“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”—Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch delivered his “Last Lecture”, titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams“, at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007. This talk was modeled after an ongoing series of lectures where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical “final talk”, i.e., “what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?”

On September 19, 2006, Pausch underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy to remove the malignant tumor from his pancreas. In August 2007, after doctors discovered that the cancer had recurred, Pausch was given a terminal diagnosis and was told to expect a remaining three to six months of good health.

Randy Pausch later expanded on his last lecture speech into a book format, co-authored with Jeffrey Zaslow. | Order on Last Lecture on Amazon.