High School - Neung-rul R & W - 2nd Grade - Lesson 1

Reading Lesson 1 Lecture of a Lifetime

 

Lecture of a Lifetime

 

In 2007, Dr. Randy Pausch gave his farewell lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. However, the 46-year-old computer science professor was not retiring. The husband and father of three children was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer* and was told he only had a few months to live.

This lecture is about my childhood dreams. All of the things I loved were rooted in the dreams and goals I had as a child. I truly believe I am a lucky man because I have lived out these dreams. I hope you learn some lessons and use what you hear today to achieve your own dreams and help others achieve theirs. So what were my childhood dreams? Being in zero gravity, playing in the National Football League(NFL)*, and being an imagineer ... did anybody here have that childhood dream?

 

Let’s start with being in zero gravity. Now, it’s important to have specific dreams. A lot of kids want to become astronauts, but I wasn’t interested in the whole astronaut work. I just wanted the floating. Well, it turns out that NASA has something they use to train astronauts - the Vomit Comet. It’s an airplane that flies in great big arcs* - at the top of each arc, the people inside experience weightlessness for about 25 seconds.

My dream became a possibility when I learned that they had a program where college students could submit proposals, and the winners got to fly on the Vomit Comet. I was excited because I was going to go with our team of students as an advisor. And then I hit the first brick wall. Professors weren’t allowed to fly with their team. I tried to find a way around this brick wall. I carefully read all the documents about the program, looking for holes. And I found one: local journalists were allowed to come along for the ride. So, I went as a journalist instead and got to fly on the Vomit Comet. Childhood dream number one? Check.

OK, let’s talk about football. I love football. I used to dream of playing in the NFL. My love with football started when my dad dragged me to join a league. I had no desire to be there. I was naturally timid, and the smallest kid by far. Fear turned to awe when I met my coach, Jim Graham, a huge guy.

On the first day of practice, we were all scared to death. Plus, the coach showed up without any footballs. One kid finally spoke up for all of us. “Excuse me, Coach. There aren’t any footballs.” And Coach Graham responded, “We don’t need any footballs. Among the 22 players on the football field, how many people are touching the football at any given time?” The kid answered, “One of them.” “Right!” Graham said. “So we’re going to work on what those other 21 guys are doing.”

Fundamentals. That was a great gift Coach Graham gave us. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. As a college professor, I’ve seen this as one lesson so many students ignore. You’ve got to get the fundamentals down, because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work. Even though I didn’t make it to the NFL, I got more from pursuing that dream.

 

My next dream was being an imagineer. When I was a kid, my family went to a famous amusement park. It was the coolest place I’d ever been. I thought “I can’t wait to make stuff like this!”

Two decades later, when I got my Ph.D in computer science, I applied for a job with the amusement park’s imagineering department. And they sent me a letter saying they didn’t have any positions which require my particular qualifications. So that was a setback. But remember, the brick walls are there for a reason. They are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

After I became a professor, I was involved with a virtual reality program at my university. Not too long after, I learned that the amusement park was working on a virtual reality project. I called the company and explained that I was a virtual reality researcher looking for information on it. I kept getting passed on and on, until finally I was connected to the imagineer running the team, and I managed to make an appointment to meet him.

Before going to see him, I did eighty hours of ‘homework.’ As a result, when I finally met the imagineer, he was impressed by how prepared I was and offered me a temporary job. I worked on a ride project where people got to feel like they were flying on a magic carpet. At last, I had achieved a childhood dream.

 

 

Here are some lessons I learned while pursuing my dreams.

 

Get feedback and listen to it.

It can just be a single person who tells you what you need to hear. The hard part is listening to it. Anybody can get criticized. But it takes a special person to say ‘you are right’ instead of making excuses. When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.

Show gratitude.

When I got tenure, I took my research team to an amusement park for a week. One of the other professors asked, “How can you do that?” I said these people worked hard to help me get the best job in the world for life. How could I not do that?

Work hard.

I got tenure a year early. Other faculty members used to say to me, “Wow, you got tenure early. What’s your secret?” I said, “It’s pretty simple. Call me any Friday night in my office at ten o’clock and I’ll tell you.”

Be prepared.

Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity.

 

So today’s talk was about what I learned on my journey. It’s not about how to achieve your dreams. It’s about how to lead your life. If you lead your life in the right way, everything will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you. Thank you and good night.