Brick Walls

[Totenkindly]

Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie-Mellon, was told that he had pancreatic cancer and had only six months to live. His "Last Lecture" has become a viral online sensation. One particular comment of his involves brick walls:

Although he graduated magna cum laude from Brown University, he nearly didn't get in to Brown in the first place -- he was wait listed. It was a brick wall that some might have walked away from. But Pausch has a novel way of looking at obstacles:

"The brick walls are there for a reason," he said during his lecture. "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

Ponder.

 

[nightning]

Brick wall... chance... fighting... good advice... thank you!

Then again, when do you start figuring out how thick that brick wall is in front of you?

Yes... to ponder. *nods head*

 

[Tallulah]

I think this is true, to an extent. I don't think it's quite true that we can do whatever we want to do and be tremendously successful, just because we desire to be. There are too many factors at work. But it's true that too many of us give up too easily.

 

[Jae Rae]

Very interesting to see this blog entry up today. I missed it the first time, but just heard about The Last Lecture and watched it Saturday, start to finish.

Thought-provoking to say the least, funny and full of pathos. I felt sorry for his wife, who looked heartbroken and very uncomfortable on stage to blow out her birthday candles in front of all those people gathered to honor her husband. He sounded fatuous saying he was "putting others first even during my last lecture" and in the process managed to put himself first. Can't explain this well, but it marred an otherwise great presentation.

Many fantastic concepts and much food for thought. One of them was the idea that teachers help others realize their childhood dreams.