The Last Lecture

Hey Ladies!  Sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting, but I hope you all had a great time discussing the book.  Here are some of my thoughts...

I had seen the video of Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" online last year and was completely blown away by it.  It was funny, insightful, enduring, thought-provoking, just all of the things that I'm sure he was hoping his audience would take from it.  So when it was decided that we would read the book, I thought it would just be a repeat of the recorded lecture.  I was pleasantly surprised when I began reading the book and found that it gave much more insight than even the video. There was reflection there that couldn't be captured in such a short presentation time.  

It's terrible to say, but I agree with him when he says that he was lucky to have gotten cancer. 

Not to say that he was lucky to be dying from a terrible disease, but he was able to live long enough to leave his kids with videos and letters and a true sense of how much he loved them. Had he been hit by a bus or something, they would have only been able to rely on what others said about him, not first hand information.  I think that's the most heart-breaking thing about the entire book.  Here he is giving advice to the masses, but really it's him giving advice to his kids.  He loved them so much that he wanted to give all that he could while he could.  I couldn't help but cry at the end when he reveals to his audience that he's doing all of this for his kids.  

Reading this book really makes you take a hard look at your own life and how you should be grateful for every moment you have.  Not only that, but you should always follow your dreams and not be discouraged if at first you don't succeed.  He talks about the fundamentals that everyone should know, but that we tend to forget or set aside for other things as we get older. 

What did everyone else take away from this book?  Was there a particular story or anecdote that hit a nerve with anyone?  Any other thoughts on the book?