Randy pausch quotes

No job should, be beneath us. And if you can't(or won't) sort mail, Where is the proof that you can do anything?

The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have.

A parent's job is to encourage kids to develop a joy for life and a great urge to follow their own dreams. The best we can do is to help thm develop a personal set of tools for the task.

Time is the only commodity that matters.

People are more important than things.

A good apology is like antibiotic, a bad apology is like rubbing salt in the wound.

We have a finite amount of time. Whether short or long, it doesn't matter. Life is to be lived.

We don't beat the Reaper by living longer. We beat the Reaper by living well.

Advice is very easy to give, and even easier not to follow, so I don't fool with it.

You will need to find your passion. Don't give up on finding it because then all you're doing is waiting for the Reaper.

It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed. It is the things we do not.

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

Don’t complain; just work harder.

Follow your passions, believe in karma, and you won't have to chase your dreams, they will come to you.

Anybody out there who is a parent, if your kids want to paint their bedrooms,as a favor to me, let them do it. It'll be OK.

Being successful doesn't make you manage your time well. Managing your time well makes you successful!

There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build.

Show gratitude. Gratitude is a simple but powerful thing.

Never make a decision until you have to.

Remember brick walls let us show our dedication. They are there to separate us from the people who don't really want to achieve their childhood dreams.

When you do the right thing, good stuff has a way of happening.

Just because you're in the driver's seat, doesn't mean you have to run people over.

Everyone has to contribute to the common good. To not do so can be described in one word: selfish.

When you do something young enough and you train for it, it just becomes a part of you.

Respect authority while questioning it.

Never make a decesion until you have to". He'd also warn me that even if I was in a position of strenght, whether at work or in a relationship, I had to play fair. "Just because you're in the driver's seat, doesn't mean you have to run people over.

Never give up: There are certain times that you think, 'OK, you have beaten me down to my knees. And now the challenge is, I am on my knees and you keep on beating me down. And the question is, are you going to keep beating me all the way to the ground or will I find a way to struggle my way back on to my feet.'

What is the most appropriate thing to say to a friend who was about to die. He answered:”tell your friend that in his death, a part of you dies and goes with him. Whenever he goes, you also g. He will not be alone".

Walls aren't put in our life to stop us, they are there to test how much we really want somthing.

Find your passion and follow it. You wont find that passion in things or money. Your passion must come from what fuels you from the inside. It will be grounded in the relationships you have with people and what they think of you when your time comes.

You just have to decide if you're a Tigger or an Eeyore.

Brick walls let us prove how badly we want our dream and they stop those who don't want it enough. Brick walls let us show our dedication.

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

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

I always thought every day was a gift, but now I am looking for where to send the thank you note.

People lie for lots of reasons, often because it seems like a way to get what they want with less effort.

Not everything needs to be fixed

Let other people finish their sentences when they’re talking.

The best gift an educator can give is to get somebody to become self reflective.

The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.

I understand the arguments about how the billions of dollars spent to put men on the moon could have been used to fight poverty and hunger on Earth. But, look, I'm a scientist who sees inspiration as the ultimate tool for doing good. When you use money to fight poverty, it can be of great value, but too often, you're working at the margins. When you're putting people on the moon, you're inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum of human potential, which is how our greatest problems will eventually be solved. Give yourself permission to dream.

Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear.

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

The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures.

It's not how hard you hit. It's how hard you get hit... and keep moving forward.

Coach Graham rode you pretty hard, didn't he?" he said. I could barely muster a "yeah." That's a good thing," the assistant told me. When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, it means they've given up on you.

We can't change it. We have to decide how we'll respond.

You can't get there alone. People have to help you, and I do believe in karma. I believe in paybacks. You get people to help you by telling the truth, by being earnest.

You can't control the cards you're dealt, just how you play the hand.

When there’s an elephant in the room introduce him.

To-Do lists help us break life into small steps.

Don't bail; the best pieces of gold are at the bottom of the barrel of crap.

If you have a question, then find the answer.

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

Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress. When you're pissed off at someone and you're angry at them, you just haven't given them enough time. Just give them a little more time and they almost always will impress you.

Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.

The best way to teach somebody something is to have them think they're learning something else.

When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a very bad place to be. Your critics are the ones telling you they still love you and care.

When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you.

If you’re going to have childhood dreams you should have great parents who let you pursue them and express your creativity

If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?

No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse. At the same time, it is often within your power to make them better

Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.

My colleague told me: "It took a long time, but I finally figured it out. When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you, it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do.

Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day because there's no other way to play it.

Tradition, history and respect; that kind of qualities I admire, that I want to see preserved. Time is the only commodity that matters. Being successful doesn't make you manage your time well; managing your time well makes you successful. Goals, Priorities, and Planning. Why am I doing this? What is the goal? Why will I succeed? What happen if I chose not to do it? 'Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement'.

When we're connected to others, we become better people.

The 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.

Find the best in everybody, no matter how long you have to wait for them to show it

The questions are always more important than the answers.

Look for the best in everybody

Want to have a short phone call with someone? Call them at 11:55 a.m., right before lunch. They'll talk fast. You may think you are interesting, but you are not more interesting than lunch.

If you can find your footing between two cultures, sometimes you can have the best of both worlds.

Find the best in everybody. Just keep waiting no matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out.

There are more ways than one to measure profits and losses.

Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. You’ve got to get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff isn’t going to work.

Read at least one book a month. This is self-serving, obviously. It's a proven fact that people who read buy more books than people who don't read. In truth, I wish you'd read ten books a month, or at least buy that many.

There's a limit to how many times you can read how great you are and what an inspiration you are, but I'm not there yet.

No job is beneath you. You ought to be thrilled you got a job in the mailroom And when you get there, here's what you do: Be really great at sorting mail.

You can always change you plan, but only if you have one.

A lot of people want a shortcut. I find the best shortcut is the long way, which is basically two words: work hard.

Be good at something. It makes you valuable. Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.

We've placed a lot of emphasis in this country on the idea of people's rights. That's how it should be, but it makes no sense to talk about rights without also talking about responsibilities.

The number one goal of teachers should be to help students learn how to learn.

If you can find an opening, you can probably find a way to float through it.

Be willing to apologize. Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I'm sorry that I hurt you. 3) How do I make it better? It's the third part that people tend to forget. Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.

Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I feel badly that I hurt you. 3) How do I make this better?

If I could only give three words of advice, they would be, 'Tell the truth.' If I got three more words, I'd add: 'All the time.'

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

If I work hard enough, there will be things I can do tomorrow that I can't do today.

it make no sense to talk about rights without also talking about responsibilities

educators best serve students by helping them be more self-reflective. The only way any of us can improve—as Coach Graham taught me—is if we develop a real ability to assess ourselves. If we can’t accurately do that, how can we tell if we’re getting better or worse?

We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully - for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up.

Another way to be prepared is to think negatively. Yes, I'm a great optimist. but, when trying to make a decision, I often think of the worst case scenario. I call it 'the eaten by wolves factor.' If I do something, what's the most terrible thing that could happen? Would I be eaten by wolves? One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist, is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of things I don't worry about, because I have a plan in place if they do.

Do not tell people how to live their lives. Just tell them stories and they will figure out how those stories apply to them.

Experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.

It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match. And it's very important to get out of it as quickly as possible.

Never lose the child-like wonder. It’s just too important. It’s what drives us. Help others.

Believe nothing a man tells you and everything he shows you"....(Taken from a farewell video from a dying father to his infant daughter on dating)

Too many people go through life complaining about their problems. I've always believed that if you took one tenth the enrgy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.

Look, I'm going to find a way to be happy, and I'd really love to be happy with you, but if I can't be happy with you, then I'll find a way to be happy without you.

Your patience will be both appreciated and rewarded

We keep what is valuable to us, what we cherish.

Find the best in everybody. Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.

There's a lot of talk these days about giving children self-esteem. It's not something you can give; it's something they have to build. Coach Graham worked in a no-coddling zone. Self-esteem? He knew there was really only one way to teach kids how to develop it: 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.

Well, you can’t have just some of me, Jai,” I told her. “You appreciate the part of me that didn’t get angry because two ‘things’ we own got hurt. But the flip side of that is my belief that you don’t repair things if they still do what they’re supposed to do. The cars still work. Let’s just drive ’em.

It's not about how to achieve your dreams, it's about how to lead your life, ... If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.

I am going to keep having fun every day I have left, because there is no other way of life. You just have to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore.

Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun.

One thing that makes it possible to be an optimist is if you have a contingency plan for when all hell breaks loose.

Engineering isn't about perfect solutions; it's about doing the best you can with limited resources.

The most difficult part of writing a book is not devising a plot which will captivate the reader. It's not developing characters the reader will have strong feelings for or against. It is not finding a setting which will take the reader to a place he or she as never been. It is not the research, whether in fiction or non-fiction. The most difficult task facing a writer is to find the voice in which to tell the story.

Never lose the childlike wonder. Show gratitude... Don't complain; just work harder... Never give up.

Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

No matter how bad things are, you can always make things worse.

A coach yells at the kid he thinks can improve but the coach will not yell at the kid who he/she knows won't.

Better to fail spectacularly than do something mediocre.

Anything is possible, and that’s something we should not lose sight of. The inspiration and the permission to dream is huge.

You will not find your passion in things and you will not find your passion in money. The more things and the more money you have, the more you will look around and use that as the metric and there will be someone with more.

I know you're smart. But everyone here is smart. Smart isn't enough. The kind of people I want on my research team are those who will help everyone feel happy to be here.

The size of your audience doesn't matter. What's important is that your audience is listening.

Sometimes you can't pay it back, so you just have to pay it forward.

You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and care about you, and want to make you better.

Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids' dreams too. Once in a while, that might even mean letting them stay up past their bedtimes.

If nobody ever worried about what was in other people's heads, we’d all be 33 percent more effective in our lives and our jobs.