Randy Pausch, author of The Last Lecture, is a hero.

This is a picture of Randy,the author of The Last Lecture, and his three children. Just seeing this picture breaks my heart but also helps me really appreciate this book. As I read, I find myself thinking 'Would I have the strength to create such a legacy for my children as I am dying of cancer?'. I pray I will never know that answer but I believe that Randy Pausch is a hero for doing so.

Page 39: There are two kinds of head fakes. The first is literal. One on a football field, a player will move his head one way so you'll think he's going in that direction. then he goes the opposite way. It's like a magician using misdirection. Coach Graham used to tell us to watch a player's waist. "Where his belly button goes, his body goes," he'd say.

The second kind of head fake is the really important one--the one that teaches people things they don't realize they're learning until well into the process. If you're a head fake specialist, your hidden objective is to get them to learn something you want them to learn. This kind of head-fake learning is absolutely vital. And Coach Graham was the master.

Comment or email me, littlemrsw@yahoo.ca, with your thoughts on this man's legacy.

Happy Reading!

What do you want to be remembered for?

Most of you have heard of this book, seen the professor on Oprah or have already added it to your book case. What ever your status, I welcome your comments or emails regarding this great read. littlemrsw@yahoo.ca.

The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, with Jeffrey Zaslow

As it appears on the front and back flap:

A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave---"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"----wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

Happy Reading!