A few months ago, I heard about a remarkable 47-year-old man named Randy Pausch, who is dying of pancreatic cancer. This is the most deadly form of cancer, with only about a 4% survival rate after 5 years. He isn’t remarkable because he has cancer, but rather because he has an amazingly positive attitude despite the knowledge that he is going to die soon. On August 15, 2007, Randy’s doctors told him that they expected him to have only 3-6 months of healthy living remaining. Palliative treatment has extended his life for a few more months. He passed the six-month mark on February 15, 2008, but the cancer is still progressing, and he has been suffering from numerous challenges to his health such as congestive heart failure and kidney failure.
After his diagnosis, he could have given up on life and felt sorry for himself, but instead he has dedicated himself to squeezing every bit of joy out of his remaining days. He is also preparing for his inevitable death by spending as much time as possible with his young children, teaching them as much as he can, and preparing lessons for them that will outlive him, so that they will be able to learn from him after he is gone and when they are old enough to really understand. In the process, he has given us lessons that we all can learn from.
“It seems only right that a place called Dead Man’s Hole should belong to a guy who nearly died – and who, by the way, has no intention of just barely living.”
- Lance Armstrong (Every Second Counts) -
The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy tells us that there is an academic tradition called the “last lecture.” The question is: “Hypothetically, if you knew you were going to die, and you had one last lecture, what would you say to your students?” For Randy, the situation wasn’t hypothetical. He knew he was going to die. So Randy gave his “Last Lecture” on September 18, 2007, and the YouTube video of the lecture quickly became an Internet phenomenon. It is very inspirational and entertaining, and I highly recommend it. In his 76-minute lecture called Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, he talks about how to live your dreams, but in doing so, he also talks about how to live your life. I recommend setting aside some time to watch the whole thing, but if you want to start with something shorter, watch his 11-minute reprisal of his last lecture on Oprah. One of his recommendations that I loved was his recommendation to “Be a Tigger, not an Eeyore.”
“Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life!”
- Bertolt Brecht (The Mother) -
In April, ABC had a special about the “Last Lecture” that includes a powerful interview with Randy and his wife. The ABC special is 41 minutes long, but a lot of it consists of parts of the lecture. If you have already watched the original lecture, you will probably want to skip ahead to the interviews and video clips of him, his wife, and his children. They will really tug at your heartstrings. Randy also gave a 76-minute talk on Time Management. As he says in the video, he is “an authority to talk about what to do with limited time.” He gives some great advice, such as increasing your focus on doing the right things rather than doing things right. As a perfectionist myself, this is something that I am continually making a conscious effort to do. In any case, whether you expect to live only a few months or another 100 years, he has some great advice on time management to share.
Randy’s Book
Randy recently wrote a book called The Last Lecture. I haven’t read this book yet, but I can’t wait to buy it as soon as I have enough points on my credit card to get another Amazon gift certificate (yes, I’m an unabashed book junkie). He wrote the book for his children, but it contains advice that we all can benefit from, such as, “If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, ‘Tell the truth. If I got three more words, I’d add, ‘All the time.’”
Conclusion
You might be wondering why I am writing about life lessons on a website about wealth. The reason is because I don’t want you to wait until you are wealthy to begin really living your life. Don’t put off being happy until you are wealthy. If you think that being wealthy will suddenly make you happy, then you will probably be disappointed. This doesn’t mean that wealth isn’t a worthy pursuit, because wealth opens up possibilities that wouldn’t be available to us otherwise. Wealth can also be an amazing force for good in the world, but it isn’t necessary to being happy. We should focus on enjoying every single day.
Randy has been providing periodic updates on his condition. As of May 2, 2008, his tumors have begun to metastasize to his lungs and the lymph nodes in his chest. Reading through the updates really focuses your attention on how precious our time is. If you don’t have any health problems, it’s easy to take your time on this Earth for granted. The challenge is to stay focused on the present moment instead of always focusing on the past or the future.
“Near-death cleared the decks, and what came after was a bright, sparkling awareness: time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and purpose.”
- Lance Armstrong (Every Second Counts) -
As the old saying goes, live everyday as if it were your last, because one day you will be right.
Carpe diem. Seize the day.
