The Last Lecture Quotes

“It's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you get hit . . . and keep moving forward.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“It took a long time, but I've finally figured it out. When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you wait long enough," he said, "people will surprise and impress you.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Somehow, with passage of time, and the deadlines that life imposes, surrendering became the right thing to do.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“it’s a better mindset to help me get through each day.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you want something bad enough, never give up (and take a boost when offered). Brick walls are there for a reason. And once you get over them—even if someone has practically had to throw you over—it can be helpful to others to tell them how you did it.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Watch What They Do, Not What They Say”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Do,”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“all”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“I let the slide linger, so the audience could follow the arrows and count my tumors. “All right,” I said. “That is what it is. We can’t change it. We just have to decide how we’ll respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Leaving the doctor's office,I thought about what I'd said to Jai in the water park in the afterglow of the speed slide. "Even if the scan results are bad tomorrow," I had told her, "I just want you to know that it feels great to be alive, and to be here today, alive with you. Whatever news we get about the scans, I'm not going to die when we hear it. I won't die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I'm enjoying it."
I thought about that, and about Jai's smile.
I kew then. That's the way the rest of my life would need to be lived.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“The giant stuffed animals all found homes quickly. A few days later, I learned that one of the animals had been taken by a Carnegie Mellon who, like me, has cancer. After the lecture, she walked up and selected the giant elephant. I love the symbolism of that. She got the elephant in the room.”
― Randy Pausch, Last Lecture

“When I was finally dismissed, one of the assistant coaches came over to reassure me. "Coach Graham road 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.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“I was heartbroken, but I was not deterred. I would find a way around this brick wall.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If I only had three words of advice, they would be, 'Tell the Truth.' If got three more words, I'd add, 'all the time.' People lie for lots of reasons, often because it seems like a way to get what they want with less effort. But like many short-term strategies, it’s ineffective long-term. You run into people again later, and they remember you lied to them. And they tell lots of other people about it.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, 'Tell the truth.' If I got three more words, I'd add, 'All the time.”
― Randy Pausch, Last Lecture

“Take a time out. It’s not a real vacation if you’re reading email or calling in for messages. When Jai and I went on our honeymoon, we wanted to be left alone. My boss, however, felt I needed to provide a way for people to contact me. So I came up with the perfect phone message: “Hi, this is Randy. I waited until I was thirty-nine to get married, so my wife and I are going away for a month. I hope you don’t have a problem with that, but my boss does. Apparently, I have to be reachable.” I then gave the names of Jai’s parents and the city where they live. “If you call directory assistance, you can get their number. And then, if you can convince my new in-laws that your emergency merits interrupting their only daughter’s honeymoon, they have our number.” We didn’t get any calls.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“That is what it is. We can’t change it. We just have to decide how we’ll respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us the chance to show how badly we want something.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“You can always change your plan but only if you have one.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“I don’t know how many more times I will get to visit my childhood home. But it is a gift every time I go there. I still sleep in that bunk bed my father built, I look at those crazy walls, I think about my parents allowing me to paint, and I fall asleep feeling lucky and pleased.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Anybody out there who is a parent, if your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let them do it. It’ll be OK. Don’t worry about resale value on the house.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“My dad, a pretty able woodworker, made me that bed. The smile on that kid’s face, the wood slat, the look in his eyes: that photo reminds me that I won the parent lottery.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“All right,” I said. “That is what it is. We can’t change it. We just have to decide how we’ll respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“But engineering isn’t about perfect solutions; it’s about doing the best you can with limited resources.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“While I could easily feel sorry for myself, that wouldn’t do them, or me, any good.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“A veces, todo lo que tienes que hacer es preguntar.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“Sometimes all you have to do is ask and it leads to all your dreams coming true. Ask those questions. Just ask them. More often than you’d suspect, the answer you get is, “Sure.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

“I’ve often carried a crayon in my shirt pocket. When I need to go back in time, I put it under my nose and I take another hit.”
― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture