The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

Over the weekend I had the chance to read the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. The man is a true inspiration, and talks about values that I have seen and learnt from my family and friends as well.

I think every teacher, student and parent (well pretty much everyone) must read the book. It has some really good lessons for life and for living.

He discusses how it’s important to have a clear vision on one’s childhood dreams. Only when you know what you truly want can you work towards achieving it. He supplements various growing-up experience stories to show how one can actually achieve his/her dreams by gaining the right attitude and lessons early on.

He shows how it’s important for parents to impart and imbibe lasting values into their children, and give them as many opportunities to grow as possible. A home filled with love, books and inquisitive/creative discussions is the way to go.

Randy talks about how there are families that have a dictionary at the dinner table, and those that don’t. His had a dictionary at the dinner table (implying pushing the boundaries of discussions each time to include new topics, new words, new ideas).

If you don’t have the time to read the book, do watch Randy’s talk titled “Achieving your childhood dreams” that lead to the book.