The Last Lecture Quotes

“When you're frustrated with people, when they've made you angry, it just may be because you haven't given them enough time.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“We can't change it. We have to decide how we'll respond.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“The fact that fashion goes out of fashion and then comes back into fashion based solely on what a few people somewhere think they can sell, well to me, that’s insanity.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Take Time Out. It's not a real vacation if you're reading email or calling in for messages.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you want something bad enough, never give up (and take a boost when offered).”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Well, you can’t have just some of me, Jai,” I told her. “You appreciate the part of me that didn’t get angry because two ‘things’ we own got hurt. But the flip side of that is my belief that you don’t repair things if they still do what they’re supposed to do. The cars still work.
Let’s just drive ’em.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Years ago, I dated a lovely young woman who was a few thousand dollars in debt. She was completely stressed out about this. Every month, more interest would be added to her debts.
To deal with her stress, she would go every Tuesday night to a meditation and yoga class. This was her one free night, and she said it seemed to be helping her. She would breathe in, imagining that she was finding ways to deal with her debts. She would breathe out, telling herself that her money problems would one day be behind her.
It went on like this, Tuesday after Tuesday.
Finally, one day I looked through her finances with her. I figured out that if she spent four or five months working a part-time job on Tuesday nights, she could actually pay off all the money she owed.
I told her I had nothing against yoga or meditation. But I did think its always best to try to treat the disease first. Her symptoms were stress and anxiety. Her disease was the money she owed.
"Why don't you get a job on Tuesday nights and skip yoga for a while?" I suggested.
This was something of a revelation to her. And she took my advice. She became a Tuesday-night waitress and soon enough paid off her debts. After that, she could go back to yoga and really breathe easier.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Throughout my academic career, I'd given some pretty good talks. But being considered the best speaker in the computer science department is like being known as the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs. And right then, I had the feeling that I had more in me, that if I gave it my all, I might be able to offer people something special. "Wisdom" is a strong word, but maybe that was it.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Everyone has to contribute to the common good. To not do so can be described in one word: selfish.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“I understand the arguments about how the billions of dollars spent to put men on the moon could have been used to fight poverty and hunger on Earth. But, look, I'm a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate tool for doing good. When you use money to fight poverty, it can be of great value, but too often, you're working at the margins. When you're putting people on the moon, you're inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum of human potential, which is how our greatest problems will eventually be solved. Give yourself permission to dream.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“The great thing about working out at a gym is that if you put in effort, you get very obvious results. The same should be true of college. A professor’s job is to teach students how to see their minds growing in the same way they can see their muscles grow when they look in a mirror.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want”
― Jeffrey Zaslow, The Last Lecture

“As I see it, if you work more hours than somebody else, during those hours you learn more about your craft. That can make you more efficient, more able, even happier. Hard work is like compounded interest in the bank. The rewards build faster.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Anybody can get chewed out. It's the rare person who says, oh my god, you were right. As opposed to, no wait, the reason is... We've all heard that”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“It's interesting, the secrets you decide to reveal at the end of your life.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you love her, support her.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you want something badly enough, do not give up!”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“إن الاعتذارات التي يقدمها أصحابها مفتقدة إلى العاطفة الصادقة أو غير نابعة من القلب لهي أسوأ من عدم تقديم الاعتذار مطلقاً، و السبب في ذلك هو أن من تقدم إليه الاعتذار يجد في مثل هذه النوعية من الاعتذارات غير المخلصة إهانة له...و الاعتذار الذي يفتقد اللياقة بمثابة تطهير الجرح بالملح.”
― راندي بوتش, المحاضرة الأخيرة

“somehow, with the passage of time, and the deadlines that life imposes, surrendering became the right thing to do”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture - Lessons In Living

“You've got to get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Because you’re such a good salesman, and if you go work for a company, they’re going to use you as a salesman. If you’re going to be a salesman, you might as well be selling something worthwhile, like education”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Just because you’re in the driver seat, doesn’t mean you have to run people over.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“It's been well-documented that there is a growing sense of entitlement among young people. I have certainly seen that in my classrooms.

So many graduating seniors have this notion that they should get hired because of their creative brilliance. Too many are unhappy with the idea of starting at the bottom.

My advice has always been: 'You ought to be thrilled you got a job in the mailroom. And when you get there, here's what you do: Be really great at sorting mail.'

No one wants to hear someone say: 'I'm not good at sorting mail because the job is beneath me.' No job should be beneath us. And if you can't (or won't) sort mail, where is the proof that you can do anything?”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“I love all three of my kids completely and differently. And I want them to know that I will love them for as long as they live. I will.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you've done something wrong in your dealings with another person, it's as if there's an infection in your relationship. A good apology is like an antibiotic ; a bad apology is like rubbing salt in the wound.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Though I am not a fan of TV - it's mankind's greatest time-waster, the gift was completely appropriate, since I'll be in bed so much at the end. TV will be one of my last links to the outside world.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Getting people to welcome feedback was the hardest thing I ever had to do as an educator.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Coach Graham used to ride me hard. I remember one practice in particular. 'You're doing it all wrong, Pauch. Go back! Do it again!' I tried to do what he wanted. It wasn't enough. 'You owe me, Pauch! You're doing push-ups after practice."
When I was finally dismissed, one of the assistant coaches came over to reassure me. 'Coach Graham rode you pretty hard, didn't he?' he said. I could barely muster a 'yeah.'
'That's a good thing,' the assistant told me. 'When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you.'
That lesson has stuck with me my whole life. 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.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture