Summary Of The Last Lecture By Randy Pausch

The opening three chapters of “The Last Lecture“ introduces Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, as well as the narrator and co-author of this book. Pausch has pancreatic cancer, with ten tumors on his liver, that will inevitably lead to his passing in a matter of a couple of months. However, he was offered to give a last lecture to students, staff, family, and friends at his University that he deeply desires to present, despite the struggles in his way, and the ones to come.

A “Last Lecture” is a talk made by professors in which they reflect on their life and share what really matters to them while giving advice based on what they have learned throughout the years. Although Pausch is all for this lecture, his wife Jai was opposed to it at first as she felt that he needed to be spending his precious time with his family, but she eventually agreed and attended the lecture that he titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”. In his soon to be inspiring talk, Randy Pausch focuses on his childhood dreams and how most of them have come to be achieved, with the help of the effective people he meets along the way. The main purpose of this lecture was to “leave a legacy” for his young kids in

order to reintroduce them to who their father was as a person, and to also aid others in finding a path to fulfill their own dreams. Additionally, in the end of the third chapter, Pausch is shown to be presenting his talk, where he briefly introduces himself and reminds his fellow listeners that he is no different from them, regardless of the fact that he has terminal cancer, to prevent them from feeling sorry for him throughout the talk.

I found the first three chapters very intriguing, for it is about a middle aged man who hopes to make an impact on both his family and the world before he meets his end. He hopes to do so by presenting a lecture and composing a book about how he has fulfilled almost all of his childhood dreams, which is what inspired me the most. Him achieving most of his childhood dreams inspires me to dream big and to constantly work hard to reach my aspirations, since I still am considered a child. Additionally, these chapters made me realise that happiness can be achieved through any experience and at any moment, regardless of any obstacles that come your way. I also believe that most people in this world strive to leave a legacy - whether it’s merely just for their family and friends, or for the entire world - and Randy Pausch’s story is the perfect example to abide by.

The second part of the book focuses on Randy Pausch’s experiences and great achievements that are linked to his big dreams as a child. The author starts with talking about his parents and the vast influence they had on shaping who he is today, especially his father, and his significant experience with painting his own room. Although they didn’t have the most luxurious life, Pausch still managed to grasp the most cherishable moments and use them as a way to guide him through his life. Afterwards, he talks about the childhood dream he had of not necessarily being an astronaut, but being able to “float”, and how he has “floated his way through” accomplishing that dream. Next, Pausch moves on to his dream of being on the NFL, but how his path to carry out that dream, although not accomplishing it, has probably had a bigger impact than any of the other dreams he has accomplished. He also greatly touches on the fact that his coach’s “hard way” of teaching actually has a greater hidden meaning that his students can actually benefit from, and that Randy Pausch will always look back on.
Pausch also talks about how he was very attached to and fascinated by the World Book Encyclopedia as a child. Coincidentally, he was able to reach his dream of being a contributor when he was asked to write an entry on virtual reality. Next he talks about how he met his childhood role model Captain Kirk from Star Trek (William Shatner) and even have him try out his virtual reality lab. Finally, this part of the book ends with Pausch talking about how he managed to be the “coolest guy at an amusement park or carnival” by constantly winning large stuffed animals. He also mentions his dream of working at Disney World like being an Imagineer and designing rides. After he got his PhD in computer science, he applied to be an Imagineer but was rejected. That, however, didn’t set Pausch back because as soon as he heard of their virtual reality project, he became very persistent in finding himself a place in that project. Eventually, he was granted an opportunity to work on the project by Jon Snoddy who was the head Imagineer for the team. However, Pausch still had one obstacle in his way which is being allowed to go on that trip. He was finally permitted to take a sabbatical after his University’s dean kept arguing against it, thus making another one of his childhood dreams a reality.

What inspired me the most about these chapters is how Randy Pausch had such a positive outlook on his life and didn’t let any setbacks affect him in a negative way. What I can can learn from that is to always try my best to be optimistic and look for the benefits I get from trying to achieve that goal. This can relate to me because usually when I don’t meet a specific goal, I see it as a loss as a failure. However, as Randy Pausch exemplified, I should look at the bright side and see the experiences and lessons learned from trying to reach that goal. What illustrates this the most is that although he achieved his dreams of being in zero gravity, writing for the World Book Encyclopedia, etc., he likely gained more knowledge and experience from his way to trying to be in the NFL, but being unsuccessful, than most of those accomplished dreams combined. This shows that experience can sometimes be more valuable than achievement. It also teaches readers that experiences can mean so much more than its superficial gain. Football didn’t just teach Randy Pausch how to play a game; it taught him leadership, sportsmanship, teamwork, and much more life lessons that are beneficial to him in the long run.

This part of the book focuses on Randy’s personal life while providing background information about his past experiences and details about his illness. His battle with cancer started back in 2006. After undergoing an intense surgery, Randy and his wife, Jai, discovered during a doctor’s visit that Randy didn’t have much longer to live (3-6 months approximately according to his doctor). Randy then talks about how he was, and trying to be, positive throughout this experience. However, he also understands that he is sometimes “self-possessed to a fault”, as his professor Andy van Dam would say. This professor played an important role in pointing out some of Randy’s unpleasant moments; but indicating them in a way that only means well and isn’t too harsh.
Randy moves on to talking about his relationship with Jai. Their first problem was being in a long distance relationship, therefor Randy asked her to move to Pittsburgh in order to be closer to him, and she agreed. However, Jai changed her mind at the last minute and told Randy that she didn’t love him. Randy was devastated, but followed his parent’s advice by giving her some space. Their advice worked and eventually Jai and Randy got married. Their wedding ended with them getting on an air balloon. Although that experience seemed magical at first, it started to get a little out of hand and dangerous, but luckily it ended without harm. He then addressed the fact that the output of a situation is in your hands, whether it’s good or bad, and uses the story of when his first child was born as a reference. Randy also teaches the lesson that “People are more important than things” through some of his experiences. The first one he talked about is when his wife damaged two of his cars, and how Randy didn’t think much of it. He also shared with us the time he poured soda on the backseat of his brand new car to prove to his niece and nephew that point. Next, Randy focuses on the importance of humility with a story about discovering something big connected to his after he has passed away. What he found out is a citation for “heroic achievement” from when his father was in the army. He also found out that his father received a Bronze Star for valor when he had risked his life to treat wounded soldiers during war. Randy ends this part of the book by talking about how his wife uses frankness to deal with him and his illness. He also tells a short, witty story about how his cancer prevented him from getting a speeding ticket.

Since this section of the book revolves around personal experiences, it helped me recognize how I approach certain situations in my life. For example, with his “New Year’s Story”, Randy sheds light on the fact that if it wasn’t for him and his wife’s constant encouragement and positive support, they might not have had the favorable results they received then. This expresses the importance and effect of a positive attitude towards any situation. Furthermore, it has made me pinpoint the moments where I have caused a positive outcome on a situation by simply being optimistic. It also made me think about the moments where I have done the complete opposite, and how it has negatively affected the overall results of a particular condition.

Randy opens this part with a story about the time he got charged twice at a grocery store, but let that simple mistake slide. He felt that the time he would waste on trying to get a refund is more wasteful than the sixteen dollars he lost, thus making a point of the importance of time. Consequently, Randy compiled a list of ways that help with time management. Afterwards, Randy moves on to talking about his teaching methods. His main goal for his students is for them to learn how to judge themselves. One of the most effective ways to reach that goal is to provide each student with honest feedback from their fellow colleagues. As a matter of fact, Randy has acquired this lesson from his previous professor Andy van Dam.
The second part of this section concentrates on “enabling the dreams of others”. First, Randy talks about Tommy Burnett, a man who wanted a job at Randy’s research team. Tommy told Randy about his childhood dream of working on the next Star Wars movie, although it was very unlikely at the time. Randy hired him and Tommy soon found himself working for the next three Star Wars movies, and as a lead technical director for one of them. Tommy then revealed to Randy’s students that Randy actually had a major part in making his dreams come true because of the high expectations he had for him. Speaking of high expectations, Randy implemented that with his students during group projects to keep encouraging them to work towards their highest ability, although they have thoroughly impressed Randy the first time. Finally, Randy explains two of his projects entitled, “The Entertainment Technology Center” and “Alice”, who both help enable people’s childhood dreams.

This part of the book really made me reflect on how I spend my time as well as making me think about what I have done and could do to make an impact on this world. At first, it made me realize that time is truly finite and unpredictable, so I must make good use of it. Especially in this day and age, the risk of having something terrible happen to you or even losing your life are much higher than it was in the past. That can be seen through all of the shootings and terror attacks set all over the world, and surely the innocent people who had passed away because of them didn’t see it coming. Moreover, something that inspired me is how Randy has been channelling different influences in his life in order to influence others. This has made me think about the people who are big role models to me and how I can also be a role model to others.

“Part V” is a major and tremendously impactful division of “The Last Lecture”.

It consists of a compilation of morals and advice derived from Randy’s experiences, including encounters with different influential people throughout his life. He reminds us of life as it is and imparts strong morals and life lessons for readers to adhere to. Some of his advice includes: “dream big”, “treat the disease, not the symptom”, “never give up”, “tell the truth”, along with a multitude of other moral values displayed throughout this section. However, Randy Pausch doesn’t just plainly state these principles, he provides us, the readers, with a short story about how he has come across grasping each of these lessons first hand, or how he has implemented them in his

life.

In my opinion, this section has been the most inspiring and motivational part of the whole book. That is because of the countless lessons, morals, and values that are encompassed in this selection of pages. What I liked most about this part and about the whole book in general is that with every lesson conveyed comes an amusing story that people can either relate to or gain inspiration from. Moreover, one of the most inspiring things he said is: “Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted”. That really inspires me because it puts into my mind that I will always gain something if I try to get what I want, regardless of failure. Additionally, experience is sometimes worth more than the accomplishment itself, like Randy’s story about his dream of being in the NFL. I can apply this to my life whenever I am trying to reach a challenging goal because it helps me be more optimistic and realize that regardless of the results, I still would have gained experience and learned lessons that can help me in the future. I could also use Randy’s advice throughout the book because at many moments in my life I would forget about the positive things and only concentrate on the negative, and his lessons can really change the perspective and lifestyle of many people around the world for the better.