Whenever I have a day where I feel a drop in my confidence level or feel more negative energy than positive, I always think back to the first day I listened to the lecture made by Randy Pausch, one of the greatest speeches & men I have ever heard speak. Since the day I heard his “Last Lecture, Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” I always seem to turn my problems into lessons through his words. This was a dieing man with an aggressive form of cancer that doctors gave 3-6 months left to live. This strong & courageous 47 year old husband & father of three stood on a stage at Carnegie Mellon in front of 400 of his students, fellow friends & professors & gave this 75 minute speech about how he achieved his childhood dreams & the best of lifes lessons. Knowing he had such a short time left to spend with the love of his life & his kids, he refrained from showing any negativity & focused on everything but the cancer that was taking over his body. He had taught me so much about myself in such a short time & I never even met him.
As I am writing this blog, I am listening to the speech and there are so many quotes he says that inspire me to continue to follow my dreams & help others do the same. One of the greatest questions he asked the audience, “what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?” Many of us struggle with life & when problems arise, many of us don’t know how to deal with them. We all strive for purpose & success in our lives.
Take some time & LISTEN TO THIS SPEECH. It will change your whole perspective on life! http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/
“Anything is possible.” – He’s right, anything is possible! If they found a way for a human to fly to the moon, if they found a way to help women survive breast cancer, YOU could find a way to achieve ANYTHING! Though, I can promise you, it won’t be easy. “Don’t complain, just work harder!”
“When you’re screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, it means they’ve given up on you. Your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care. Worry when you do something badly and nobody bothers to tell you.”- All I needed was to hear this once & it’s helped me in so many instances over the years. There have been many times I felt as though I was not good enough, someone is better than me, I could be better. I’ve always been open to feedback, whether good or bad & ensured others that even if I needed work on something to tell me. I’d rather work on the skills that I lack than continue to go on doing them not-so-good. Accept the words of others, even if it’s not in your best interest. Listen to the criticism, they are offering their words for a reason… to help you.
“The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.” – Ever have a dream to go somewhere in the world or become someone so dominating in your dream job but something or someone is standing in your way? Not enough money? Too far away? Not enough education? These are the “brick walls” he is talking about. There are always ways to get through those walls, it’s just a matter of how hard you work to get there. Some people would see the wall & turn around and think “ok, change of plans, that could never happen” where someone like me doesn’t stop until it happens. Go out, get a job & work hard enough so you could make that money to go on your dream vacation. Go back to school & get that education to fulfill that “dream job of yours.” Like I said before, nothing comes easy.
“It’s not how hard you hit. It’s how hard you get hit…and keep moving forward” – I had grown up being the kid who cried over everything. Somebody said something mean about me, I cried. Someone wasn’t nice to me, I cried. I did projects the wrong way & got a failing grade, I cried. I truly believe all of those tears helped me become who I am today. Don’t get me wrong, I still cry at the drop of a hat, but now I have a better perception of people & know there will always be people who will let me down. There will always be that one person who wants to see me fail. There is always that one group of girls that have something negative to say about me, but those are the girls who help me want to fight back & be a bigger & better person. I truly believe there is a good side to everyone. “Find the best in everybody. Wait long enough & people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. No one is all evil.” Try & remember this when someone has something negative to say about you, it’s usually because it’s something that they want or can’t have. I don’t want to use the word jealously, but something like it. 😉
I hope these quotes from Randy & my thoughts on them have helped you to notice that we are all going through the same voyage in life, maybe on different paths but we mostly experience the same glitches along the way. Breathe, you will get through them.
k. <3