I had another post planned for today but in light of the wonderful messages in the video I am HIGHLY recommending you watch, it can wait a few days.
A FEW BACKGROUND WORDS...
At first I hesitated. It's 75 minutes long! Was I willing to take that amount of time to watch it? I had had a very busy but productive day, I was tired and just wanted to call it an early night.
I pondered vegging out in front of the T.V. for 15 minutes before heading to bed then decided that anything was better than the blood, gore and mostly mindless junk that is served up on T.V. these days! I could always finish watching it another time. I flipped on my browser and clicked the link.
Many universities feature an annual event called "The Last Lecture" in which award winning teachers are invited give a final "talk" to students. There is a twist though... they are asked to imagine that they are near death and to convey some of their final words to their listeners.
If you have never heard of Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, you will never forget him after you have seen this video on UTube from Carnegie Mellon University. Professor Pausch is a marvelous example of someone who is living life to the fullest even though he is dying of an aggressive form of pancreatic cancer at the young age of 48.
His last lecture, "Achieving your Childhood Dreams" (viewed by over 3 million people to date) has got to be one of the most inspiring, touching and moving talks I have ever heard. Five minutes into the video, I forgot that this man is dying. I was captivated by his passion for living each day to the fullest even when death is knocking at his door. His lecture "Achieving your Childhood Dreams" is a wonderful, upbeat and light humoured example of what it means to live a life filled with fun, excitement, passion and love.There are no words that I could write that would do it justice. Go watch it. Follow it up with his short commencement address at Carnegie Mellon this past spring (Randy Pausch Inspires Graduates). You can find it in the "other video" sidebar on the right hand side of the page. Be ready to laugh, admire and be inspired. But keep the kleenex box handy... you'll probably need it.
Sharon