Why did Randy Pausch give his last lecture?

Randy Pausch delivered his final lecture at Carnegie Mellon University as part of a school tradition: When professors leave, they are often asked to provide one final lecture to an audience, sharing with them their ultimate thoughts about the content they have spent so much time teaching. It is a means of leaving a legacy centered on one's passions.

Pausch's circumstances were fairly extraordinary. He had recently been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and decided to use this platform as a means of instructing people in how to live fulfilling and meaningful lives. He called his lecture "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" as a means of catching the attention of his audience.

Ultimately, Pausch delivers wisdom far beyond childhood dreams. He uses his own passion-filled life to demonstrate the importance of listening to other people, even when they tell you things that you don't necessarily want to hear:

When you are doing something badly and no one's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a very bad place to be. Your critics are the ones still telling you they love you and care.

He reminds his audience that they will all face their own metaphorical brick walls in life and that these are moments in which a spirit of perseverance is crucial:

The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

Because Pausch was facing a very finite lifespan at the time of his lecture, his words about enjoying life while you have the time are particularly meaningful. And in the end, he reveals that he has used his final lecture to leave a legacy for his own children, because he has learned the value in telling them "specific idiosyncratic ways in which [he] related to them." Therefore, this lecture was ultimately a way to connect with his children for the rest of their lives, which he knew he wouldn't be around to see. At the end of his final lecture, Pausch tells his audience that the premise of his speech was a "head fake":

The talk wasn't just for those in the room. "It was for my kids."

Pausch shares his final thoughts about living as a means of inspiring all of us to take big risks and love people deeply, appreciating each day we are given.

In his last lecture, Randy Pausch spoke about achieving his childhood dreams. Above all, he focused on these things:

• Working hard and never complaining
• Taking criticism with grace and using it as a vehicle for growth
• Showing gratitude for the good opportunities that come one's way
• Striving to achieve great things and, in the process, adding value to one's community
• Finding the best in everyone
• Having a ready spirit that's able to spot an opportunity when it approaches

Pausch spoke about his childhood dreams during his last lecture, but he also emphasized living his best life while doing it.

When he was growing up, Pausch had many dreams. These included playing in the National Football League, walking in zero gravity, and authoring an article in the World Book Encyclopedia. Although he didn't achieve all of his childhood dreams, Pausch maintained that he got more out of his failures than his successes.

For example, Pausch signed up to play football at the age of nine. His coach was Jim Graham, who was a six-foot-four former linebacker for Penn State. From Coach Jim, Randy learned how to take criticism with grace. He also learned how to use that criticism to fuel his personal growth. Later, Randy worked with Coach Setliff, who taught him the power of enthusiasm.

In achieving his childhood dreams, Randy learned how to live his best life. He learned the power of grace and honesty. During his lecture, Randy emphasized that it's important to apologize and make amends when one fails others. It is this grace that facilitates one's personal growth and happiness in life.

Where did Randy Pausch deliver his last lecture?

On September 18, 2007, Randy Pausch gave his famous last lecture at McConomy Auditorium at Carnegie Mellon University.

Before he spoke, Pausch was introduced by Indira Nair, the university's vice provost for education. At the beginning of her introduction, Nair mentioned that Pausch's lecture would start off a series of lectures at Carnegie Mellon.

All of the lectures in this series would focus on individuals in the community sharing the life lessons they had learned and how those lessons had fueled their personal and professional growth.

Nair also introduced Steve Seabolt, a good friend of Pausch's. At the time of Pausch's lecture, Seabolt was the Vice President of Global Brand Development for The Sims at Electronic Arts. In his short speech, Seabolt explained how he worked with Pausch to help kids develop a love for science and technology.

For Pausch, the choice of venue for his last lecture wasn't coincidental: after he had earned his undergraduate degree in Computer Science at Brown University in 1982, he had gone on to earn his PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon in 1988.

After these accomplishments, Pausch had joined the Computer Science department at Carnegie Mellon in 1997. Thus, his choice of venue for his last lecture served as a homage to his alma mater.

In his lecture, Randy refused to dwell on his cancer diagnosis. Instead, he told the crowd that his lecture would focus on childhood dreams, their importance, and their place in inspiring growth in all people.