The Last Lecture (Randy Pausch)
OVERVIEW
I read Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture years ago, but decided to go through it again for the blog. Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University when he was given a terminal cancer diagnosis… 3-6 months left of good health. At Carnegie Mellon there was a “Last Lecture” series where professors would contemplate what wisdom they’d impart if it really was their final class. Pausch, now a bona fide dying professor, decided to give a true last lecture. He wanted to relive his unique accomplishments and offer life advice. And he wanted to record it for his children.
He titled his lecture: “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”
When Pausch was eight he drafted a list of goals – it included experiencing zero gravity, becoming a Disney Imagineer, and authoring an entry in the World Book Encyclopedia (yes, he was a nerdy kid!). Reflecting on his life, Pausch felt one of the things that made him unique was that he kept this list, and nearly achieved every dream. A winning scientific entry got him and his students onto NASA’s famous “Vomit Comet,” he spent a 6-month sabbatical as an Imagineer creating a new Aladdin ride, and he was even approached by the World Book Encyclopedia to write a section on virtual reality. Although it’s not explicitly stated, I think it’s fair to say that pursuing his childhood dreams made Pausch feel that his life had been filled with fun and adventure, but also that it was lived without regret.
Living without regret is something we all want, and Pausch did it by dreaming like a child.
The rest of this book is filled with lessons and advice (for you, yes, but mostly for his children). This falls into that other crucially important end-of-life bucket: the immortality project – the desire to create something that will outlive you, to leave a legacy, to matter beyond your death. As far as advice goes, a lot of it is really good. Tell the truth. Not everything needs to be fixed. The best attitude in difficult situations is “saddle up and ride.” Reflect. Don’t waste your time on irrelevant things. When you go on vacation, don’t check email. Help others. Be earnest. Don’t obsess about what everyone else thinks. Look for the best in everybody. Be the first penguin (you’ll have to read the book to get the reference!). Show gratitude (this one is in here twice, for emphasis). The best shortcut is the long way (work hard). Be optimistic – more like Tigger, less like Eeyore.
One of Pausch’s most beautiful final thoughts comes from Krishnamurti, a spiritual leader in India who died in 1986. Krishnamurti was once asked “what is the most appropriate thing to say to a friend who is about to die?” He answered: “Tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Wherever he goes, you also go. He will not be alone.” As an atheist, I can’t commit to believing we go anywhere but into the ground, but I like the poetry and I like the sentiment. When you die, so will the pieces of me that belonged to you, and in that way we go together.
WHAT NOW? (actions for mortal atheists)
We’ve covered contemplating how you can live with fewer regrets, and one type of legacy/immortality project. Something else that Pausch did, though, was consult several friends whose parents had died when they were young. He wanted to know, what advice did they have for dying parents? I won’t bother paraphrasing, here is what Pausch summarized in full:
“They told me they found it consoling to learn about how much their mothers and fathers loved them. The more they knew, the more they could still feel that love. They also wanted reasons to be proud; they wanted to believe that their parents were incredible people. Some of them sought specifics on their parents’ accomplishments. Some chose to build myths. But all had yearnings to know what made their parents special. These people told me something else, too. Since they have so few of their own memories of their parents, they found it reassuring to know that their parents died with great memories of them. To that end, I want my kids to know that my memories of them fill my head.”
If you are terminally ill and you have children, write down or record your favourite memories of them, how much you love them, and, if you can, find a way to tell them your story – what made you unique, what made you special, and what of your accomplishments should make them proud.
IN SUM:
Is this book entirely secular? You know what, I honestly can’t remember if there were any religious sentiments.
If I had to describe the book in one sentence? A dying professor gives a last lecture on childhood dreams and life advice.
Who should read this book? Anyone who wants a hardcopy example of a legacy project.
When you come to the end of your life, Pausch hoped that when someone implored: “you can’t die, you have to live!”, you could respond like Dustin Hoffman’s character in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium: “I already did that.”