"The last lecture" by Dr. Randy Pausch

I saw this video yesterday and I think that everyone ought to see it atleast once..The lecture series used to be called the Last Lecture - "If you had one last lecture to give before you died, what would it be?" This is the Last lecture given by Dr.Randy Pausch in CMU ,months before he passed away due to pancreatic cancer. I am not going into details here but I just wanted to write about something that he mentioned and that made me think..

"THE BRICK WALL" is always used as a metaphor for closed paths.Whenever we get rejection from any person ,any institution or for that matter even discouragement in our work ,it becomes our brick wall..We always wonder why it had to happen with us ! But in reality the brick wall does not suggest a dead end..It is just a method of testing one's true intent and commitment..It is just present to separate "us" who are ready to do anything to achieve whats beyond it from "others" who think casually about whats beyond and would want it only if it is easily getable ! Brick walls always ask the question whether we are ready to get on all fours and climb it if needed.And if we are, then whatever is guarded by the wall is truly ours else we never really deserved it !
So next time you meet your brick wall , think about it as a challenge rather than a disappointment.

We always get irritated,upset,angry or disappointed if people criticize our work.Be it our teachers, parents, siblings, friends, project guides or whoever.No one likes being told that he or she is wrong.But we never think on the fact that the reason that someone is criticizing us is because that person either cares about us or about our work.When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. It means that all have lost hope on you ! Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.
So next time you meet criticism , be happy that there is atleast someone who is affected by your work .

P.S.: Thank you Nikhil for making me watch this.There are so many wonderful points stated by this man in the lecture that are worth pondering and following in life.So for all others who dont have Nikhil for a best friend, here is a link to the pdf of the lecture - http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/Randy/pauschlastlecturetranscript.pdf
and the video is available on you tube.Just google it.

Happy reading !
and Happy makar sankranti :)