Randy Pausch's legacy – an inspiration to all of us
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“Almost all of us have childhood dreams; for example, being an
astronaut, or making movies or video games for a living. Sadly, most
people don’t achieve theirs, and I think that’s a shame. I had several
specific childhood dreams, and I’ve actually achieved most of them.
More importantly, I have found ways, in particular the creation (with
Don Marinelli), of CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center of helping
many young people actually *achieve* their childhood dreams.”
Randy Pausch
Prof. Pausch sadly died this week, but he left a rich legacy behind him as someone who lived life to the full and made some of his dreams happen in real life.
This morning I listened to his last lecture from Carnegie Mellon in 2007 and was struck by his presence, story telling ability, humour and humility. He was only 4 years older than me, a peer and now he is sadly gone, a victim of pancreatic cancer.
While listening to his fascinating story, I thought back to some of my childhood dreams and realised that here I am in New York, living one of my dreams right now. At age 12, I was stuck in hospital for surgical removal of a malignant tumour, a neuroblastoma. During ‘school’ time, there was a huge book in the library at the end of the ward entitled simply ‘New York’ with a fabulous picture of the Big Apple by night. Of course, I decided that one day I would live there and watch those skyscrapers for real. Here I am, 30 years later just 3 blocks from the Hudson waterfront with that view any evening I care to walk over and take a look. Awesome stuff!
Life should be about hope and dreams, not getting bogged down in the boring hurly burly of life. Randy Pausch lived his dreams and made them happen; he had more sense of awe and wonder in his short lifetime than most people do in twice that time.
What are you doing to raise your game and follow your dreams?
News sources for further information:
CNN
Washington Post
Associated Press
