First of all, it should be clear that Randy paush is not a professional
writer, so this book could not be compared with any previous book, nor it can
be judged on strict literature terms.
Randy pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University specialising
in computer science, human computer interaction and designing. He had a rare
pancreatic cancer, but he lost his battle to this disease in mid of 2008.
Randy
had been a great mentor to his students and the name of book is specially
chosen to serve a specific purpose. In fact, last lecture is a convention in
universities, whenever any professor retires from his academic life he is
supposed to say the final words or he is supposed to deliver his entire wisdom
of academic life to his students, as Randy’s journey of life and academics was
coming to an end, he wanted to reach to a larger audience, thus he chose the
name ‘the last lecture’.
The book has
been divided in six parts the last lecture, achieving your childhood dreams,
adventures and lessons, enabling the dreams of others, it’s about how to live
life and finally the final remarks.
In the first part, he explains how he got motivated to
deliver the last lecture at Carnegie Mellon University, how difficult and strange
it was, to sum up all life experiences in just one presentation for a person
whose life had been so eventful. Finally he leaves the massage in this section,
what if you ought to fight something you fear most in life, he called it ’elephant
in the room’. That way giving a massage that ‘be prepared for the worst at any
moment in life’.
In the second part ‘ achieving your childhood dreams’ he
narrates life experiences and wishes of a child whom he was, which eventually
came true in one form or another form, just by sustained persistence. If one
keeps that attitude of not letting the thrust die then literally ‘wall will walk to the thirsty.
The third part deals
with ‘adventures and lesson learned’ in this section he shares his life
adventures and how each time he drew lessons from them, romancing with brick wall and pouring soda on
backseat are ultimate heir raising chapters to read on.
Enabling dreams of other is yet another chapter; it shows how
individual capacity can be used as fuel for empowering other’s dream, and that,
to my mind is the real massage. The purpose of being born is not entirely serving
the self or self indulgence, it is much larger, you may not physically or tangibly
help others but surely, one can be partner in the realisation of other’s dream.
‘You cannot pay back for good thing done
to you by others, so you got to pay it forward, sums up this chapter.
In the last two parts, with the help of personal life events,
very small and tiny things that happen daily to us has been explained in very
effective way, $ 1,00,000 salt and pepper shaker, no job is beneath you, dream
of my children are the most touching chapters of these part.
At one level, some might say that the book is written by one’s
life personal experiences that has been generalised for mankind, these
experiences may be too subjective to be used for others. But in defence, it can
be said that happenings may be subjective but massages are surely not. Almost every
part of human behaviour has been touched in very unique way in this book, Randy
has written this book not to prove his literal skills but the sheer urge to
leave a meaning legacy, after his death.
The audience of this
book is universal, but, specially, it has been designed for those who are about
to begin their life after the college. If number of copies sold is any way to
judge the popularity and impact then this book has huge fan following and
deeper impact as it has already sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.
This book is not only a book but a complete chronicle; it is
something that should be made compulsory in academics, least of all in training
institute. Do not read this book because
a dying person has written this, but read this book because we all have to die
someday!
