Blog Post #7

Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams



First off, I would just like to comment on how big of an inspiration Randy Pausch is. He is such a gifted speaker, and I wish I had had the opportunity to attend one of his lectures. He really knew how to engage his audience and keep their attention on what he was saying. His use of humor and relating things to his own personal experiences really helped keep me focused on the video instead of daydreaming or halfway listening. I found myself not even aware of the time, and the video did not seem like it was over an hour long. I hope one day to be half the speaker he was.

In this video, Randy Pausch focuses a lot on childhood dreams. He states some of the dreams he had growing up, and recounted stories on how they played out during his life. He spoke of how he accomplished these dreams (or didn't accomplish) and the road it took to fulfill them. The journeys he took to make each of his dreams a reality were truly inspirational. He then goes on to tell how we can help others accomplish their dreams.

One thing that really stuck out to me in this lecture was his quote "brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things." I absolutely love this. So many times people think that because something didn't work out for them, that means they need to give up and find something else to do. That's so far from the truth. Brick walls should motivate us. They are a driving force to make us work harder to achieve the goals and dreams we have for ourselves. I do agree with Mr. Pausch in the sense that brick walls are needed to stop the ones who don't really want what's behind that brick wall. If no one ever hit a brick wall on his/her road to success, there would be tons of people in fields who simply do not have the passion for what they are doing. I believe there is a difference in wanting something and having a passion for something. Everyone can want something, but it takes passion and dedication to get that something. Passion is what makes us work hard and put all of our time into something. People passionate about their jobs are the people who are most successful. I personally love when I come across a brick wall. Like Randy Pausch stated, brick walls let us prove how badly we want something. I always know if I truly want something or not because when I hit that brick wall, if I can simply shrug and say "oh well" and give up, then I obviously didn't want that something enough to work for it. But for those things I want more than anything, I strive to bring down that brick wall. And when I do, there's no greater feeling in the world.

Another thing that really stuck out to me was how Mr. Pausch stressed to look for the good in people. Countless times he stated to never give up on someone because eventually they will surprise you. I value this advice. I believe as educators, we should never give up on our students. I know some kids are hard to handle and seem like they don't care; however, maybe that kid sitting in the back who never talks is the next Steve Jobs. Sometimes all kids need is encouragement and someone who expresses that he or she care for them and wants them to succeed. I also take this advice outside the classroom. I have personally had contact with people who were just hateful (for what reasons I do not know). However, I never repaid hate with hate. I always tried my best to be nice and see the good in them. Eventually, those people did come around and surprise me one day by actually being civil human beings. I can't stress how much I love this advice so I'll just say it again- "find the best in everybody; no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it."

The third thing I really enjoyed was his segment on how to get people to help you. His advice was to be honest, be earnest, apologize when you screw up, focus on others and not yourself, and to realize you can't get somewhere alone. Throughout his lecture, I noticed he always had someone to help him. He had an awesome career but he always had to get help or approval at some point. When he got that help, he always gave back by helping his students. It seemed that eventually, his dream was to help others accomplish their dreams. He always raised the bar for his students and pushed them to do better. He truly seems like he was a great mentor, and I hope his legacy will encourage other educators to be the best they can be.