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?
Professor Randy Pausch suffering from terminal illness and having few months to live wanted to give last lecture at Carnegie Mellon. He was sure that this lecture will leave legacy for his children, they will understand him as father and the most important part is to teach them what otherwise he would have taught them over the next twenty years.
One last time he wanted to perform and prove himself, tell his childhood dreams and the injured lion wanted to know if he can still roar, it’s about dignity and self-esteem, which isn’t quite the same as vanity.
On the day of lecture on stage at the time of beginning he remembered Walt Disney where he had worked earlier and his famous saying If you can dream it, you can do it.’
He flashed a giant image of the CT scans showing tumors on his liver and said, ‘That is what it is’ We can’t change it. We just have to decide how we will respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.
He said my dad gave the advice on how to negotiate the way through life, never make a decision until you have to. His dad also warned him that even if you are in position of strength, whether at work or in relationship, play fair. “Just because you are in the driver’s seat, it does not mean you have to run people over.”
It is important to have specific dreams.
While practicing football, he asked coach that there are no foot balls, the coach said, “We don’t need any foot balls.” “How many are on the football field at a time? He asked. Eleven on a team, so that makes twenty two, and how many people are touching the football at any given time?” One of them. “Right!” the coach said. “So we are going to work on what those other twenty-one guys are doing.”
When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a bad place to be. When you are screwing up and nobody says nothing to you anymore, that means they have given up on you. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.
The brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.
When you have a dire medical issue, it is tough to know how you are really faring emotionally. It is not always easy to stay positive through such treatment. People are more important than things, may be it is a costly car, a pristine gem it is just a thing.
No matter how bad things are, it is often within your power to make them better.
Time is infinite. Time must be explicitly managed, like money. You can always change your plan, but only if you have one. Ask your self: Are you spending your time on the right things? Develop a good filing system.
Rethink the telephone, Keep the calls shorter. Delegate. Take a time out. Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.
Learn to recognize your true abilities. You must be aware about your flaws. Be realistic about how others view you. Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity.
Don’t complain, just work harder. Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won’t make us happier.
Treat the Disease, Not the symptom.
Start by sitting together: Meet people properly, Find things you have in commonnTry for Optimal meeting conditions, Let everyone talk Check egos at the door, Praise each other Phrase alternatives as questions.
When we are connected to others, we become better people.
Look for the best in everybody. Wait, almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out. Watch what they do, not what they say.
If at first you don’t succeed…, try, try a cliché. Experience is what
you get when you didn’t get what you wanted. Show Gratitude. Go out and do for others what somebody did for you.
Tell the Truth.
Never Give Up.
All you have to do is Ask. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true.
