Thriver Profile: Randy Pausch

This is our first Thriver profile, and it is amazing!

Imagine that you are a seemingly healthy forty-seven year-old man, only to discover that you have cancer. It is treated, and you think it is in remission. But it returns as inoperable, untreatable cancer. Imagine you have 3 to 6 months to live. What do you do? Randy Pausch decides to keep living!

Here is a quick introduction of Randy:

Career Path: Randy is currently a professor at Carnegie-Mellon, but has been very successful on a number of projects, primarily concerned with virtual reality.

Life Path: Randy is married and has several children.

What We Learn: We are all dying. Randy happens to have some idea of when that is. So life is something to value, whether we expect to die sooner or later. Our task is to live life as a gift, embracing it.

Life is not about avoiding pain and not about living long. It is about living fully, giving all you can, taking advantage of your gifts and challenges.

You can learn more about Randy and his life at his web page.



I don't need to give you a great deal of background on Randy, because he does that himself in his "Final Lecture." This is an incredible lecture that was given as a part of a series at the university where Pausch teaches. The video is long, but it is incredible! The man is a thriver by any definition.

More than that, he proves that thriving is not about necessarily living for a long time. Thrivers do not avoid illness or injury. Instead, thrivers live a life fully, no matter how much time is left.

If you are ready for a moving experience, you need to watch the video below. This video holds the lessons of thriving, even if Randy doesn't note it as such. Grab a tissue and sit back for the incredible video.



If you would like to see his interview on Good Morning America, Click Here.