My wife had the girls at the library tonight and came home with The Last Lecture. It's the book version of Randy Pausch's last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. You probably heard about it. He was a computer science professor there. Then he found out that he had pancreatic cancer. Here's the story as told on Carnegie Mellon's site:
On September 18, 2007, Carnegie Mellon professor and alumnus Randy Pausch delivered a one-of-a-kind last lecture that made the world stop and pay attention. It became an Internet sensation viewed by millions, an international media story, and a best-selling book that has been published in 35 languages. To this day, people everywhere continue to talk about Randy, share his message and put his life lessons into action in their own lives.
The Wall Street Journal had this to say about the lecture:
"What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? For Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, the question isn't rhetorical -- he's dying of cancer." "The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months."
So what ground would you cover if you had a willing audience and knew that your time was short? What words would you leave to your family and friends? What difference would you try to make in the world you're preparing to leave?
It's definitely on my mind these days. It's part of the reason that I'm writing this blog. Randy Pausch died July 25, 2008, at the age of 47. I'm 48. He has three beautiful kids. I have eight. That's a lot of legacy to try to leave, don't you think?
Don't wait until you're dying. Take a few minutes, gather your thoughts and then warm up for leaving your legacy -- drop us a note in the comments.
(Carnegie Mellon is still maintaining Pausch's website--you'll find transcripts, video, and other good things there. Neat fact I learned there: Pausch was deep into virtual reality studies and did a lot of work with Disney. He also lectured and wrote on time management!)
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