Wisdom And Emotional Speech In The Last Lecture By Randy Pausch

There are so many wonderful quotes and jewels of wisdom and inspiration in “The Last Lecture” given by Randy Pausch that it was difficult to pick just one to write about. Given his circumstances and the ultimate finality of his prognosis it is amazing that he could give such a speech at all. I have chosen the following few sentences from his speech to reflect upon relevant to my own life: “It is what it is and we can’t change it. We just have to decide how we are going to respond to it. We can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” It is such an all encompassing philosophy of how to handle what life throws at you. It appeals to the higher version of “self” in each of us to rise above reaction and make conscious choices. It is applicable in almost every situation. In fact, as far as “life skills” goes, it could be considered equivalent to the “Golden Rule”.

The sentences I quoted from Randy Raush’s lecture remind me of another famous quote from Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor: “Between stimulus and reaction there is a space. In that space is our...