◦Who is Randy Pausch?

Randy Pausch was a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. According to the description of the video, Randy Pausch was also a virtual reality pioneer, a human-computer interaction researcher, and the co-founder of the Alice software project, which teaches programming concepts through 3-D graphics. In 2006, Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, which tragically led to his death in 2008.

◦What was he known for?

Randy Pausch is well-known for his inspirational lectures and talks that convey life-changing advice with humor and intelligence. One of his lectures, titled ‘Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,’ and the book he co-authored, “The Last Lecture,” attracted a lot of recognition within Carnegie Mellon and beyond. He was especially admired for his lessons on time management and living with purpose.

◦5 points that you liked in his talk.

1. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Pausch emphasized that while someone’s plans might change due to things he can’t control, having one is essential because you can’t adjust what doesn’t exist.
2. If you have to eat three of them, don't start with the small one. He used a metaphor of eating frogs to express that it’s better to face the most unpleasant or difficult task first rather than procrastinating.
3. I liked his explanation of how to structure a To-Do list (Covey’s four quadrants).
4. Making up fake deadlines and classes to keep ourselves productive during gaps we get between classes, assignments, or in life in general.
5. Inspiration is important. Pausch believed that if you refuse to dream, you’ll never achieve. He explained the power of dreams is that they give us just a way to take the first step towards an accomplishment. Then comes how willing we are to put in the effort to make it happen.

Bonus: Thank you cards. They're a very tangible way to tell someone how much you appreciated things. I loved the idea of writing thank you cards. I will try to make a habit of it.