Randy Pausch's Last Lecture Analysis

Randy Pausch’s last lecture is truly unforgettable. As a young man diagnosed with terminal cancer, it is astounding how much positivity reflects off of him, and for that reason, he is an inspiration to many, including myself. Pausch was unique, even during his final months; he managed to experience flow, which Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains is “the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.”
One key factor to encompassing flow is having an intense and focused concentration on the present moment. In each of Pausch’s childhood dreams, he never worried about the possible outcomes because he chose to remain in the present moment, the process, and his concentration was the cause of a better outcome. For instance, one of his childhood dreams was to become an Imagineer for Disney. Instead of constantly thinking about the endless number of outcomes, Pausch decided to focus on what steps he would have to take to get to the certain one. Likewise, as upsetting as it is, even as a dying man, he was able to live in the present and stop worrying about the future. In his lecture Pausch explains, “I will not get to the promised land, but for now, I see it.” This experience also interacts with the second factor, merging action and awareness. Pausch

His last lecture became his legacy and it will be shown through not only the people who were graced with the opportunity to attend and those who watched the video, but his kids, especially, because he was able to integrate a life lesson with a sort-of-seminar of how to achieve not only your dreams, but help other people achieve theirs. Likewise, Pausch was also able to throw in another head-fake, that his lecture was not simply about how to achieve your dreams, but how to lead your life, and eventually, the dreams will come to