The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture: Review of an Audio Book That Could Be the Most Important Book you Ever Read!  

There are those books in life that you read, and then they go onto a shelf to collect dust forever…and then there are those books that are meant to be read over and over again.  The Last Lecture is one of those books meant to read over and over.  It’s a book that will teach you lessons about life that you’ll want to be reminded of time after time.  

The tradition behind the last lecture isn’t anything new.  In fact, chosen noted professors have been doing it for years and years.  Basically they’re asked to give a lecture with the assumption that their life was soon to be over, and to reflect on what the most important lessons that they could share would be.  However, by the time that Randy Pausche was asked to give his, those thoughts were already prevalent on his mind.  Not more than a month earlier had he been given the dismal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer…of which there was only a 4% survival rate!  

The book, which was derived and inspired by Randy’s lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, has become a national best seller and most people have the same reaction…that this book is life changing. That the lessons spelled out in Pausche’s book…though really “meant for my children” according to Pausche himself…are viable and lead most readers to dig deep into themselves and realize that they may actually be wasting their own lives a bit.  

The phenomenon pretty much happened by accident for Pausche.  After he gave his speech and it ended up on YouTube, the views began to grow and grow as people began to see the power behind the message and pass it along to friends.  The fact that it was true… that this professor truly was dying… probably helped greatly to popularize it to be honest.  In one interview Pausche says that he “stopped counting after it hit 6 million views”.    

Word spread, Oprah noticed, and then had Randy on her show.  That created an even bigger stir, and eventually Pausche got a multi-million dollar book deal…which has to be a huge relief to him, knowing that his family will be well taken care of.  Not that Pausche hasn’t done pretty darn well for himself already.  He’s been a pioneer in Virtual Reality technology during his years as a professor.   

In fact, one of the leading themes within the book… as well as the title of his original speech is “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”.  Within that theme Randy Pausche describes the attainment of his dream to be an Imagineer for Disney.  He helped with and consulted on much of the technology that created an assortment of their best virtual reality rides including “Pirates of the Caribbean.”  However, in true form of what seems t o be a very integral life and personality, Pausche doesn’t simply tell you that he got to fulfill this – among a few other childhood dreams.  He actually explains the road he took to get there, as well as how he climbed over some of the “brick wall” obstacles that he encountered.   

Pausche will be survived by his lovely wife Jai (pronounced Jay) and their three children ages 5, 3, and 1.  His book is basically a way to let them know what their father was like when they get older.  It’s to help distill the values in them that have apparently done him very well through the years.  The same values and beliefs that have led him to a life where dreams were accomplished, many friends were made, and a launching pad was created by Pausche himself for many others to attain their dreams.  This is another of the underlying themes throughout the speech as well as the book; helping others achieve their dreams.  This is one of those truisms that he believes is imperative to living a full life.  

If one good thing comes out of Randy Pausche’s tragedy…a nasty disease that apparently takes no mercy on the sufferer…is that now an entire world will get to also be instilled with the wisdom and integrity of a man who lived his life with a purpose, whether he realized it at the time or not.  However, it seems that he was taking some pretty careful notes.  

The truth is that with this audio book, you’ll likely find it very useful to have it in your car so that on your way to work on those mornings that you just didn’t want to get up, and didn’t see much reason to do so…you’ll be able to be reminded of all the reasons why you should want to from Randy Pausche.  You’ll also get the bonus of being reminded of some incredible life lessons and wisdom gifted to you by a man selfless enough to share them with the world.  

This book is great for everyone, and if you know a single mother with male children, this would be a great gift to give to that child who doesn’t get to have that male figure in his life.  Then again, even those of us who are lucky enough to have father figures around; most weren’t as meticulous about taking notes as Pausche has been.   

The Last Lecture will be a classic and will inspire readers to pay attention, to appreciate life, and to understand how vital it is to share the wisdom with others.