The Last Lecture

At the Chronicle’s Executive Leadership Forum, Jeffrey Zaslow spoke about Randy Pausch the Carnegie Mellon professor who was the subject of a Wall Street Journal column last fall.  Zaslow, a Carnegie Mellon alum and reporter for the WSJ, heard about Pausch’s lecture and received permission from his editor to cover it.  At the last minute, he decided to video some of the lecture and post it on the Journal’s website before the article was published.  In true Web 2.0 fashion, the video link was emailed, posted on YouTube and over 30 million people have seen it.

Carnegie Mellon has a tradition of asking professors to deliver a “last lecture,” usually on a hypothetical basis.  In Dr. Pausch’s case, he had received a terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer just weeks before his lecture and had moved his family to the southeastern Virgina area in order to have them closer to his wife’s family.  Zaslow’s column led to Pausch’s appearance on Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, and the Oprah Show.  Ultimately, he and Zaslow penned a book, The Last Lecture, which the publisher arranged to present to all the conference participants.  Pausch dictated the book to Zaslow via cellphone during 53 hour-long bike rides around his neighborhood to maintain his health during chemo.

The Randy Pausch story is inspiring for his life’s story and his advice.  Some colleges have decided to give it to incoming freshmen.  I recommend it to all parents.  Pausch says that he won the parent lottery.  Obviously, he inherited some of those genes.  The world will be a better place if more of us live life like Randy Pausch.

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