Top 25 growth books - V

The Last Lecture

Randy Pausch

A quote from the book

"It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.”

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania. The book was seeded in a lecture Pausch gave in September 2007 entitled "Really achieving your childhood dreams". This talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", i.e., "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?"

A month before giving the lecture, Pausch was aware that his Pancreatic cancer, with which he had been diagnosed a year earlier, was terminal. Before speaking, Pausch received a long standing ovation from a large crowd of over 400 colleagues and students. When he motioned them to sit down, saying, "Make me earn it", someone in the audience shouted back, "You did!". During the lecture Pausch was upbeat and humorous. To prove his vitality, Pausch dropped down and did push-ups on stage.

The way Randy looked at life is awe inspiring. According to him, the obstacles are there for a reason, it is to keep the "other" people out!

One of the things he mentions in his book is that when you want something, just ask. 

His view of "failures" is that it is what gives us experience.

For the final topic in his lecture, called "Lessons Learned", Dr. Pausch reiterates and introduces a few new lessons that he has learned and accumulated over his lifetime.

The book is full of anecdotes and its contents will grip you, inspire you and compel you to review your mindset and living norms. The book is full of learning points. I strongly recommend that give a copy of this book to your preteens.

The Last lecture has been translated into 48 languages and has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide. 

Namaste

Prabir