100 Best Randy Pausch Quotes From The Author Of 'The Last Lecture'
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Dr. Randy Pausch was a writer and computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
In 2006, the professor found out he had pancreatic cancer. He then started co-authoring the book, 'The Last Lecture'.
When the professor found out that he only had a few months to live, he gave a last lecture at the university he was teaching and it became hugely famous on YouTube. His book, 'The Last Lecture' is an extension of that last lecture, all about fulfilling one's childhood dreams.
His inspiring work has resulted in many inspiring and thought-provoking Randy Pausch quotes. You can read the Randy Pausch quotes below to know more about Randy Pausch's book 'The Last Lecture' and the messages it sends out.
If you like these Randy Pausch quotes, why not check out these Bob Proctor quotes and Neville Goddard quotes too?
The Best Randy Pausch Quotes
Here we have the best of Randy Pausch quotes from the author of 'The Last Lecture', including some Randy Pausch quotes about men, Randy Pausch 'Last Lecture' quotes, Randy Pausch brick wall quotes, and more.
1. "If you offer wisdom from a third party, it seems less arrogant and more acceptable."
- Randy Pausch.
2. "If nobody ever worried about what was in other people's heads, we'd all be 33 percent more effective in our lives and our jobs."
- Randy Pausch.
3. "Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care."
- Randy Pausch.
4. "If I can't be happy with you, then I'll find a way to be happy without you."
- Randy Pausch.
5. "A good apology is like an antibiotic; a bad apology is like rubbing salt in the wound."
- Randy Pausch.
6. "Everyone has good and bad times. Find your creative/thinking time. Defend it ruthlessly."
- Randy Pausch.
7. "Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out."
- Randy Pausch.
8. "Life is to be lived."
- Randy Pausch.
9. "Education best serves students by helping them be more self-reflective."
- Randy Pausch.
10. "Time must be explicitly managed, like money."
- Randy Pausch.
11. "No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse. At the same time, it is often within your power to make them better."
- Randy Pausch.
12. "The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people."
- Randy Pausch.
13. "If you can find an opening, you can probably find a way to float through it."
- Randy Pausch.
14. "Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories. And they will figure out how those stories apply to them."
- Randy Pausch.
15. "When men are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do."
- Randy Pausch.
16. "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game."
- Randy Pausch.
17. "Just because you're in the driver's seat, doesn't mean you have to run people over."
- Randy Pausch.
18. "I love the creation of illusion, which is why as a kid I was fascinated by theme parks, particularly the stuff that Imagineering has built."
- Randy Pausch.
19. "Complaining does not work as a strategy."
- Randy Pausch.
20. "If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself."
- Randy Pausch.
Randy Pausch Quotes On Dreams
These are a few Randy Pausch quotes about dreams.
21. "And even though I did not reach the NFL, I sometimes think I got more from pursuing that dream, and not accomplishing it."
- Randy Pausch.
22. "It's a thrill to fulfill your own childhood dreams, but as you get older, you may find that enabling the dreams of others is even more fun."
- Randy Pausch.
23. "Sometimes all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true."
- Randy Pausch.
24. "If I was able to tell my story with the passion I felt, my lecture might help others find a path to fulfilling their own dreams."
- Randy Pausch.
25. "Remember brick walls let us show our dedication. They are there to separate us from the people who don't really want to achieve their childhood dreams."
- Randy Pausch.
26. "If you’re going to have childhood dreams you should have great parents who let you pursue them and express your creativity."
- Randy Pausch.
27. "It's important to have specific dreams. Dream big. Dream without fear."
- Randy Pausch.
28. "Give yourself permission to dream."
- Randy Pausch.
29. "It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life."
- Randy Pausch.
30. "Fuel your kids' dreams. Sometimes, that means letting them stay up past their bedtimes."
- Randy Pausch.
31. "Anything is possible, and that’s something we should not lose sight of. The inspiration and the permission to dream is huge."
- Randy Pausch.
32. "My dreams for my kids are very exact: I want them to find their own path to fulfillment."
- Randy Pausch.
33. "Dreams come from broadening your horizons and rubbing elbows with different kinds of people."
- Randy Pausch.
34. "Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you."
- Randy Pausch.
Randy Pausch Quotes On Death And Life
Here's a few Randy Pausch quotes on life and death including some thought provoking Randy Pausch cancer quotes.
35. "Time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think."
- Randy Pausch.
36. "Death is a part of life and it's going to happen to all of us. I have the blessing of getting a little bit of advance notice."
- Randy Pausch.
37. "Hypothetically, if you knew you were going to die and you had one last lecture, what would you say to your students?"
- Randy Pausch.
38. "Tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Whenever he goes, you also go. He will not be alone."
- Randy Pausch.
39. "Pretty much any time I got to do something cool, I tried to grab for it and that's where my solace comes from."
- Randy Pausch.
40. "I'm not going to beat the cancer. I tried really hard... but sometimes you're just not going to beat the thing… I had my hour."
- Randy Pausch.
41. "We have a finite amount of time..."
- Randy Pausch.
42. "One of the most important things is that children need to know they're loved."
- Randy Pausch.
43. "I didn't know there was a dying-professor section at the bookstore."
- Randy Pausch.
44. "My dad is 82 and still approaches life as if it is something to be experienced fully."
- Randy Pausch.
45. "He who dies with the most really cool, unusual experiences wins."
- Randy Pausch.
46. "I'm dying and I'm having fun, and I'm going to keep having fun every day I've got left."
- Randy Pausch.
47. "To-do lists help us break life into small steps."
- Randy Pausch.
48. "I thought about that, and about Jai’s smile. I knew then. That’s the way the rest of my life would need to be lived."
- Randy Pausch.
49. "I am going to keep having fun every day I have left, because there is no other way of life."
- Randy Pausch.
Inspirational Randy Pausch Quotes
Here's some Randy Pausch quotes that will surely inspire you.
50. "Not producing enough computer scientists is a mission-critical way to fail for a modern society, and I'm the only guy in town that I know of with a potential solution to that problem."
- Randy Pausch.
51. "We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals."
- Randy Pausch.
52. "And these are the kind of things that I think everybody ought to be doing. Helping others."
- Randy Pausch.
53. "Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun."
- Randy Pausch.
54. "I like secrets. And the reason I became a researcher is that the best way to know a secret is to figure it out yourself before anybody else knows it."
- Randy Pausch.
55. "Never lose the child-like wonder. It's just too important. It's what drives us."
- Randy Pausch.
56. "You can always change your plan, but only if you have one."
- Randy Pausch.
57. "If you want something badly enough, do not give up!"
- Randy Pausch.
58. "The size of your audience doesn’t matter. What’s important is that your audience is listening."
- Randy Pausch.
59. "I guess I'm driven by experimentation and novelty."
- Randy Pausch.
60. "A lot of people want a shortcut. I find the best shortcut is the long way, which is basically two words: work hard."
- Randy Pausch.
61. "Even if there are failures, it brings experience."
- Randy Pausch.
62. "Time is the only commodity that matters."
- Randy Pausch.
63. "The questions are always more important than the answers."
- Randy Pausch.
64. "You should never be afraid to let somebody else think you look silly, you should just go do things."
- Randy Pausch.
Randy Pausch Famous Quotes
These are some of the most famous Randy Pausch quotes, including some Randy Pausch quotes about paybacks.
65. "For me, there's an elephant in the room. And the elephant in the room, for me, it wasn't hypothetical."
- Randy Pausch.
66. "When we're connected to others, we become better people."
- Randy Pausch.
67. "When there’s an elephant in the room, introduce him."
- Randy Pausch.
68. "I like to think that I have helped a lot of other people - and that's the best definition I know of time well spent."
- Randy Pausch.
69. "Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I'm sorry that I hurt you. 3) How do I make it better? It's the third part that people tend to forget."
- Randy Pausch.
70. "The essence of being a researcher is knowing the answer to a question that nobody else has even asked yet."
- Randy Pausch.
71. "I'd give it all back if I could give the cancer back with it."
- Randy Pausch.
72. "Better to fail spectacularly than do something mediocre."
- Randy Pausch.
73. "Get a feedback loop and listen to it… When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it."
- Randy Pausch.
74. "I'm glad I am making the best of a bad situation, but I certainly would rather have not been in a bad situation to start with."
- Randy Pausch.
75. "It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed. It is the things we do not."
- Randy Pausch.
76. "Anyone who knows me well, will tell you that arrogance is one of my flaws."
- Randy Pausch.
77. "Sometimes you can’t pay it back, so you just have to pay it forward."
- Randy Pausch.
78. "Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other."
- Randy Pausch.
79. "If she doesn't really love you, then it's over. And if she does love you, then love will win out."
- Randy Pausch.
80. "You can't get there alone. People have to help you, and I do believe in karma. I believe in paybacks."
- Randy Pausch.
Randy Pausch Quotes From Books
Here are some Randy Pausch quotes from his books, such as Randy Pausch quotes from 'The Last Lecture' and Randy Pausch quotes from 'Time Management'.
81. "When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they’ve given up on you."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
82. "Eat and sleep and exercise. Above all else!"
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
83. "Hard work is like compounded interest in the bank. The rewards build faster."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
84. "Turn money into time - especially important for people with kids."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
85. "Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
86. "Delegation: No one is an island. You can accomplish a lot more with help."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
87. "I'm a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate tool for doing good."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
88. "Clutter is death; it leads to thrashing. Keep desk clear: focus on one thing at a time."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
89. "Why didn’t I paint eighty or ninety floors... Maybe it was a symbol of the balance in my life between aspiration and pragmatism."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
90. "Everything you do is an opportunity cost. Learn to say 'No.'"
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
91. "You've got to get the fundamentals... otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
92. "Avoiding procrastination: Doing things at the last minute is much more expensive than just before the last minute."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
93. "All of the things I loved were rooted in the dreams and goals I had as a child."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
94. "Make your office comfortable for you, and optionally comfortable for others."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
95. "Engineering isn't about perfect solutions; it's about doing the best you can with limited resources."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
96. "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
97. "Under the ruse of giving an academic lecture, was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
98. "Being successful doesn’t make you manage your time well. Managing your time well makes you successful!"
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
99. "If I were a painter, I would have painted... But I am a lecturer. So I lectured."
- Randy Pausch, 'The Last Lecture'.
100. "Failing to plan is planning to fail. Plan each day, each week, each semester."
- Randy Pausch, 'Time Management'.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Randy Pausch quotes, then why not take a look at these 'When Breath Becomes Air' quotes or Mark Manson quotes too?
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Master of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies
Srija ChandaMaster of Arts specializing in Mass Communication/Media Studies
An aspiring media professional, Srija is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mass Communication at St. Xavier's University, Kolkata, after completing her degree in journalism. With experience in PR and social media, she has also honed her leadership skills through her participation in a youth parliament. Srija's interests include devouring books, watching movies, and exploring new places through travel.
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