Top 230 Quotes & Sayings by Randy Pausch - Page 4

Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity.

until you got ice cream spilled on you, you’re not doing field work

What he said was: "You obviously don't know where the bar should be, and you're only going to do a disservice by putting it anywhere." And boy was that good advice. Because what he said was, you obviously don't know where the bar should be, and you're only going to do them a disservice by putting it anywhere.

Call home at least once a week. It's a proven fact that we call home less the older we get. And that's wrong. It should be the other way around. As we get older, our parents get older.

Remember how quickly our field [computer science] changes. That's why you want to focus on learning things that don't change: how to work well with other people, how to carefully assess a client's real - as opposed to perceived - needs, and things like that.

Be good at something. It makes you valuable.

Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

To be cliché, death is a part of life and it's going to happen to all of us. I have the blessing of getting a little bit of advance notice and I am able to optimize my use of time down the home stretch.

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

It's not helpful if we spend every day dreading tomorrow ~Jai

Time must be explicitly managed, like money.

Randy Pausch on time management: Here's what I know: Time must be explicitly managed, like money. You can always change your plan, but only if you have one. Ask yourself: Are you spending your time on the right things? Develop a good filing system. Rethink the telephone. Delegate. Take a time out. Time is all you have. And you may find one day that you have less than you think.

Take Time Out. It's not a real vacation if you're reading email or calling in for messages.

I was hugely impressed... was the ultimate example of a man who knew what he didn't know, was perfectly willing to admit it, and didn't want to leave until he understood. That's heroic to me. I wish every grad student had that attitude.

All my adult life I've felt drawn to ask long-married couples how they were able to stay together. All of them said the same thing: "We worked hard at it.

Most people who have told a lie think they got away with it … when in fact, they didn’t

I also think my dad would be reminding me that kids — more than anything else — need to know their parents love them. Their parents don't have to be alive for that to happen.

Apologies are not pass/fail.

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.

And even though I did not reach the National Football League, I sometimes think I got more from pursuing that dream, and not accomplishing it, than I did from many of the ones I did accomplish.

We need to make sure our students are exerting themselves. We need to praise them when they deserve it and to tell them honestly when they have it in them to work harder.

The fact that fashion goes out of fashion and then comes back into fashion based solely on what a few people somewhere think they can sell, well to me, that’s insanity.

I don't believe in the no-win scenario

I have never thought of writing as hard work, but I have worked hard to find a voice.

I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left.

The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!

Throughout my academic career, I'd given some pretty good talks. But being considered the best speaker in the computer science department is like being known as the tallest of the Seven Dwarfs.

Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you.

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask.

It's interesting, the secrets you decide to reveal at the end of your life.

Apologize when you screw up and focus on other people, not on yourself.

I'll take an earnest person over a hip person every day, because hip is short-term, earnest is long term.

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".

Earnestness is highly underestimated. It comes from the core, while hip is trying to impress you on the surface.

Develop a good filing system.

If I was able to tell my story with the passion I felt, my lecture might help others find a path to fulfilling their own dreams.

I feel like I'm waiting on something that isn't going to happen Don't complain; just work harder.

I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I am a lecturer. So I lectured.

The great thing about working out at a gym is that if you put in effort, you get very obvious results. The same should be true of college. A professor’s job is to teach students how to see their minds growing in the same way they can see their muscles grow when they look in a mirror.

I'm sorry. It's my fault. How do I make it right?

There are respectful, considerate things that can be done in life that will be appreciated by the recipient, and only good things can result.

Because you’re such a good salesman, and if you go work for a company, they’re going to use you as a salesman. If you’re going to be a salesman, you might as well be selling something worthwhile, like education

I know that people in research labs can do miraculous things if they're given the resources.

I’d compare college tuition to paying for a personal trainer at an athletic club. We professors play the roles of trainers, giving people access to the equipment (books, labs, our expertise) and after that, it is our job to be demanding.

Whatever news we get about the scans, I’m not going to die when we hear it. I won’t die the next day, or the day after that, or the day after that. So today, right now, well this is a wonderful day. And I want you to know how much I’m enjoying it.” I thought about that, and about Jai’s smile. I knew then. That’s the way the rest of my life would need to be lived.

Anybody can get chewed out. It's the rare person who says, oh my god, you were right. As opposed to, no wait, the reason is... We've all heard that

Often think of the worst-case scenario, the "Eaten By Wolves" factor.

It's a thrill to fulfill your own childhood dreams, but as you get older, you may find that enabling the dreams of others is even more fun.

He had high hopes for society, and though his hopes were too often dashed, he remained a raging optimist.

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