Inspired Read

I am not a big book reader. I much prefer the lighter, shallow, escape fare that magazines offer. However, while we were on vacation and shopping at Costco . . . always a first stop . . . I picked up The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. I had seen parts of his lecture online and had heard good things about this book and wanted to give it a try for an easy beach read. Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and given a short time to live. This book and his last lecture don't focus on his diagnosis, but rather on how he really did live and used the time that he had - up until he passed away this July - to the fullest. I loved it and found it completely inspiring and came away with a desire to be more positive and happy about life. After I was done, Dad read it too, and I would highly recommend it. -Julie

Some of my take-aways from the book are . . .

. . . . "We cannot change the cards we are dealt just how we play the hand."

. . . . "The brick walls are there for a reason, The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

. . . ."I have never found anger to make any situation better"

. . . ."Loyalty is a two-way street, be good at something, it makes you valuable."

. . . . "You know, life is a gift, again, it sounds trite, but if you wait long enough, other people will show you their good side. If there's anything I've learned that is absolutely true. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than you might like. But the onus is on you to keep the hope and keep waiting."

. . . .Watch what they Do, Not what they say:
"I'm aware that Chloe (his 18 month old daughter) may have no memory of me at all. But I want her to grow up knowing that I was the first man ever to fall in love with her. I'd always thought the father/daughter thing was overstated. But I can tell you, sometimes, she looks at me and I just become a puddle." On Dating: "when it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do."

. . . ."Lead your life the right way, and karma will take care of itself"

. . . . "Go out and do for others what somebody did for you".