Randy Pausch's Life's lesson lecture before his death today.

Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University and was 47 years old.  He was informed in September of 08 that he was infected yet again with pancreatic cancer " one of the most fast acting cancers known to man". The doctors gave him 3-6 months to live. With bravery this man accepted his fate and instead of dedicating months to a hedonistic nature he wrote a book and gave his last lecture as a guidebook on how to live life to fullest and how to accept life's curve balls.  He talked about his life's achievements including him designing some of Disney's most wild of rides, experiencing zero gravity, etc. The most important part of the lecture/book to me was outlook on failures and dreams lost due to outward variables then of ones own perseverance. Being a realist as I am it is surprisingly refreshing to me to read about a person telling people THAT all dreams do not come true, THAT not only do all dreams come true but THAT not all dreams are capable of even coming into effect. THAT if you work hard at something and never give up you are not guaranteed to reach that goal you've been earnestly working towards. THAT you do not deserve praise even though you may dedicate your life to something. After achieving his Ph.D his mother would refer to him as a Doctor, but not one that helped people.  SO he dedicated his last few months to telling people how it really is to live as a mortal and live as human who is prone to disappoint other and themselves until they die. The moral of the story of this man's dedication is to motivate others to reach for their goals but accept when they fail as reality. No one is owed anything in this life for our life isn't ours. How will you live in your last moments? How will you impact the generations that form after your long gone? Will you leave anything behind that is proof that you once lived? Every day's a choice.....How will you use yours?

-RIP 7/25/08