Randy Pausch Quotes & Sayings

Apologies are not pass/fail. — Randy Pausch

Ask those questions. Just ask them. More often than you'd suspect, the answer you'll get is, Sure. — Randy Pausch

Chemo days make me tired, though it's hard to say that's because of the chemo when you have kids who have inherited their dad's usual energy level. — Randy Pausch

Though I am not a fan of TV - it's mankind's greatest time-waster, the gift was completely appropriate, since I'll be in bed so much at the end. TV will be one of my last links to the outside world. — Randy Pausch

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

Not everything has to be fixed. — Randy Pausch

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

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. — Randy Pausch

I've said my piece. My time now is entirely focused on family. — Randy Pausch

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? — Randy Pausch

My mother took great relish in introducing me as 'This is my son - he's a doctor but not the kind that helps people.' — Randy Pausch

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

Educators shouldn't be afraid of cliches. You know why? Because kids don't know most of them! They're a new audience. And they're inspired by cliches. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

If you wait long enough," he said, "people will surprise and impress you. — Randy Pausch

Show gratitude. Gratitude is a simple but powerful thing. — Randy Pausch

Cancer didn't change me at all. I know lots of people talk about the life revelation. I didn't have that. — Randy Pausch

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

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

Somehow, with the passage of time, and the deadlines that life imposes, surrendering became the right thing to do — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

Dance with the one who brung you. — Randy Pausch

I had fallen in love, even if she was still finding her way. — Randy Pausch

I think the only advice I can give you on how to live your life well is, first off, remember ... it's not the things we do in life that we regret on our deathbed, it is the things we do not. — Randy Pausch

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

Go out and do for others what somebody did for you. — Randy Pausch

Get a feedback loop and listen to it ... When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it. — Randy Pausch

Are you a Tigger or an Eyore? — Randy Pausch

If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you. — Randy Pausch

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

but he just keeps showing up in my head, forcing me to work harder whenever I feel like quitting, forcing me to be better. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

I don't suffer from an abundance of politeness. — Randy Pausch

If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let 'em do it. — Randy Pausch

Smelling a crayon takes you right back to childhood. When I need to go back in time, I put it under my nose and take another hit. — Randy Pausch

And even though I did not reach the NFL, I sometimes think I got more from persuing that dream, and not accomplishing it, then I did from many of the ones I did accomplish. — Randy Pausch

She told us she could see the great respect between us, — Randy Pausch

Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others. — Randy Pausch

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

If you love her, support her. — Randy Pausch

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

If she doesn't really love you, then it's over. And if she does love you, then love will win out. — Randy Pausch

Make clear that people understand what your circumstances are. And looking for pity - that's a mistake. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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

It's not about the cards you're dealt, but how you play the hand. — Randy Pausch

Earnestness is highly underestimated. It comes from the core, while hip is trying to impress you with the surface. — Randy Pausch

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

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. — Randy Pausch

To recognize that automobiles are there to get you from point A to point B. They are utilitarian devices, not expressions of social status. — Randy Pausch

I'm dying, and I'm having fun. — Randy Pausch

Let other people finish their sentences when they're talking. — Randy Pausch

Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear. — Randy Pausch

Getting people to welcome feedback was the hardest thing I ever had to do as an educator. — Randy Pausch

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

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

Never, ever underestimate the importance of having fun. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

Halfhearted or insincere apologies are often worse than not apologizing at all because recipients find them insulting. If you've done something wrong in your dealings with another person, it's as if there's an infection in your relationship. A good apology is like an antibiotic; a bad apology is like rubbing salt I the wound. — Randy Pausch

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

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. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

When they talk of building self-esteem, they often resort to empty flattery rather than character-building honesty. I've heard so many people talk of downward spiral in our educational system, and I think one key factor is that there is too much stroking and too littke real feedback. — Randy Pausch

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

When there's an elephant in the room introduce him. — Randy Pausch

It was a hot summer night, and I had the soundtrack to Disney's The Lion King blasting on my stereo. Tears actually began streaming down my face as I drove past the building. Here I was, the grown-up version of that wide-eyed eight-year-old at Disneyland. I had finally arrived. I was an Imagineer. — Randy Pausch

Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. You've got to get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff isn't going to work. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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

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

Are you a fun-loving Tigger or a sad-sack Eeyore? Pick a camp. I think it's clear where I stand on the great Tigger/Eeyore debate! — Randy Pausch

[Jim Graham] had been a linebacker at Penn State, and was seriously old-school. I mean, really old-school; like he thought the forward pass was a trick play. — Randy Pausch

I'm hanging in there, trying to spend as much quality time with my wife and kids as possible, and though it's very frustrating to know I won't beat the cancer, there's a great satisfaction in knowing that I'm walking off the field with no regrets. — Randy Pausch

Each of us must decide: Am I a fun-loving Tigger or am I a sad-sack Eeyore? Pick a camp. — Randy Pausch

Fuel your kids' dreams. Sometimes, that means letting them stay up past their bedtimes. — Randy Pausch

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

Through the whole ordeal, I don't think we ever said to each other: "This isn't fair." We just kept going. We recognized that there were things we could do that might help the outcome in a positive ways ... and we did them. Without saying it in words, our attitude was, "Let's saddle up and ride. — Randy Pausch

Better to fail spectacularly than do something mediocre. — Randy Pausch

Not everything needs to be fixed — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

No matter how bad the circumstance it could always be worse. — Randy Pausch

The metaphor I've used is ... somebody's going to push my family off a cliff pretty soon, and I won't be there to catch them. And that breaks my heart. But I have some time to sew some nets to cushion the fall. So, I can curl up in a ball and cry, or I can get to work on the nets. — Randy Pausch

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 — Randy Pausch

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

Please don't die. — Randy Pausch

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

Success is measured in months for me. When my health fails, it will fail quickly. Tumors grow on an exponential curve. — Randy Pausch

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

That meant when I wasn't happy about something, I spoke up, often directly and not always tactfully. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch

That is what it is. We can't change it. We just have to decide how we'll respond. We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." In — Randy Pausch

Work hard. I got tenure a year early. Junior faculty members used to say to me: 'Wow, what's your secret?' I said: 'It's pretty simple. Call me any Friday night in my office at 10 o'clock, and I'll tell you.' — Randy Pausch

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 — Randy Pausch

I love all three of my kids completely and differently. And I want them to know that I will love them for as long as they live. I will. — Randy Pausch

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. — Randy Pausch