Tribute to Randy Pausch

Rescue Rick the Grass Cut Man is an edutainer. I want to take a moment and pay tribute to Randy Pausch.

Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams
(Source: Carnegie Mellon University website http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/)

On September 18, 2007, Carnegie Mellon professor and alumnus Randy Pausch delivered a one-of-a-kind last lecture that made the world stop and pay attention. It became an Internet sensation viewed by millions, an international media story, and a best-selling book that has been published in 35 languages. To this day, people everywhere continue to talk about Randy, share his message and put his life lessons into action in their own lives. Randy died July 25, 2008, at the age of 47.

The Last Lecture Book
(Source: The Last Lecture Book website http://www.thelastlecture.com/index.htm)

A lot of professors give talks titled “The Last Lecture.” Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can’t help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn’t have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave—“Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”—wasn’t about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because “time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think”). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

About Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was a professor of Computer Science, Human Computer Interaction, and Design at Carnegie Mellon University. From 1988 to 1997, he taught at the University of Virginia. He was an award-winning teacher and researcher, and worked with Adobe, Google, Electronic Arts (EA), and Walt Disney Imagineering, and pioneered the non-profit Alice project. (Alice is an innovative 3-D environment that teaches programming to young people via storytelling and interactive game-playing.) He also co-founded The Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon with Don Marinelli. (ETC is the premier professional graduate program for interactive entertainment as it is applies across a variety of fields.) Randy lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008.

How to Lead Your Life

Rescue Rick the Grass Cut Man dreams to find a cure for yard accidents. Like Randy Pausch, I have experienced several brick walls that have contributed to my life journey. I have experienced many character-building experiences that have contributed to the character that I am today, including Rescue Rick the Grass Cut Man. Indeed, I have experienced several head fakes that have impacted my life. Indeed, I have learned deeper lessons under the pretense of learning something simple. Rescue Rick the Grass Cut Man is here today so that yard accidents go away.

Rescue Rick the Grass Cut Man says thank you to Randy Pausch for providing some great life lessons! I look forward to meeting Randy Pausch in Heaven!

Richard T. Mudrinich
Rescue Rick the Grass Cut Man
http://www.rescuerick.com