Blog Assignment 7

Last Lecture

In Randy Pausch's video, "Last Lecture", he shares with the viewer teaching methods to carry with us throughout our careers and throughout our lives. Randy Pausch believed in having fun, sharing knowledge, helping others, being loyal and staying determined to reach his dreams, just to name a few traits that I learned from his video. He accomplished what he wanted to in his life and he shares with us a few lessons on how we can do the same for ourselves, as well as, passing on so that others can also achieve dreams.

Randy had many great mentors in his life and I believe that one lesson that he taught through his video is that we all need mentors and need to pass it forward and help others by becoming mentors to someone else. He mentions that focusing on others is a way to get others to want to help us. Other ways Mr. Pausch advises us on how to receive help is by practicing good karma, being honest, being earnest and always apologizing when we mess up.

One method that Randy discussed was the importance of dedication. "Brick walls are there to let us prove how badly we want things", is a quote that he shares with us multiple times in his video. Randy tells us that brick walls will determine who really wants it and who doesn't and I believe that to be true. We will be discouraged many times throughout our lives but we must keep fighting for what we want. We must stay dedicated and focused to reach our goals.

Another method for teaching others how to reach their dreams that Randy shares with us is to not set the bar for our students. He shares a story about when he first started a course named "Building Virtual Worlds" and his students blew him away with their first project. He could not think of where to go next with his class because they surpassed his expectations so he called a mentor at the time and his mentor told him to tell his students that they did well but could do better. I really believe in what he and his mentor did with the students because many of the students would have stopped growing at that point. Their expectations of themselves would've ended there because their teacher was satisfied and so Randy really helped them grow by masking his amazement.

I enjoyed watching Randy share his excitement and passion for living and learning in this video and I did get the first "head-fake" early on. I love the quote that he shares, "The best way to teach someone something is to have them think they're learning something else." He has given us valuable lifelong lessons on how to get what we want out of life. This is definitely something to take with you into life and to share with others. I forgot by the middle of the lecture that he was terminally ill so the fact that the video was for his children didn't really cross my mind until he shared that with us in the end. It makes sense either way that he would leave something for them to live by whether they had him around for another week or a few more decades. Randy Pausch is a remarkable man and I appreciate all that he has shared with me.