Randy Pausch Quotes - Page 7

Remember how quickly our field [computer science] changes. That's why you want to focus on learning things that don't change: how to work well with other people, how to carefully assess a client's real - as opposed to perceived - needs, and things like that.

I have never thought of writing as hard work, but I have worked hard to find a voice.

He had high hopes for society, and though his hopes were too often dashed, he remained a raging optimist.

I know that people in research labs can do miraculous things if they're given the resources.

until you got ice cream spilled on you, you’re not doing field work

I’d compare college tuition to paying for a personal trainer at an athletic club. We professors play the roles of trainers, giving people access to the equipment (books, labs, our expertise) and after that, it is our job to be demanding.

Throughout my academic career, I'd given some pretty good talks. But being considered the best speaker in the computer science department is like being known as the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs.

I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left.

To be cliché, death is a part of life and it's going to happen to all of us. I have the blessing of getting a little bit of advance notice and I am able to optimize my use of time down the home stretch.

Randy Pausch on time management: Here's what I know: Time must be explicitly managed, like money. You can always change your plan, but only if you have one. Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things? Develop a good filing system. Rethink the telephone. Delegate. Take a time out. Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.

Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity.

I don't believe in the no-win scenario

It's interesting, the secrets you decide to reveal at the end of your life.

Whatever news we get about the scans, I’m not going to die when we hear it. I won’t die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I’m enjoying it.” I thought about that, and about Jai’s smile. I knew then. That’s the way the rest of my life would need to be lived.

Be good at something. It makes you valuable.

We need to make sure our students are exerting themselves. We need to praise them when they deserve it and to tell them honestly when they have it in them to work harder.

I feel like I'm waiting on something that isn't going to happen Don't complain; just work harder.

It's a thrill to fulfill your own childhood dreams, but as you get older, you may find that enabling the dreams of others is even more fun.

Develop a good filing system.

Earnestness is highly underestimated. It comes from the core, while hip is trying to impress you on the surface.

Time must be explicitly managed, like money.

If I was able to tell my story with the passion I felt, my lecture might help others find a path to fulfilling their own dreams.

Often think of the worst-case scenario, the "Eaten By Wolves" factor.

The great thing about working out at a gym is that if you put in effort, you get very obvious results. The same should be true of college. A professor’s job is to teach students how to see their minds growing in the same way they can see their muscles grow when they look in a mirror.