Dr. Randy Pausch might never achieve lasting fame. Maybe he thought of it; he likely never expected it. He was an accomplished professor at Carnegie Mellon University, an innovator in virtual reality, a husband and father of three. But if he is remembered by posterity, it will be in large part due to the terminal diagnosis of pancreatic cancer he received, and the courage and optimism with which he fought the condition that killed him on July 25, 2008.

On September 18, 2007, Dr. Pausch gave a lecture at Carnegie Mellon University as part of what was traditionally known as the "Last Lecture" series. The topic of the lecture was expected to center around the hypothetical question, "If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be?" Dr. Pausch gave an inspirational lecture on really achieving your childhood dreams which became a viral YouTube video, led to appearances on Oprah and other shows, and gave the professor the world stage to teach and inspire those who would remain after he was gone.

Inspire is exactly what Dr. Pausch did. Told in August 2007 he had three to six months of good health remaining, Dr. Pausch set out to live each moment to its fullest. In addition to giving his "last lecture," Dr. Pausch appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show on October 22, 2007. He gave additional lectures at Carnegie Mellon, participated in a practice with the Pittsburg Steelers, was the subject of an hour-long documentary on ABC, had a small role in J.J. Abrams's Star Trek movie reboot, and co-wrote a book based upon his viral "last lecture." While Dr. Pausch had no trouble filling an entire book with the wisdom he gained from his life experiences, here are a few of the highlights from his last lecture:

1) "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."

2) "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."

3) "The best gift an educator can give is to get somebody to become self-reflective."

Dr. Pausch shares many more pearls of wisdom both in his lecture and his book.

And while he was giving speeches, fulfilling dreams, receiving honors, and inspiring others, Dr. Pausch was also sharing his treatments and condition on a "day-to-day update page" on his CMU website which remains there eight years later. Dr. Pausch outlived the prognosis of three-to-six months of good heath which he was given, and almost until the end, he had people convinced through his positive attitude and impressive itinerary that pancreatic cancer was just another brick wall he was going to knock down with sheer determination. In his lecture, Dr. Pausch explained that his mother would often introduce him by saying, "This is my son. He's a doctor but not the kind that helps people." Whether or not she was joking (and even assuming such), one must wonder if she ever truly realized how wrong she was.

http://www.presentoutlook.com/

Randal is a freelance writer, genealogist, and Kentucky Colonel. He is also currently Commander of the Department of Missouri, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.