being Captain Kirk changed to the reality of meeting William Shatner, the actor who played Kirk. In the case of writing an article for theWorld Book Encyclopedia, he achieved his dream, and he even says that the editors actually "badgered" him for the article. Pausch concludes with the message that if you live your life in the right way, your dreams will come true of their own accord.

Although Randy Pausch's "last lecture" (as it came to later be popularly known once it went viral) was titled Really Acheiving Your Childhood Dreams, his main focus was on how to live life. Not just exist in life or survive life. But how to really thrive and enjoy this brief period of time that we all get to exist on Earth.

He does this by examining the childlike wonder and faith that most people lose along the way. He explains through examples that when kids dream, they dream big and don't consider how possible their dreams might be. And he encourages listeners (and later, readers, as the speech as turned into a book as well) to remember those dreams and passions of early childhood and rekindle some of those in adult life.

One of Pausch's own dreams, for example, was to write an article for the World Book Encyclopedia. Since he spent a great deal of time reading these as a child, he was fascinated with the idea of having his own words published there. As he became an expert in virtual reality, he built the knowledge base that it would take to write this article. Currently, his name is credited in the entry for Virtual Reality in World Book, just as he'd dreamed as a child.

He also shows that not all dreams have to be so academic. One of his dreams was to be the guy who wins the huge stuffed animals at the fair. This really captures the heart of children—full of fun and even silly adventures. When he went to the fair as an adult with his wife and children, he fulfilled this dream as well.

Pausch reminds listeners and readers that the unfiltered, adventurous dreams of children are full of true passion. He urges all of us to remind ourselves of those things which fueled our excitement and dreams in early life and to return to some of those ideas as (sometimes too) practical adults. He reminds listeners to be adventurous and full of wonder.

Pausch addresses several childhood dreams and how they impacted his life. Most he was able to achieve in some form, but he learned from all of them, realized or not.

Pausch dreamed of playing football in the NFL. This dream did not come to pass, but he learned how to work hard, how to struggle in spite of challenges and difficulties, and how to overcome obstacles while working toward a goal from his football coaches.

Pausch dreamed of experiencing the weightlessness of being in outer space. His work with creating virtual reality environments led to creation of a situation in which weightlessness could be simulated, but it appeared at first that he would not be allowed to accompany his students in their experience of that setting. By resigning as their instructor and getting a job as a reporter covering their story, Pausch was able to join them in feeling zero gravity.

Pausch dreamed of being Captain Kirk of the Star Trek series. While he never became the fictional character, he did have the opportunity to meet William Shatner, the actor who portrayed Captain Kirk, and did visit the Star Trek set. As another byproduct of his work with virtual reality simulation, Pausch was able to spend time working for Disney as an imagineer at Disney World.

In the final analysis, Pausch achieved his childhood dreams by refusing to accept roadblocks in his path. He accepted them as challenges and found ways around them, always focussed on the ultimate goal.