I first saw Randy Pausch when he appeared on Oprah following his phenomenal rise to fame from giving "The Last Lecture" before students and faculty at Carnegie Mellon in September of last year. He had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was told that he had only months to live. The lecture was taped and was intended, in his words, as a "bottle that would wash up on the beach for his children" years after he was gone. Pausch was an incredible practitioner in the academic world, urging his computer science students to push the envelope and find ways to merge computer technology and art in their careers.

After watching "The Last Lecture" on YouTube in its' entirety, I was captivated with the uplifting message that this (not so) obviously dying man delivered, not just for his children, but for all of us about living your dreams, achieving goals and giving back to society. I added his update page at CMU to my blogroll and checked it regularly to see how he was doing in his battle with the cancer. When I tried to pop in there this afternoon I couldn't get to the website after several tries and a sickening feeling washed over me. Right at that moment I saw the news of his death today posted on a news site.

His messages are simple and to the point, yet they are principles which very few of us practice in today's fast paced, often misdirected way of living life. Impending death gave him the courage not to lay down and go quietly into that good night but to go out and play....finding all the joy that he could in each and every moment he had left. That's a lofty goal, but one that I feel more determined than ever to reach. To Jai and his children, all I can say is keep the faith. He certainly did.

If you haven't see this, take the time...you won't be sorry. If you already have, watch it again like I plan to do.


^j^