If you haven’t heard of Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, you need to. Via his book (just released this week), his blog charting his fight against pancreatic cancer, and his You Tube videos, he is by every measure a man of great character, charisma, and strength. He will inspire you to squeeze every last drop out of life; his story will make you grateful for your health, your family, your friends, and your work.
Shortly after being diagnosed, Dr. Pausch gave what he called “The Last Lecture”, which is also the title of his recent book. With such little time left in his life, he wants to spend as much of it with his family as possible and he was worried that the task of writing a book about the lecture would consume too much of his energy. As with all worthy projects, if there’s a will, there’s a creative solution to get it done. Dr. Pausch literally spoke the lecture and the story behind it to his collaborator, Jeff Zaslow, on 53 one-hour bike rides. He rides his bike daily to keep himself in the best shape possible.
“The Last Lecture” is a 75 minute talk that dispenses the wisdom he’s gained that he wishes he had time to pass on to his children. The subtitle is “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”. To date, 10 million people have logged on to watch the video on You Tube and through the Carnegie Mellon site. Join them!
Lecture on the CMU site: www.cmu.edu/randyslecture
A recent article in the New York Times Health section about Dr. Pausch:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/health/08well.html?em&ex=1207886400&en=227dcc7269e91cb6&ei=5087%0A
You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
Randy’s blog: http://download.srv.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/news/index.html
Buy the book: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Lecture-Randy-Pausch/dp/1401323251/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208265354&sr=8-1
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
If you haven’t heard of Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, you need to. Via his book (just released this week), his blog charting his fight against pancreatic cancer, and his You Tube videos, he is by every measure a man of great character, charisma, and strength. He will inspire you to squeeze every last drop out of life; his story will make you grateful for your health, your family, your friends, and your work.
Christa Avampato 
Amazing speech isn’t it? I came across it and blogged it in October last year:http://youngie.prblogs.org/2007/10/06/circumstances-conspire-to-inspire/
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