It became an internet sensation. Millions of people watched it online and millions more probably will.
"The Last Lecture," by Professor Randy Pausch is a very special class given by a very special person. On Sept. 18, 2007, Dr. Randy Pausch gave his final lecture at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. The lecture was part of a series given by professors, each conveying his thoughts as to what he would tell his students if he was giving one last lecture before he died. Only for Randy Pausch, it really was the last lecture he would give as a professor before he died.
Randy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had but a few more months to live. He died on July 25, 2008.
Randy discusses great wisdom in this lecture. He deals amazingly with his predicament saying, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, we can only change how we play the hand. If I don't seem as morose as you think I should be, I'm sorry to disappoint you. . . . I'm dying and I'm having fun because there's no other good way to play the game."
"Brick walls are there so that we can prove how badly we want something."
Randy encourages us to have dreams and goals in life and to work toward achieving them, never losing our childlike wonder. We will not regret the things we did on our death bed but we will regret what we didn't do but wanted to do. Along the way we should also enable the dreams of others which he says can be even more fun than achieving our own dreams.
What should be our reaction when we face obstacles in the path of our dreams? Randy tells us, "Brick walls are there so that we can prove how badly we want something." We must prepare and work hard in life because there is no such thing as merely having ‘good luck.' "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity."
There have been many lectures that contain great wisdom. What's the fascination with this one? Why is it so popular that it was made into a best-selling book?
Part of it is our admiration for Randy's personality and outlook. Here is a person facing death with courage, humor, optimism, and focus.
FACING DEATH
We don't like to face the reality that we will all die someday. Facing death is frightful not only because we are forced to give up all the wondrous things that this world has to offer, but in death, we confront the fear of the unknown. So we spend our lives pretending as if we will live forever. Who wants to deal with their eventual demise?
Judaism has a different perspective on death. The Torah actually states that death is a good thing: "God saw all that He created and behold, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)
"Rabbi Meir said: 'it was very good' refers to death." (Midrash Rabbah 9:5)
Why is death associated with something good?
"Look at three things and you won't come to sin... where you are going [to the grave] (Ethics of the Fathers, 3:1).
Ethics of the Fathers does not say where you will be going in the future, but where you are already going. From the time we are born, we begin a journey whose destination is our eventual death and entry into the afterlife. That's why we must make the most out of every single day of our lives.
As the Talmud states:
Rabbi Eliezer said: Repent one day before your death. His students asked him, 'Does a person know when his day of death will occur?' He answered them, 'Then he should repent today, perhaps he will die tomorrow! Thus, all his days will be full of repentance!
This is what King Solomon said in Kohelet (9:8): 'Your clothing should be white at all times.'... There is an allegory which illustrates this. A king invited his servants to a grand feast but did not inform them when the feast was to transpire. The smart ones dressed in their finest clothes and prepared themselves by waiting outside the palace's entrance. The foolish ones remained in their common clothes and continued to engage in their own pursuits, thinking they had plenty of time. Suddenly, the king asked for all to attend, and only the smart ones were asked to sit, eat, drink, and enjoy." (Paraphrased from Talmud, Shabbat 153a)
Life is one long preparation for a big feast with the Master of the World. We could be called to attend this feast at any time; none of us know our day of death. If we are one of the smart ones, we will live each day in preparation, urgently, intensely and purposefully.
Randy Pausch said that while he did not want to die as young as he did, he was grateful for the fact that he received a warning. Similarly, Jacob, our Patriarch, prayed to God that he should become sick before he dies so that he would have the opportunity to close off various things that he wanted to complete in his life.
If we were given an infinite amount of time in this world, most of us would never be driven to attain anything.
Death is good because it puts a limit on the number of days we have to accomplish our goals. If we were given an infinite amount of time in this world, most of us would never be driven to attain anything. We would always feel that we have so much more time to complete our tasks. Knowing that our days are numbered, we are motivated to strive for greatness.
This is what is meant by a Talmudic statement that has perplexed many throughout the ages: "Whoever wants to live, must make himself dead" (Tamid 32a). If we learn how to die, then we learn how to live. By living each day as if it could be our last, we relate to each life experience passionately, powerfully, and memorably.
LEAVING A LEGACY
Randy's legacy within the "Last Lecture" was not what one might think. Despite the lecture's popularity, Randy says he really only intended his words for his three small children. "I think it's great that so many people have benefited from this lecture, but the truth of the matter is that I didn't really even give it to the 400 people at Carnegie Mellon who came. I only wrote this lecture for three people, and when they're older, they'll watch it," he says. So if you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be?
(9) Anonymous, August 14, 2008 8:49 AM
G-d is there
For people who did not see G-d in Randy Pausch's lecture, you were not listening. If you listen to his lecture and/or read his book you will see that yes he believes in G-d and he is a religious person. He is not pushing his religion. He did not want to limit his kind ,beautiful words of hope only to one kind of person. G-d has blessed human beings with insight. This wonderful man was thinking of others in his last days giving until his last days. He didn't cry "not fair". He showed people to be thankful for what they have and to make each moment worth something. I think that his example is the most divine spark that I have heard in a very long time.
(8) Tamar, August 14, 2008 8:47 AM
May Hashem give you refuah shelaimah!
Anon- just you writing inspired me!
(7) Anonymous, August 14, 2008 12:03 AM
it was relevant to me
I'm one of the millions who watched Randy's "last lecture." I appreciated it more than some, having been diagnosed with Leukemia a year ago. It hasn't killed me, or even made me sick, but it brought me face to face with the brevity of life. I have pondered the question of what is important, and what I would do if I knew I had one (day, week, month, year) to live. The truth is, none of us knows when our last breath will be. I won't say that I'm grateful to have Leukemia, but I am grateful for what it has done in my life. Faced with the realization that the number of my days left on earth is a finite number and getting smaller every day, I thank HaShem each morning for giving me another day to love, serve, and worship Him. Each day is a gift from Him that He was under no obligation to provide. "Let everything that has breath praise the L-rd!"
(6) David Fein, August 13, 2008 9:12 AM
Truth from wherever it is
Chayim- Randy said he is not going to discuss religion in the lecture-prob. bec. he was not speaking in a religious college and it (unfortunately) would be a turn off to some and they would not hear his powerful lessons. In any event, the Rambam said we should accept wisdom from all-this applies even to atheists. Of course, Pirkei Avos said it before the Rambam.
(5) Chayim Lando, August 12, 2008 11:28 AM
Yes, but
I agree with you that there was much to find inspirational and lessons to be learned from The Last Lecture. But there was one thing glaringly absent. God.
(4) Gretchen Serota, M.D., August 12, 2008 6:09 AM
Inspiration to live life to its fullest
Thanks for another eye-opening article. We should all be keenly aware of our ultimate future and let this guide us to be better people
(3) George Hafitz, August 11, 2008 10:28 AM
prepare for life
To prepare is to prevent illness yet prepare for death and pepare for those who follow us.Orepare for the dys when we will not be as productive as we were in our youth.
(2) Ruth Housman, August 11, 2008 9:41 AM
the last lecture: we are all 'going home'
to remember that each lecture could be our last, that when we say good-bye, it could be the last time we kiss everything that lives and breathes, that trembles, that laughs, that cries, that carries soul and our soul too, because we are so a part and apart of the AWE, of the ALL: and so to act with love, That is the "man date". There is divinity in us all. But the whole is far far greater than the sum of its parts. Love with all your heart, and soul and with all your might. Live this way every day. The world opens like a rose and is ever opening. This is about discovery and the amazing lightness of being. To see this and the incomparable one ness that echoes through creation. We are all connected more than we ever thought possible. If we make of our lives a masterpiece, then, just maybe, we can make of life a master peace.
(1) paul efron, August 11, 2008 9:36 AM
Powerful,Inspirational and True
We used to have a little game we played-If you had 7 days to live-what would you do??This lecture reminded me of the fragility of life-The age-old question 'why'-And most importantly,the ability to 'smile' in the face of the greatest fear that each of us must confront-Our mortality-Randy-Tahnk you and rest in peace