The Last Lecture

We were supposed to be together through thick and thin
Well shxt got thick and instead you end.

One of the greatests books I have ever read is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. He is a professor at Carnegie- Mellon and is asked to give his last lecture of the semester, ironically, it would be the last one of his life. Randy was diagnosed with terminal cancer and only had a few months to live. He would be leaving behind a wife and 3 young children: 2 sons ages 5 & 2 and a 1 year old daughter. My heart absolutely melted and I fell to tears as this man goes through his final attempt to leave behind the lessons he will never be able to teach his children. He wanted to teach his sons how to be good men and husbands, his daughter how to mature into a strong caring woman, and most of all he wanted to teach his children how to fufill the dreams, he himself would not be able to help come true. Instead of giving his lecture about dying, he lectured on living: how to live a happy and fufilling life. He spoke about enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment, and the importance of overcoming obstacles.
As I sat down to write this, I had every intention of spilling out all my bitterness onto the page, but after reminding myself of Randy's lecture, I smile, because I am simply living an obstacle that shortly I shall overcome. Instead, there are some parts of the book that taught me lessons, and I have to remind myself of what those were.

1. "The brick walls are there to stop the people who dont want it badly enough.They're there to stop the other people."
We all have brick walls: insecurites, tempers, immaturity, bad choices, stupid actions: they are all things that hold us back from happiness and alot of times from other people. The trick to the wall is, that genuine people are the ones that instead of walking away from the brick wall, find a way to knock it down, because the person inside is that valuable. When you hit a brick wall, dont give up or end your journey, patiently find your way through it.

2. "Not everything needs to be fixed."
Problems arise, but if whatever it is still serves its purpose then theres no need to try to fix it. Dont get a new car just because its dented, dont quit your job becaue the commute is a hassle, dont end a relationship because certain problems cant be fixed. If its serving the purpose then just go with it.

3. "No matter how bad things are you can always make things worse. At the same time, it is often within your power to make them better."
Remember theres always something worse that can happen, so dont pout, and overcome the obstacle and make it better.

4. "Time must be explicity managed like money."
Ask yourself if you are spending your time on the right things. If you are chasing your dreams at every opportunity and if the dream is even worth pursing.

5. "When putting people on the moon, you're inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum of human potential, which is how our greatest problems will eventually be solved."
Not settling and reaching your highest potential is how solutions are found, when a team of doctors reach their highest potential there will be a cure for AIDS, when Sex education reaches its highest potential, abortion will be unnecessary. When you reach your highest potential, your wildest dreams come true.

6. "Complaining does not work as a strategy."
Any time spent complaining doesnt make you happier. Apply the energy spent complaining to a solution and I promise there will no longer be a problem.

7. "Treat the disease, not the symptoms"

8. "If you wait long enough, people will surprise and impress you. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting it will come out."
I lived by this the past couple of months. I kept reminding myself to patiently wait things out, because usually the storm passes. Patience will be both appreciated and rewarded.

9. "Experience is what you get when you didnt get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer."
Learn from your mistakes, because with experience, what lies ahead becomes a lot easier.

10. "Frustrated masses ,yearning for simplicity"
Dont over-complicate things. Simple is better.

11. "Loyalty is a two- way street."
Cant expect respect if you arent worthy of it.

12. "Work Hard"
Those words are how you will become more efficient, more able, and sometimes happier. Hard work is the key to success and even how couples stay together.

13. Apologizing 101: " Bad apologies are worse than no apology."
1. What I did was wrong.
2. I feel badly I hurt you.
3. How do I make it better?


The Last Lecture isnt just a book, its sort of like a manual for living, told by a person who is dying. Weird right? But it serves as a concious reminder of the lessons we often forget we have learned.

WATCH the Last Lecture, if your a lazy body and dont read.
I shall warn you its about an hr long... but a good time.
To learn more visit: http://www.thelastlecture.com/