Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

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March 2008 Update: The lecture below is over an hour. If you're short on time, Randy gave an abbreviated reprise of the lecture on Oprah, which is only 11 minutes. Watch it.

Recently I attended a talk given by Grady Booch, IBM's self-proclaimed chief mad scientist. In his talk (which was about the future of software), he mentioned a very interesting lecture series from Carnegie Mellon University, first titled the "Last Lecture" (and later changed to the "Journeys" series), which we should all check out. I was interested. The original structure of the series was to have speakers present as though it was the last presentation they'd ever give, and present the material they felt most important.
In September 2007, Randy Pausch, a computer-science faculty member at the university--famous for his work in virtual worlds--spoke on "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." He had been diagnosed several months previous with a terminal pancreatic cancer, and thus this really was the last lecture he would give. Today, I found a copy of that lecture and found it to be wonderful. I though you'd like to see it as well. It is over an hour long, but worth your time to sit down and watch. You'll enjoy it.

Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams (Google Video).

Remember what really matters. It isn't stuff, it isn't prestige, it isn't money. It's how you treat people, what you do for them, and in some form, how they treat you as a result.

This topic, combined with other recent experiences, are driving me to spend more time considering the things that really inspire me, things that motivate me; and to then share them (or at least to document them). Expect more to come.
I like to share what I learn, and I like to learn from others.

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