People say that nothing focuses your attention like your impending death. 

It has become a tradition as some universities to invite prominent professors to give their “last lecture”.  That is, to imagine that they had one last lecture in which to attempt to communicate their accumulated wisdom and the most important lessons they had learned.

Randy Pausch is a prominent professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.  He was invited to give a last lecture, only for him it was no theoretical exercise – he has metastatic pancreatic cancer and will, barring a miracle, be dead in a year.

He’s 45 years old with a loving wife and three young children.  He’s at the peak of his career and has a world wide reputation.  Now he’s facing death and talking to us about what he’s learned and what’s important.

He titled the lecture: “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”.  I can’t recommend it highly enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo 

Dr Pausch exhibits profound grace and wisdom.  You’ll smile and even laugh as he speaks.  Expect your eyes to at least moisten.  Tears of compassion mixed oddly mixed with joy are more likely.  He leaves you with an impression of the nobility of the human experience and the inspiration to live your own life as fully as he is living his.

Please watch this – you’ll thank me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

As a footnote, I’ve suggested this lecture to people grieving over the death of a loved one.  They’ve found it soothing.
 

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