I’m In “The Last Lecture,” Page 184
June 8th, 2008
Email this article to a friend
Mark Buban (no URL given) left a comment on my blog that I didn’t understand at first. He said he had found my blog after reading The Last Lecture
Mark then told me that Randy mentions my blog in his book! On page 184, he says:
“A former student emailed to say I had helped inspire him to create a new personal-development Web site titled ‘Stop Sucking and Live a Life of Abundance,’ designed to help people who are living far below their potential. That sounded sort of like my philosophy, though certainly not my exact words.”
I laughed when I read this. Those definitely aren’t Randy’s exact words…I was going for something a little more blunt!
Like many people, I’m still living far below my potential, but one thing I’ve noticed since starting this blog is that I’ve attracted a huge abundance of ideas. When I started, I thought that maybe I had enough ideas for 20 posts, and I had no idea what I’d do after that. But I’ve met a lot of great people in the online world that I never would have met otherwise, and by exchanging thoughts with them, I now have far more ideas flowing than I have time to write about. So I thank you all for that.
Something has occurred to me as I’ve watched Randy Pausch’s rise to fame. Unfortunately, we often don’t pay enough attention to people until something bad happens. If Randy didn’t have pancreatic cancer, you probably wouldn’t have heard of The Last Lecture. How do I know that? Because he basically gave the same talk years ago, and he didn’t become famous then. I heard Randy talk about many of the ideas from The Last Lecture as his student in 1996. And this was a class on Usability Engineering, not a class on how to live your life! He’s had the same message for years, but when he gets cancer, then suddenly it’s considered newsworthy.
Why don’t we start paying more attention to people who are worth listening to? Randy is certainly special, but I don’t think he’s at all unique. How many Randy Pauschs do you know who you could learn something from today? You don’t have to wait until they become famous.
I didn’t even know that Randy’s book was out yet, but after Mark’s comment, I went out and picked up a copy of The Last Lecture
Thanks again to Mark Buban for telling me I was mentioned in Randy’s book. This also solves the mystery of why I’m getting 10 searches a day on my tagline!
June 8th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Somebody wrote about your blog in a book? That’s great
I don’t think that something bad necessarily has to happen so that people pay attention to an important message that they would otherwise have disregarded, I think something “more” has to happen. That is, you need a message, plus. That “plus” can be something negative (which is unfortunate), but it can also be something positive and out of the ordinary. Like if you write a book on 100 things to do before you die, and then you get on a van and drive cross-country helping others check one or two things off their bucket list (which is something that’s actually being done by a group of Canadians).
Marelisas last blog post..Creating Sacred Space
June 8th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
It’s great that he mentioned you!
“But I’ve met a lot of great people in the online world that I never would have met otherwise, and by exchanging thoughts with them, I now have far more ideas flowing than I have time to write about. So I thank you all for that.”
This is exactly how I feel.
Vereds last blog post..When Successful Bloggers Try To (Gasp) Make Money
June 8th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Congratulations. I only found your blog a few weeks ago, but it is definitely one I look forward to reading.
Chads last blog post..Oil at a Short-Term Peak?
June 9th, 2008 at 1:35 am
Hi,
I’m one of the guys who found your site by searching for the title, because you were mentioned in Professor Pausch’s book. I’m really impressed and inspired by him. I thought of his Last Lecture again because of your Jedi or Slith post. It reminded me of the Professor’s “Tigger or Eeyore” debate…
I had made a Facebook application: “Are you a Tigger or Eeyore” in honor of Professor Pausch.
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=14231661305
Now I’ve made an app, “Are you a Gryffindor or Slytherin” based on your post. I link back to this blog from the app.
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=19655721642
June 9th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Hi Hunter,
As I read this post, I realized how your life and your work (your blog) has gotten so much attention in such a short time. It’s phenomenal, isn’t it?
Being mentioned in Randy’s book, in some ways, is just the tip of the iceberg.
“Why don’t we start paying more attention to people who are worth listening to?” Because we’re too busy (or we think we are), we think our time could better be spent doing something else, or having a headset attached to our ears. Because instead of listening, we’re impatiently waiting to have our turn to speak, and because until someone has something bad happen to them, we think they will be around forever, and we can listen to them later (when we have more time….).
Barbara Swaffords last blog post..It’s All About Me, It’s All About You
June 9th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Woah. Nice work there Hunter! It’s definitely great to be mentioned (and quoted) in a book well read by many!
I think if I’m not wrong, there’s a video of his last lecture on the web too. It was greatly delivered and I had watched it through to the end. It appeared some months ago.
You are definitely a privileged student to have a wonderful professor like him.
Time for you to rise up to be the best Hunter.
June 9th, 2008 at 9:25 am
I liked “The Last Lecture” and it fleshes out the original ‘lecture’ quite a bit. I still think that people should take the time to watch it, however.
Steve Jobs gave a pretty amazing commencement speech at Stanford and it amazes me that I can’t always get people to watch THAT video.
Hayden Tompkinss last blog post..How To Ethically Get Your Way 99% of the Time
June 9th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Hunter -
Pat your back for the accomplishment. You do deserve the name as you are one heck of a good thinker and writer.
Cheers!
Shilpan
Shilpan | successsoul.coms last blog post..An Interview with Leo Babauta on Simplicity, Clarity, Happiness and Success
June 9th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Hunter,
That must be a very warm glow indeed to find the mention. Very nice indeed. One of the richest things we can do is to spark discussion or action around some finely honed ideas. I find them rich resources. One of my mentors who passed away last year always insisted that anything we learned or did we had to pass it on. That’s how we keep it going. So warm wishes to you for realizing before the hoopla, value when you saw it. Randy Pausch’s message is not a new one, but sometimes the form gets it across to new people and it catches on.The urgency is there now. I think a fine mind craves those riches, hoopla or no.
All best,
Jan
Janice Cartiers last blog post..A 2 Minute Question
June 9th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Reading the book is how I found your website also. I’m not so great on leaving comments yet, still getting accostomed to the idea. I found the book great, inspirational and a superb read. I almost cried several times, not cuz he was dying but because of the way he grabbed at life and really lived.
June 9th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
And yes, I’ve just quoted you in my latest article on my blog. Can be found from the CommentLuv below here.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
@ Marelisa, OK, I guess something “plus” will do it. It has to be a big plus though, or a big minus.
@ Vered, you get a lot of comments and you comment everywhere too, so I’m sure you have all kinds of stuff going through your head.
@ Chad, thanks, glad to have you here with your interesting comments.
@ Matt, glad to have another Randy fan here. I think unlike Jedi vs. Sith, in the Tigger vs. Eeyore debate there’s clearly one right answer!
@ Barbara, yup, we’re too busy, or at least we think we are. Your comments reminded me of Daniel’s post that he alluded to in his comment. Since the CommentLuv didn’t work, the link as Complete Lives With Beautiful Words.
@ Daniel, that’s right. I included the video in My Final Post: Top 9 Lessons In Awesomeness.
@ Hayden, I think that both watching and reading The Last Lecture would be a good idea. I’ve read Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement speech, but I didn’t know it was on YouTube. I’ll have to check it out.
@ Shilpan, thanks for your congratulations!
@ Janice, that’s a good idea your mentor had, that anything you learn or do you have to pass on. Sort of like the “pay it forward” concept.
@ JL, wow, another Randy fan! Leaving comments takes a little getting used to, but it quickly becomes natural. Your testimonial makes the book sound really good!
@ Daniel, I read your article and stumbled it. The CommentLuv didn’t work, but I included the link in my response to Barbara.
June 9th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
Hi Hunter, I like what you’re saying!
There are many Randy Pausch around us, and we can learn from them. They may not be famous yet, but you can start looking around and get things to learn from them.
No one can teach us everything, but anyone can teach us something.
Interesting post!
Robert
Robert A. Henrus last blog post..How failures can make you smile
June 10th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
@ Robert,
“No one can teach us everything, but anyone can teach us something.”
That’s a nice way to put it!
July 19th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
[...] a result of appearing in “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch, I’ve been getting searches on different variations of my [...]
September 9th, 2008 at 8:54 am
Wow, congrats Hunter.. I recently found your site and again today stumbled across this post.. I posted Randy’s video on my site too when I first found out and I have learned so much positivity from that one message! True, it doesn’t have to be until something bad happens… great reminder although we continue to forget it!
September 9th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
@ Pearl, if you stumbled across it again, maybe it’s fate! I saw that a lot of people have posted the video, and it’s been viewed something like 6 million times now. I think it’s a good one to watch every now and then, because we do continue to forget.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
[...] Yesterday I bought Randy’s Pausch’s p-book The Last Lecture and Darren Rowse’s p-book ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income. Do they need the money? No, not really. Darren supposedly makes over $20,000 a month just from his two blogs, plus he has his book proceeds and his income as VP of Blogger Training for b5media. Randy’s a smart guy and I’m sure he has enough life insurance, plus Hyperion paid $6.7 million for the right to publish his book (I don’t know what Randy’s cut was). They don’t need the money, but I like supporting them because of the work they’ve done. Besides, my blog is mentioned in The Last Lecture, page 184! [...]