Learn From Randy Pausch: There Isn`t Much Time Left!

Well, I don`t know if that`s true for you exactly, but one thing is certain: one day in the future - could be decades in the future, could be next week - it will be your (and my) last day on earth.

Think of how it would feel if you knew when that day was: would you feel sad? Rushing to get things done? A bit of both?

There`s a guy who knew, more or less, when that day was coming. He was called Randy Pausch and he was a professor of computer science at a university in Pennsylvania. A very popular guy, with a wife he loved and three small children. So far, so American Dream, right?

Until August 2006, that was. That`s when he found out that he had pancreatic cancer, which later moved to other parts of his body. The following August, knowing it was terminal and that there`d be no miracle recovery, his doctor gave him three to six more months of health. He lasted a further eleven months after that.

If you`d been in his position, what would you have done with your remaining time? How would you have reacted to someone telling you your fantastic life was about to end? I`d like to think I`d be noble and productive if that happened to me, but a little voice in my head is telling me it`s more likely I`d be self-pitying and, bizarrely, suicidal.

Randy Pausch isn`t known where I`m writing from, in the UK, but became famous in the US in September 2007 when he did a `Last Lecture` at his university entitled `Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams`. He stood in front of several hundred students, everyone in the room knowing he only had a few months left, and delivered an hour-long speech about life lessons. How to live your life and how to spend your time here.

It wasn`t corny, it wasn`t inappropriately sentimental; the first thing he did was address the fact that he was dying and knew it. He didn`t talk about pioneering treatment giving possible cures, religion or life after death (which was okay with me; I wouldn`t have bothered watching if there had been), just a lecture from the heart about what was really important in life.

The whole of the lecture is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo and investing an hour of your time watching it could be a good move. What strikes me watching it is the lack of self-pity he feels. Which isn`t to say he isn`t a little bit angry about the situation; I mean, wouldn`t you be? But he realises that life is a lottery and sometimes `It Could Be You!` doesn`t quite carry the meaning you might hope for. He also brought out a book based on the contents of the lecture.

The thing is, though, we`re *all* like Randy. He knew that his time was coming up and knew he only had a certain number of weeks to live in which he had to make sure his wife and children would be okay after he was gone.

We`re all in the same position, though. In 100 years none of us (barring something pretty special from the scientists who believe they can find ways to make us live forever) will be around and none of us will be remembered. So we`ve got to make the best of what we have, right here, right now!

That`s what I keep telling myself every Monday morning, anyway...

About The Author:
Daniel O`Connor is a top freelance business writer based in the UK. See his 100% satisfaction-guaranteed website's copywriter profile. He`s worked for some of the biggest companies and organisations in the world -- including NTT and Mitsubishi Electric, not to mention the 1998 Olympic Winter Games -- as well as some of the smallest. And he can do a job for you, too. Daniel is supremely qualified at explaining complicated things in a simple way. There`s nothing you can throw at him that he won`t have dealt with before. Because it`s all about one thing: the words. The right words for you and your business. Blog articles. SEO for websites. Direct marketing. White papers. Flyer advertising. You want words? Daniel O`Connor has words. Want to try out his writing before getting in touch? Check out his business blog. See this article in its original context and many others by going to the Articles section of Daniboy`s website.