Randy Pausch

In his last lecture, CMU Prof. Randy Pausch described his experience on a youth football team. His coach was riding him pretty hard one day, and an assistant coach noted that with him after practice. The coach noted that that "...was a good thing. When you're screwin' up and nobody's sayin' anything to you anymore, that means they gave up."

What a remarkable perspective that coach had. And what a remarkable thing that Prof. Pausch thought it appropriate to include this perspective in his Last Lecture. (Prof. Pausch had been diagnosed, 3 months earlier, with terminal, inoperable pancreatic cancer, and given at most 6 months to live. He actually lived nearly a year longer.

"We don't beat the [grim] reaper by living longer. We beat the reaper by living well, and living fully."