Analysis of The Last Lecture

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            It is not often a person has the knowledge of his mortality in a manner which allows him to develop and deliver a final message to the world in which he sums up the insights realized by him during his lifetime. But such is the case with Randy Pausch when he delivered what he entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” on September 18, 2007 in the auditorium of Carnegie Mellon University to an audience of over 400 students and staff members. He gave a 1-1/2 hour lecture as part of a lecture series by top academics in which they were asked what wisdom they would impart to the world if it was their last chance. The startling difference here was that this really was his last chance.

            Prof. Pausch opened his speech and immediately gained everyone’s attention by acknowledging what he called “the elephant in the room” – a slide of his CT scan showing the metastases of his pancreatic cancer and the diagnosis he received last month giving him 3-6 months of quality life remaining. This also served to create a need situation for the audience. This really was the last lecture of a respected professor and the audience had one chance to hear what this man felt were the most important things he had learned in his life – tidbits of wisdom that would hopefully be important and helpful to them as they go through life.

            Throughout this speech the audience is given the satisfaction that they need. Randy’s speech is replete with ingots of wisdom to live by and he explains his reasons for his advice and how each has impacted his own life. He overcomes objections and uses many examples where he has accomplished following his dreams and living his life fully in spite of struggles and adversity. There is enough variety and broad-reaching topics to interest and apply to most everyone in the audience personally. As a participant, you come away feeling that you definitely received what you came to hear – and then some.

            Prof. Pausch uses many visualization techniques to draw in the audience. He asks people to imagine what their life would be like if they don’t follow their dreams. He gives examples where he hit brick walls and stumbling blocks on his path to dream realization. He describes in great detail and with great flourish the pride and pleasure of achievement as well as the disappointment of failure.

            The speech format is one of historical dimension. Prof. Pausch starts the lecture with his childhood dreams and moves forward through his life and his many experiences until he reaches the present. The key points are emphasized with Power Point slides and often presented as a quotation to be remembered. I think the best phrase in the speech is “It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself; the dreams will come to you.” This statement alone is enough to make one evaluate their life and if they are being true to whom they are.

            There were so many episodes of vivid appeal. The opening sections with the CT scans were very sobering. The birthday surprise for his wife brought the overall situation back with blinding clarity. And the glimpses of his emotion and humanity bring you right into the moment.

            Prof. Pausch’s strongest skill in delivery is the very casual manner in which he is able to give his speech. He injects a lot of humor along with the reality. None of the speech seems rehearsed – he seems to be speaking to each person individually and telling his story to them. There was not discussion period, but this did not seem to detract from the speech in any way. As an example, I do not see any skill that needs improvement.

            As a result of this speech, I regularly evaluate if I am living my life to my highest ideals, or just going through the motions. I also have a better perspective on obstacles and let downs. I learned that there is a healthy way to look at death and our time here on Earth. And lastly I learned that there are so many people out there who yearn for the messages presented by Prof. Pausch. This is an amazing speech and I highly recommend it for absolutely everyone.

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