Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
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"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" (also called "The Last Lecture") was a
lecture A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical inform ...
given by
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
professor
Randy Pausch Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was an American educator, a professor of computer science, human–computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pausch learn ...
on September 18, 2007, that received widespread media coverage, and was the basis for ''
The Last Lecture ''The Last Lecture'' is a 2008 ''New York Times'' best-selling book co-authored by Randy Pausch —a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and Jeffrey ...
'', a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' best-selling book co-authored with ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reporter
Jeffrey Zaslow Jeffrey Lloyd Zaslow (October 6, 1958 – February 10, 2012) was an American author and journalist and a columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal''. Zaslow was widely known as a coauthor of books, and was also the sole author of numerous books ...
. Pausch had been diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
in September 2006. On September 19, 2006, Pausch underwent a
pancreaticoduodenectomy A pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as a Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation most often performed to remove cancerous tumours from the head of the pancreas. It is also used for the treatment of pancreatic or duodenal trauma, or chro ...
to remove the malignant tumor from his pancreas. In August 2007, doctors discovered that the cancer had recurred. Pausch was given a terminal diagnosis and told to expect that three to six months of good health remained. The lecture was upbeat and humorous, alternating between wisecracks, insights on computer science and engineering education, advice on building multi-disciplinary collaborations, working together with other people, offering inspirational life lessons, and performing push-ups on stage. Pausch commented on the irony that the "Last Lecture" series had recently been renamed "Journeys": "I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it."Ramit Plushnick-Masti,
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(July 25, 2008). "Prof whose 'last lecture' became a sensation dies," ''
The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''
After Pausch finished his lecture, Steve Seabolt, on behalf of
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
, which was collaborating with CMU in the development of Alice 3.0, pledged to honor Pausch by creating a memorial scholarship for women in computer science, in recognition of Pausch's support and mentoring of women in CS and engineering. Professor Pausch's "Last Lecture" has received attention and recognition both from American media and news sources worldwide. The video of the speech became an internet sensation, viewed over a million times within its first month on
social networking site A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
s such as
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
,
Google video Google Video was a free video hosting service launched by the multinational technology company Google on January 25, 2005. Similar to YouTube, this platform allowed video clips to be hosted on Google servers and embedded on to other websites ...
, MySpace, and
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
. Randy Pausch gave an abridged version of his speech on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'' in October 2007. On April 9, 2008, the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
network aired an hour-long
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
feature on Pausch entitled "The Last Lecture: A Love Story For Your Life". Four days after his death from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
aired a tribute to Pausch, remembering his life and his famous lecture.


Background


Previous lectures

Pausch was known for some previous lectures. He had been associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
's School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1997 and 1998, and also worked for
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
as an imagineer and for
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
. At the University of Virginia, he gave a lecture on the importance of making technology more user friendly, in which he made his point by showing a
VCR A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recording. ...
(video cassette recorder) that was hard to program and then smashing it with a
sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, often metal head, attached to a long handle. The long handle combined with a heavy head allows the sledgehammer to gather momentum during a swing and apply a large force compared to hammers designed t ...
. He was also known for a lecture on
time management Time management is the process of planning and exercising conscious control of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity. It involves of various demands upon a person relating to Employme ...
which he delivered in 1998 at the
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
, and again in 2007. "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" was the first lecture of the nine part "Journeys" series presented by Carnegie Mellon, which included speakers
Raj Reddy Dabbala Rajagopal "Raj" Reddy (born 13 June 1937) is an Indian-American computer scientist and a winner of the Turing Award. He is one of the early pioneers of artificial intelligence and has served on the faculty of Stanford and Carnegie Mello ...
,
Jay Apt Jerome "Jay" Apt III, Ph.D. (born April 28, 1949 in Massachusetts) is an American astronaut and professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Before he became an astronaut, Apt was a physicist who worked on the Pioneer Venus 1978 space probe project, a ...
, and
Jared Cohon Jared Leigh Cohon (born October 7, 1947) served as the eighth president of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. he is a University Professor in the Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering. He holds a BS in Civ ...
, the university president. The lecture series focused on university staff member's professional journeys and the decisions and challenges they faced.


Terminal cancer

Pausch was a
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
patient when he gave the lecture. In an interview, Pausch stated that he had felt bloated, and discovered that he had a cancerous tumor when doctors performed a CT Scan to check for
gallstones A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of migr ...
. He underwent
pancreaticoduodenectomy A pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as a Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation most often performed to remove cancerous tumours from the head of the pancreas. It is also used for the treatment of pancreatic or duodenal trauma, or chro ...
surgery (the "Whipple procedure") to remove the cancerous tumor, which later proved unsuccessful. The doctors removed his
gall bladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, although ...
, parts of his
small intestine The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through the p ...
, a third of his pancreas, and part of his stomach, and then initiated experimental
radiation treatment Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...
that could possibly increase his chance of surviving 5 years, to 45 percent. Pausch had radiation treatments from November 2006 to May 2007, and felt healthy after finishing. In July and August, tests at
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
found no cancer. However, in late August, Pausch informed readers of his website that his cancer had returned, saying: "A recent CT scan showed that there are 10 tumors in my liver, and my spleen is also peppered with small tumors. The doctors say that it is one of the most aggressive recurrences they have ever seen." The doctors estimated Pausch had three to six months of good health left. Pausch based the lecture on the generic "Last Lecture" given by some professors, imagining what one would say and what one would want their legacy to be if they could have one last chance to share their knowledge with the world. Carnegie Mellon had previously had a lecture series titled the "Last Lecture", but had renamed it to "Journeys", and asked staff to talk about their professional experiences. Pausch was offered the lecture around the time when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and had received news that he only had months left to live. Pausch nearly cancelled the lecture due to his disease, but discussed the offer with his wife and decided to accept the opportunity to share his thoughts with the world. Pausch compared it to the final scene of ''
The Natural ''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mo ...
'', in which the character Roy Hobbs overcomes injury and old age to hit one final
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
.


Speech inspiration

Before Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he had planned to base his lecture on the generic academic "Last Lecture", but he could not think of a subject. He was constantly being e-mailed by speech and event organizers at Carnegie Mellon. Pausch was told in August, a month before the lecture, that a poster must be printed and he needed to choose a subject immediately. The same week, he was told that the prognosis for his pancreatic cancer was terminal. Pausch nearly canceled the lecture. He had to decide whether to make the speech, or to stay home to prepare his family for life without him. His wife Jai requested that Pausch stay at home. She wanted Pausch to be spending more time with their three children, instead of giving a speech at his workplace. Pausch decided on the speech, explaining that his children would remember him through seeing his lecture.


Speech

"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" was delivered on September 18, 2007, at Carnegie Mellon University's McConomy Auditorium. Over 450 Carnegie Mellon students, staff members, and friends of Pausch attended the lecture, leaving standing room only. Pausch later commented in an interview, "A couple of hundred people in a room, looking and listening and laughing and applauding – hopefully at the appropriate times – that gives a lot of validation to my kids that a lot of people believe in this, and a lot of people who knew me believe that I did my best to try to live this way." The introduction to the lecture series was given by Indira Nair, the Vice Provost for Education at Carnegie Mellon. Nair explained the series was called "Journeys", in which eight more professors from Carnegie Mellon would share their insights over the years. Pausch was introduced by Steve Seabolt, the Vice President of Worldwide Publishing and Marketing at
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
, as well as Pausch's close friend and former co-worker. Seabolt began with a joke about Electronic Arts, and another joke about a bet he and Pausch had made about how many people would attend the lecture, saying that "...depending upon whose version of the story you hear, he either owes me 20 dollars or his new Volkswagen." Seabolt next talked about Pausch's academic achievements and previous career with the University of Virginia and Electronic Arts. Seabolt concluded his introduction by describing Pausch, saying that "Randy's dedication to making the world a better place is self evident to anyone who has crossed paths with him." He described how his accomplishments had affected others, as well as his wife and three children. Seabolt then turned the speech over to Pausch, who was greeted with a standing ovation. As Pausch walked on, he tried to stop the applause and get the audience to sit down, and begin the speech by commenting "make me earn it", to which one member of the audience responded "you did". He then commented on the irony of his "last lecture" in a series that used to be the "Last Lecture" series, but was renamed "Journeys": "It's wonderful to be here. What Indira didn’t tell you is that this lecture series used to be called the 'Last Lecture'. If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be? I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it." Pausch explained having pancreatic cancer and only having 3 to 6 months to live, but joked that he was in the best shape of his life (and "better than most of you 'the audience''), proceeding to do a series of
push-ups The push-up (sometimes called a press-up in British English) is a common calisthenics exercise beginning from the prone position. By raising and lowering the body using the arms, push-ups exercise the pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterio ...
on stage while speaking. Pausch said what he would not cover in the lecture, which included his family and children, religion, spirituality, and his terminal cancer or any other cancer.


Pausch's childhood dreams

Pausch went on to explain his childhood dreams and how he accomplished (or tried to accomplish) them. Pausch described his childhood and family life in the 1960s. Pausch said that he had a "really good childhood", and, when going back through his family photographs, had not found a picture of him not smiling. Some of the pictures were projected as slides, including one of him dreaming. He explained how he was inspired by the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
lunar landing in 1969. Pausch then transitioned to a slide which contained a list of his childhood dreams. They were: being in
zero gravity Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G. Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fie ...
, playing in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, being the author of a ''
World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...
'' article, being
Captain Kirk James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the '' Star Trek'' media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actor William Shatner, Kirk first appeared in '' Star Trek'' serving aboard the starship USS ''Enterprise'' as captain. Kirk lea ...
, being "one of the guys who won the big stuffed animals in the amusement park", and becoming a
Disney Imagineer Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and att ...
. Pausch explained his dream of being in zero gravity. As a child, this had been inspired by Apollo 11, and had stayed with him as an adult. When he was the computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, he learned of a
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
program that allows college students to fly in NASA's
vomit comet A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots. Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NAS ...
, which uses
parabolic arc Parabolic usually refers to something in a shape of a parabola, but may also refer to a parable. Parabolic may refer to: *In mathematics: **In elementary mathematics, especially elementary geometry: **Parabolic coordinates **Parabolic cylindrical ...
s to experience near-weightlessness. Faculty members were not allowed to go (Pausch called this a "brick wall" he faced), so he presented himself as a web journalist, because local media were allowed. Pausch proceeded to talk about his second childhood dream, playing in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. Although Pausch was never a player in the National Football League, he spoke about his childhood experiences with
Pop Warner Football Pop Warner Little Scholars, commonly known simply as Pop Warner, is a nonprofit organization that provides activities such as American football, for over 425,000 youths aged 5 to 16 years old, in several nations. It is the largest youth footbal ...
and how they had affected his life and taught him lessons. Pausch then moved on to his dream of publishing an article in the ''World Book Encyclopedia''. As a child, Pausch always kept and read a ''World Book Encyclopedia'' at home. As he progressed in his career, he became a leading expert in the field of virtual reality. ''World Book'' contacted Pausch, interested in him writing for the encyclopedia. , the article "virtual reality" in the ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is the one authored by Pausch. Next, Pausch explained his dream of being like Captain Kirk from the ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' series, with the slide showing "''Being like Meeting Captain Kirk''". Pausch explained that he realized that there were some things he just could not do, and that was one of them. He eventually changed the goal into meeting
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
, the actor who played Captain Kirk. Shatner had written a book on the science of ''Star Trek'', and had gone to Pausch for help with the virtual reality section of the book. Pausch met and worked with Shatner for this purpose. Pausch concluded the section with the story of his becoming an Imagineer at Disney, as well as his achieving the goal of "being one of those guys who wins stuffed animals", at a carnival with his wife and children.


Enabling the dreams of others

After relating his childhood dreams, Pausch began the second part of his speech, about how he enabled the dreams of others. He decided to become a professor, and reflected that there was no better job to enable the childhood dreams of others. He mentioned that working for Electronic Arts was "probably a close second". Pausch told the audience that he realized he could enable the dreams of others from Tommy Burnett, one of his students at the University of Virginia. Burnett was interested in joining Pausch's research group. Pausch asked Burnett what his childhood dream was, and he responded that his dream was to work on the next ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' film. Burnett worked on Pausch's virtual reality team while at the University of Virginia, and Pausch helped Burnett to achieve his dream. When Pausch moved to Carnegie Mellon, his entire team moved with him except Burnett, who had been offered a job by
Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
(the creator of ''Star Wars''). He eventually worked with Lucasfilm on three ''Star Wars'' films: ''
The Phantom Menace ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', ''
Attack of the Clones Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * '' Attack No. 1'', comic ...
'', and ''
Revenge of the Sith Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
''. This led Pausch to teach a virtual reality class at Carnegie Mellon, to help them realize their childhood dreams. In the course, 50 students from the university were separated into random teams of four which were each assigned a project to build a virtual world. Each group had two weeks to work on the project, and then presented it to the group. The teams were then reshuffled and a new project began. The project evolved to draw an audience, and helped his students realize their potential. Finally, Pausch gave a few words of advice on how others could achieve their childhood dreams, and who his role models were.


Conclusion

After Pausch finished his lecture, Steve Seabolt, on behalf of
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
, which collaborated with Carnegie Mellon in the development of Alice 3.0, pledged to honor Pausch by creating a memorial scholarship for women in computer science in recognition of Pausch's support and mentoring of women in CS and engineering. University president
Jared Cohon Jared Leigh Cohon (born October 7, 1947) served as the eighth president of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. he is a University Professor in the Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering. He holds a BS in Civ ...
called his contributions to the university and to education "remarkable and stunning". He then announced that Carnegie Mellon would build a pedestrian bridge named for Pausch in honor of his contributions to the university and to the world. The bridge connected Carnegie Mellon's new Computer Science building and the Center for the Arts, a symbol of the way Pausch linked those two areas. Finally, Brown University professor
Andries van Dam Andries "Andy" van Dam (born December 8, 1938) is a Dutch-American professor of computer science and former vice-president for research at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Together with Ted Nelson he contributed to the first hyper ...
followed Pausch's last lecture with a tearful and impassioned speech praising him for his courage and leadership, calling him a role model.


Post-speech media coverage

Pausch was named "Person of the Week" on ABC's
World News with Charles Gibson ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting ...
on September 21. His "Last Lecture" attracted wide attention on international media, became an internet hit, and was viewed over a million times within its first month. On October 22, 2007, Pausch appeared on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime broadcast syndication, syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicag ...
'', where he discussed his diagnosis and recapped his "Last Lecture" for millions of TV viewers. On October 6, 2007, Pausch joined the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
for their regular practice, after the organization learned that one of his childhood dreams mentioned in his "Last Lecture" was to play in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. A devoted ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' fan, Pausch was invited by
film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced such films as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' F ...
to film a scene in the latest ''Star Trek'' movie. Abrams heard of Pausch's disease and sent a personal e-mail inviting Pausch to the set. Pausch happily accepted and traveled to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to shoot the scene. In his appearance he was given a line of
dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
and donated his $217.06 paycheck to charity. On April 9, 2008, the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
network aired an hour-long
Diane Sawyer Lila Diane Sawyer (; born December 22, 1945) is an American television broadcast journalist known for anchoring major programs on two networks including ''ABC World News Tonight'', '' Good Morning America'', ''20/20'', and '' Primetime'' newsmag ...
feature on Pausch entitled "The Last Lecture: A Love Story For Your Life". On July 29, 2008,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
aired a follow up to the Last Lecture special, memorializing Pausch.


Book

The
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
-owned publisher Hyperion paid $6.7 million for the rights to publish a book about Pausch called ''
The Last Lecture ''The Last Lecture'' is a 2008 ''New York Times'' best-selling book co-authored by Randy Pausch —a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and Jeffrey ...
'', co-authored by Pausch and ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' reporter
Jeffrey Zaslow Jeffrey Lloyd Zaslow (October 6, 1958 – February 10, 2012) was an American author and journalist and a columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal''. Zaslow was widely known as a coauthor of books, and was also the sole author of numerous books ...
. ''The Last Lecture'' explained Pausch's speech, and the events that led up to it. According to Robert Miller, a publisher for Hyperion Books, the book would "flesh out his speech" and show others "how to deal with mortality" and how to live well while death is imminent. The book was well-received, eventually earning the number one spot on the
New York Times bestseller list ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
in the "Advice" category during the week of June 22, 2008. The book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 80 straight weeks.


Notes


References

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External links


Randy Pausch delivers "The Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University, Sept 18, 2007 (YouTube)

"The Last Lecture: A Love Story For Your Life"
ABC Special aired April 9, 2008 ( subtitles: English, German
Randy Pausch explaining his motivation behind the "Last Lecture" and book
( subtitles: English, German
Randy Pausch
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at Carnegie Mellon University {{good article Carnegie Mellon University Viral videos 2007 speeches 2007 in Pennsylvania September 2007 events in the United States