Developing a Mantra

The Last Lecture

5-6 minutes

Randy Pausch perfectly named the Dreams for My Children chapter in which he talks about legacies. The idea of a last lecture is to impart wisdom before we go, to share something so profound that we feel we must leave it behind for others. Randy talks about imparting wisdom to his kids and ensuring his wife is prepared for his death while making two main points.

• The first point is that living right will lead you to your dreams and that changing that order is likely to end in disaster.

• The second is that the lecture was not for us but rather for his kids.

We all want to leave our mark on the world, to leave it a little better than we found it. John Dewey improved Sigmund Freud’s “desire to be great” by switching to a “desire to be important.” Everyone has a deep desire to be regarded as important while providing something of value.

When I learned that we would be reading “The Last Lecture,” I sketched out a list of what I would include in my last lecture..

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Thoughts for my last lecture:

1. Everyone is on their own path - don't measure your success based on others.

2. Make a positive difference in the world - Be the change you want to see in the world.

3. Change begins at the community level - Engage, be active in your community, shape it for good.

4. Live and let live - your rights end where mine begin.

5. Listen to and respect others - Everyone deserves to be heard and understood. This does not imply agreement, but requires active listening.

6. Help those who cannot help themselves - A hand up is better than a hand out. Give a person a fish, you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, you feed them for life. It is incumbent on the strong to protect the weak.

7. No battle was won without a plan, no plan survives first contact, no battle was won according to plan - Have a plan, make contingencies, life WILL throw you a few curveballs.

8. Have a North Star, a positive focus to guide you through the darkness - Scout Oath & Scout Law, Pledge of Allegiance, Religion, Spirituality, positive personal mantra

9. It is human nature for us to create and tell ourselves stories to fill in the gaps where we lack information - Make it a good story, assume good intent as much as possible, use the power of positive thought.

10. Never assume malice for what can be explained by stupidity (or ignorance) - Sometimes they're not out to get you and it's more likely that they're not thinking (of you) at all.

11. I'll take a good-hearted person of integrity over intelligence every time - While I value intelligence and cherish intelligent people, integrity and kindness are actually more important.

12. My daughter (about age 15 at the time) asked me, "Dad, what's wrong with boys?" - I thought for a moment and answered, "See your brother?" (he was about 14 at the time) "Well, that's the age when us males stop maturing." Her undeniable expression of epiphany was priceless.