What If You Had 3 Months To Live? Would You Pursue Your Childhood Dreams?

By Shaun Cooper, Director & Senior Mentorship Coach, Lighthouse International

What would you do if you had 3 months to live?

A humbling question but this was a reality faced by Randy Pausch, a father, husband, professor and big dreamer. He was diagnosed in September 2006 with pancreatic cancer.

Randy Pausch was a professor at the prestigious Cargenie Mellon University and there’s a tradition for departing professors to address their students in their last lecture with the hypothetical notion that if you were going to die what would you impart? This was a tragic reality for Dr. Pausch who had months to live and in his inspiring last lecture he didn’t speak about death but about achieving your childhood dreams!

"I can’t control the cards I’m dealt but just how I play the hands.”

In the inspiring abridged version of his “ Last Lecture” that he gave on The Oprah Winfrey show, he imparts some incredible lessons on living our childhood dreams and inspires us to start living and stop simply just existing.

There is so much to value and appreciate in this video. From humility to people vs things, being a 'Tigger' and having fun, playing well with others, telling the truth, apologising, being patient, being grateful and playing the game hard rather than complaining.

Sadly Randy Pausch passed away at the age of 47 in July 2008 and left a legacy to be proud of. He inspired so many, but most of all he wanted to inspire his three children to live their dreams.

Are you being a Tigger or an Eeyore? Are you living your childhood dreams? If not, what brick walls do you have in your way?

Has this inspired you to live with greater meaning? Share in the comments below...