Randy Pausch’s Last Speech (4)
I’ve been wanting to watch Randy Pausch’s “Last Speech” for the past few weeks, and I finally had the chance this evening during my six hour stay at Dulles International. The speech was incredible. The strangers sitting around me must have wondered what I was watching that would induce fits of laughter one moment and tears the next.
My favorite theme of the speech is the metaphorical brick wall and its true purpose in life. As Randy sees it, obstacles in life exist as filters to separate the mildly interested from the truly passionate. In his words, “…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.”
All software developers, cancer survivors, families of cancer victims, artists, students, professors, dreamers and human beings should watch this video. Set aside an hour and forty five minutes of your time and prepare to be inspired.