As 2024 approached, my husband realized he hadn’t read a single book all year (though he enjoys articles and news). Scrolling through the library app, he discovered “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow.
A few years ago, I’d seen the recorded video of Randy Pausch’s last lecture. A highly successful professor diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Pausch poured his heart into his book and final lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. He aimed not only to share how he achieved his childhood dreams but also to leave meaningful life lessons for his three very young children, who wouldn’t have many memories with him. Since my husband could not put the book down, I decided to read too.
Reading the book was an emotional journey. Each page served as a reminder of life’s fragility and the importance of cherishing every moment. Pausch’s story, about dreaming big and achieving them made me re-evaluate my dreams and goals. His accomplishments inspired me. Even while battling illness, his energy and determination in delivering his last lecture for his students and community were truly amazing.
He also helped me to see what we are doing wrong at work with his sentence “ Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.” I felt like this is what we did last year during my project 😊. Now I know more than ever that less is more because I believe we accomplished more results with fewer people in my project this year.
I highly recommend both the book and the last lecture video. They serve as powerful reminders that life is short. We should strive to make the most of it, just as Randy Pausch did by sharing his inspirational story with the world during his last days.
I’m a Project Manager with a deep passion for both professional and personal growth. Designing and building the next generation of vehicles is incredibly rewarding, but it comes with its challenges—especially for someone as emotionally invested as I am!