photo.awareness

30 Profound Lessons Randy Pausch Taught Us When They Told Him He Had 6 Months To Live

Because our time is limited, but our ability is not. 
Heidi Priebe
June 17, 2016
“I’m going to find a way to be happy, and I’d really love to be happy with you, but if I can’t be happy with you, then I’ll find a way to be happy without you.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Happiness, Love, Self-Sufficiancy, Being Alone, Alone, Relationships, Self-Worth, Empowering
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Work, Success, Luck, Opportunity
“Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: People, Change, Love
“When there’s an elephant in the room, introduce him.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Awkwardness, Embarrassment
“Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories and they will figure out how those stories apply to them.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Stories, Writing, Creativity, Self-Expression
“The questions are always more important than the answers.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Questioning, ENFP, Exploration, Understanding, Life, Growth, The Unknown
“The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Determination, Perserverance
“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Fate, Destiny, Chance, Working With What You've Got
“When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it’s really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Love, romance, Dating, Men, Girl Who Cares Too Much
“If I only had three words of advice, they would be, Tell the Truth. If I got three more words, I'd add, all the time.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Truth, Genuineness, Honesty
“If you took one tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Problems, Complaining, Solving Problems, Overcoming Obstacles
“Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Passion, Karma, Dreams, Idealism
“People are more important than things.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: People, Connection, Love, Community, Materialism
“You can always change you plan, but only if you have one.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Planning, Planning Ahead, Having A Plan, Change
“Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Experience, Desire, Failure
“The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Time, Life
“It's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you get hit...and keep moving forward.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Failure, perseverance, strength, Moving Forward
“No job is beneath you.

You ought to be thrilled you got a job in the mailroom And when you get there, here's what you do: Be really great at sorting mail.

If you can't (or won't) sort mail, where is the proof that you can do anything?”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: perseverance, Perspective, Gratitude, Working Hard
“The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Failure, Success, strength
“I’ve never understood pity and self-pity as an emotion. We have a finite amount of time. Whether short or long, it doesn’t matter. Life is to be lived.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Self-Pity, Life, Living
“Want to have a short phone call with someone? Call them at 11:55 a.m., right before lunch. They'll talk fast. You may think you are interesting, but you are not more interesting than lunch.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Time Management, Work
“Just because you're in the driver's seat, doesn't mean you have to run people over.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Control
“Not everything needs to be fixed.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Problems, Moving On, Fixing Problems
“Proper apologies have three parts:

1) What I did was wrong.
2) I feel badly that I hurt you.
3) How do I make this better?”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Apologies, Apologizing
“If you can find an opening, you can probably find a way to float through it.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: ENTP, ENFP, Finding An In, Determination
“You don't beat the grim reaper by living longer; you beat the grim reaper by living better.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Life, Death, Living Fully
“If you offer wisdom from a third party, it seems less arrogant and more acceptable.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Wisdom, Advice, Offering Advice
“When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Critics, Criticism, Messing Up, Failure
“If you've done something wrong in your dealings with another person, it's as if there's an infection in your relationship. A good apology is like an antibiotic ; a bad apology is like rubbing salt in the wound.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Apologizing, Apologies, Saying Sorry
“Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true.”
— Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture
Tagged: Asking, Dreams, Asking for what you want