Randy Pausch Quotes

Never lose the child like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us. Help others.

If you wait long enough,” he said, “people will surprise and impress you.” As he saw things: When you’re frustrated with people, when they’ve made you angry, it just may be because you haven’t given them enough time. Jon warned me that sometimes this took great patience — even years. “But in the end,” he said, “people will show you their good side. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.

Randy Pausch on time management:
Here's what I know:
Time must be explicitly managed, like money.
You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.
Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things?
Develop a good filing system.
Rethink the telephone.
Delegate.
Take a time out.

Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

There is more than one way to measure profits and losses. On every level, institutions can and should have a heart.

Your patience will be both appreciated and rewarded

We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully — for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up. Because when he shows up, it’s too late to do all the things that you’re always gonna, kinda get around to.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester. You can always change your plan, but only once you have one!

"Throughout my academic career, I'd given some pretty good talks. But being considered the best speaker in the computer science department is like being known as the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs. And right then, I had the feeling that I had more in me, that if I gave it my all, I might be able to offer people something special. "Wisdom" is a strong word, but maybe that was it."

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. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!

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

You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.

Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear.

I was hugely impressed... was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn't want to leave until he understood. That's heroic to me.

I wish every grad student had that attitude.

Complaining does not work as a strategy.