The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University. He was a very popular and respected teacher. He was happily married with 3 children - 6-year-old Dylan, 3-year-old Logan and 18-month-old Chloe.
In 2006, he was diagnosed as having pancreatic cancer. He got every treatment possible, but in 2007, the doctors told him the cancer was incurable. They said he may have as little time left as 6 months. He had no choice but to accept that the battle was over.
Still, he kept an optimistic attitude, and never wallowed in depression - he had a family to care for. He spent a lot of time thinking about ways to make the loss as easy as possible for them. He wanted his children to have happy memories of him, and to make sure they knew how much he loved them. After he was diagnosed, he spent nearly all his time with his family, drawing strength from the moments of joy he had with them. He moved houses so that his wife would be closer to her family and have some emotional support. But he was always wondering if there was more that he could do.
His university invited him to take part in the "Last lecture" series. The concept of it was for people to give the speeches they'd give if they were to die soon and this was their last lecture. For Randy, this scenario was close to the truth. This lecture would be his chance to leave as many words of wisdom for his children as possible, while he still could. He wanted it to be a sort of "message in a bottle" that his children could watch when they are old enough to understand.
So, in September, 2007, he gave his last lecture, titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". He dedicated the lecture to his children. He spoke about the dreams he had when was a child, and how he proceeded to fulfill them. He talked about what he had learned from really going after his dreams, no matter how many obstacles were on his way. He also told stories of helping other people reach their dreams, which made him as happy as pursuing his own. He shared all the lessons he had learned during his life and encouraged people to have fun, and to make the choice to have a positive attitude.
The rest of the lecture was dedicated to all the people in Randy's life. He paid tribute to his mentors, friends, co-workers, parents and his wife. He also took the chance to give his wife her birthday congratulations - he brought out a big birthday cake and had the audience sing happy birthday to her while she was wiping tears from her eyes.
The positive, fun and light-hearted tone the lecture was given with was incredible. His inspiring life lesson - to never give up pursuing your dreams, and his positive attitude while facing a terminal illness made it a truly inspiring experience.
The speech was videotaped and put on Youtube. It quickly went viral and made him famous. He had never planned on this, but he was now inspiring so many more people than he could've possibly imagined.
The lecture inspired people to turn their lives around. His suggestion to allow kids to express their creativity and paint their bedroom walls themselves was put into action by many people. Countless people were inspired to start chasing after their dreams and change their lives. His positivity and can-do mentality was infectious.
Randy appeared on the Oprah show and on Good Morning America. His positivity and his genuine love of life and other people shined through in every appearance and he never failed to inspire and impress. A book was published about his life, titled "The Last Lecture". It became a bestseller.