Randy Pausch Quotes

The brick walls are there for a reason. 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. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.

Anybody can get chewed out. It's the rare person who says, oh my god, you were right. As opposed to, no wait, the reason is... We've all heard that

Whatever news we get about the scans, I’m not going to die when we hear it. I
won’t die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So
today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know
how much I’m enjoying it.”
I thought about that, and about Jai’s smile.
I knew then. That’s the way the rest of my life would need to be lived.

Turn money into time – especially important for people with kids.

But I want her to grow up knowing that I was the first man ever to fall in love with her. I'd always thought the father/daughter thing was overstated. But I can tell you, sometimes, she looks at me and I just become a puddle.

The best way to teach somebody something is to have them think they're learning something else. I’ve done it my whole career. And the head fake here is that they’re learning to program but they just think they’re making movies and video games.

"All my adult life I've felt drawn to ask long-married couples how they were able to stay together. All of them said the same thing: "We worked hard at it.

Getting people to welcome feedback was the hardest thing I ever had to do as an educator.

who come out limp often have the most trouble. But the ones who come out all pissed off and full of noise,
they’re the fighters. They’re the ones who thrive.

I've found that a substantial fraction of many people’s days is spent
worrying about what others think of them. If nobody ever worried
about what was in other people’s heads, we’d all be 33 percent more
effective in our lives and on our jobs.

I’m aware that Chloe may have no memory of me at all. She’s too young. But I want her to grow up knowing that I was the first man ever to fall in love with her.

Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.

If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, "tell the truth." If I got three more words, I'd add: "All the time."

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." The Last Lecture

Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.