Inspirations

Randy Pausch

How to really achieve your childhood dreams.


Randy’s famous Last Lecture, titled How to Really Achieve Your Childhood Dreams, has been watched tens of millions of times and has inspired millions of people to rethink their lives. It’s impossible not to tear up a little bit during the talk or walk away not feeling like he has personally called on us to step up our game.

I loved his book The Last Lecture and I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen his videos. You can watch his lecture below and enjoy some of his quotes as well. I hope you enjoy them and take Randy’s humble advice to really achieve your childhood dreams.

Great quotes from Randy

  • Did you figure out the head fake? It’s not about how to achieve your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.
  • It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed. It is the things we do not. Find your passion and follow it. And if there is anything that I have learned in life, you will not find that passion in things. And you will not find that passion in money. Because the more things and the more money you have, the more you will just look around and use that as the metric — and there will always be someone with more. Your passion must come from the things that fuel you from the inside. That passion will be grounded in people. It will be grounded in the relationships you have with people and what they think of you when your time comes.
  • Focus on other people, not on yourself.
  • Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories. And they will figure out how those stories apply to them.
  • Advice to his daughter, on dating boysIgnore everything they say and just pay attention to what they do. Because if you do that, you’re not going to make all the big mistakes.
  • Find the best in everybody.
  • If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, “tell the truth.” If I got three more words, I’d add: “All the time.”
  • Did you figure out the second head fake? This talk’s not for you. It’s for my kids.

Randy’s wonderful Last Lecture

Carnegie Mellon’s official recording, September 18, 2007. More on the talk itself, with background and excerpts, in Great Speeches.

Read more

Coming 2027 The Daily Optimist

366 meditations on gratitude, kindness, and the people who inspire us — one true story or quote a day. Many of the people on this shelf will be in it.

Read a sample & get notified →

← All inspirations