Randy Pausch Quotes

I’ve never understood pity and self-pity as an emotion. We have a finite amount of time. Whether short or long, it doesn’t matter. Life is to be lived.

Did you figure out the head fake? It's not about how to achieve your dreams. It's about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.

I've always admired people who are over-prepared.

No job should, be beneath us. And if you can't(or won't) sort mail, Where is the proof that you can do anything?

Want to have a short phone call with someone? Call them at 11:55 a.m., right before lunch. They'll talk fast. You may think you are interesting, but you are not more interesting than lunch.

If you’re going to have childhood dreams you should have great parents who let you pursue them and express your creativity

Are you a Tigger or an Eyore?

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

somehow, with the passage of time, and the deadlines that life imposes, surrendering became the right thing to do

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.

Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids' dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.

I'm sorry.
It's my fault.
How do I make it right?

I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play.

Clutter is death; it leads to thrashing. Keep desk clear: focus on one thing at a time.

Smart isn’t enough. The kind of people I want on my research team are those who will help everyone else feel happy to be here.” p118