There is something wonderful about picking up a book randomly and becoming naturally invested in it. I found this one book in the Illinois Leadership Center’s Library (which you should check out), titled “The Last Lecture.” The concept of professors having a “last lecture”, though foreign to me, is quite common evidenced by the introduction. I found myself invested in the story of a husband, father, and professor who made it his mission to deliver his last lecture. This man is Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, who had his future taken from him by terminal pancreatic cancer. He chose to share the joy of his life (with such little of it left) through a lecture titled: “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”
When I first saw this book in the ILC library, I was confused. How is this a story of leadership? I always thought leadership was co-creating a just and caring society through living with integrity and individuality. That's when I began to realize, Randy harnessed his dreams and potential into what we broadly think of as leadership. Through his life experiences, he developed self-awareness, respect, resilience, communication, and highly relevant to his ‘Last Lecture’, influence. When has showing up as the best version of yourself positively impacted others around you? How can you let self-actualization guide how you invite change into your life? And how do you do so before it’s too late?
Randy found joy and success by focusing on his childhood dreams. He had written these on a list when he was young. He met his Star Trek idol and became a Disney Imagineer among numerous other things. His chasing of such dreams and his relaying of them to others is highly influential. Though Randy’s life was cut short, he managed to fill it to the max. As his months left to live lessened, he focused on the lecture. Jai, his wife, encouraged him to spend more time with their young kids. Randy’s opinion was, at their early age, “they won’t remember.” His pursuit of the perfect ‘Last Lecture’ resulted in a phenomenal lecture, performance even if you will. Randy led himself on his path in his final moments, and in turn, led the millions that tuned in to his last lecture. When you work on your goals and dreams, you indirectly impact those around you. He left a lasting memory for his three children, providing them with plentiful life lessons from their father (in a book and in a recorded lecture).
Randy initiated change throughout his life, how will you do the same? Perhaps write down what you want to do in your remaining college years. Start there, and think deeply about what you will do and how you will do it?
