What I learned

Randy Pausch...a year ago I did not know who he was. Most people didn't. Isn't that always the way it is? A man or woman who is so brilliant, so captivating, and yet few beyond their inner circle get to experience their brightness until tragedy strikes. So was the circumstance of Dr. Pausch. Now he is gone. His words however, will last for many lifetimes to come.

I have watched his lectures, those which he is now most famous for, several times. They are full of wisdom, wit and grace. And he has left a lasting impression on me with several of his dying thoughts and confirmed some others I already knew.

Find your passion he says! And he is most passionate and absolutely adamant when he says, "you will not find it in things...you will not find it in money." For he tells us, if that is what you chose to measure yourself by, there will always be those who have more than you and you will always be disappointed. Find your passion in people he advises. So wise for a man so young!

"Brick walls are there for a reason...they let us prove how badly we want things." And often

times we may end up with bruises because we have run into that wall once or twice or even three or four times trying to get over it. But OMG the satisfaction once we have scaled that wall!

And finally, "Don't bail. The best of the gold is at the bottom of the barrel of crap." Though Dr. Pausch had many, many things to say, I will hold this one dear. When the last bit of tenacity has left me and I have no more energy for whatever task is at hand, I will think of the good Dr. and his short but profound journey, hoping he and his family found whatever gold they could through all the crap in their barrel and then dive into my own barrel of crap and dig a little deeper.