Brick Walls

"Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things."
-- Prof Randy Paunch

I normally don't do blog posts like this. Many of you have noted (or complained) of my typical 3rd person writing style in Dauber's World. I wanted to share something with all of you that really touched me -- Randy Paunch's last lecture that has been making it's way all over the internet. Many Universities today have "last lecture" series where professors give a hypothetical last lecture that they would give if it was the last lecture they had to give. Unfortunately in Randy's case this wasn't a hypothetical talk. He was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer last August and he gave his lecture in September. He was given 3-6 months to live, but he's managed to fight off the cancer for a little while longer. Since giving the lecture he moved his family back to Virginia so his wife could be near her family to help her raise their three children after he dies.

The lecture is long (75 minutes), but well worth it. If you're really in a rush at least watch the last ~10 minutes. Here's a link to the whole speech.

I don't want to say too much about the lecture itself -- I can't aptly describe it. I'll just say that he focuses on three topics: his childhood dreams, how you can help others achieve their dreams and the lessons he's learned in the course of his life.