it’s always interesting to hear from someone that doesn’t have anything to lose, and quoting below.

From the frenetic man in the [...]]]> businessweek ran a story on carnegie mellon computer science professor randy pausch, diagnosed with terminal cancer, who has some words to live by that ring particularly true on thanksgiving. check it out.

it’s always interesting to hear from someone that doesn’t have anything to lose, and quoting below.

From the frenetic man in the black knit shirt and khakis, there was more, much more. Some of it you’ve heard before, from countless self-help books, management development courses, your mentor, or your mother or father. But coming from a dying man, it all seemed more real, more relevant, more gripping.

• “Never give up.”
• “Apologize when you screw up.”
• “Focus on other people, not yourself.”
• “Don’t bail. The best gold is at the bottom of barrels of crap.”
• “Show gratitude.”
• “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.’”
• “Be prepared. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.”
• “Find the best in everybody. You might have to wait a long time, sometimes years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting. No matter how long it takes. No one is all evil. Everyone has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.”
• “Get a feedback loop and listen to it…it can be one great man who tells you what you need to hear. The hard part is to listen to it. Anybody can get chewed out. It’s the real person who says: ‘Oh my God, you were right.’ When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.”

The CMU lecture

it reinforced my long-standing belief that there is really no reason to frown for anything in life., because no event, whatsoever is a disaster.

it wasn’t really a downpour, not the torrents of windy breezy rain. [...]]]> i was riding my little kinetic-honda scooter in the evening, on my way home. the skies looked ominous as it was raining off and on ever since i came here, so i left in a hurry. sure enough it started raining half-way home.

it wasn’t really a downpour, not the torrents of windy breezy rain. it was simple, steady rain that doesn’t soak you dripping wet, and doesn’t chill you out to the bone. i reached home damp, not soaking. it i felt good.

and now, when i step out and it rains, i stop and look up. the touch of cool droplets of rain to the face in random order seems natural. and it felt right to accept it’s nature.. and that’s it’s supposed to rain, we are supposed to get wet, and it’s all beautiful, and it’s according to some plan that’s working perfectly. and it’s incredibly relaxing to think that what’s happening is right you don’t have anything to worry about.

i don’t worry about getting wet in rain when i go out anymore. not to say i go about looking for rain. but it felt right to accept rain, rather than fear it. and i cut to those rainy february days in the valley. holy crap i am late for home. it’s high traffic and let me watch out for spin-off. i shouldn’t break too hard, it might cause hydro-planing. my weekend is ruined. it’s going to be cold. am i protected for flooding? will they classify this as hail instead? will i be ok if i got wet in this rain. darn my shoes are ruined, gotta remember to polish them. fallen tress, reporters in violent rains, somber people and disaster predictions on tv.

it felt right to let it happen.