Life Lessons by Randy Pausch

I read Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture last year and only now can I properly compile all the good stuff he's taught me. These are just some of the many lessons he imparts in the book. I hope these few lines contribute to making your life better.

{source: Ines Perkovic}

1. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

2. You've got to get the fundamentals down, because otherwise the fancy stuff is not going to work.

3. When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you any more, that's a bad place to be.

4. On kids and building their self-esteem:
    - It's not something you can give;  it's something they have to build.
    - You give them something they can't do, they work hard until they find they can do it, and you just keep repeating the process.

5. Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

6. Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

7. The most useful to-do list breaks tasks into small steps.

8. Give yourself permission to dream.

9. If you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.

10. Don't obsess over what other people think.

11. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.

12. It's not how hard you hit; it's how hard you get hit, and keep moving forward.

13. Go out and do for others what somebody did for you.

14. When you go into the wilderness, the only thing you can count on is what you take with you.

15. If you want something bad enough, never give up (and take a boost when offered).

16. Sometimes, all you have to do is ask, and it can lead to all your dreams coming true.

17. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself. The dreams will come to you.

peace+love