The Last Lecture

by Randy Pausch

A LOT OF professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Maybe you’ve seen one. It has become a common exercise on college campuses. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them.

Pandora, from Greek mythology, was given a box with all the world’s evils in it. She disobeyed orders not to open it. When the lid came off, evil spread throughout the world. I was always drawn to the story’s optimistic ending: Left at the bottom of the box was “hope.”

Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.

“How many men are on the football field at a time?” he asked us. Eleven on a team, we answered. So that makes twenty-two. “And how many people are touching the football at any given time?” One of them. “Right!” he said. “So we’re going to work on what those other twenty-one guys are doing.” Fundamentals.

When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.

Tenacity is a virtue, but it’s not always crucial for everyone to observe how hard you work at something.

“...The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.

EXPERIENCE IS what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.

The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.

Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.

Hard work is like compounded interest in the bank. The rewards build faster.

Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I feel badly that I hurt you. 3) How do I make this better?

“Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” (This is now known as “Brooks Law.”)

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true.

I mean, I don’t know how not to have fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there’s no other way to play it.

Krishnamurti was once asked what is the most appropriate thing to say to a friend who was about to die. He answered: “Tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Wherever he goes, you also go. He will not be alone.”