I’m trying to convince Mike of the same now. He’s in a terrible job. If I can get him to leave I’ll feel like I’ve brought him closer to the life/work balance needed to really enjoy life.
Say “hi” to Gary!