'If you can dream it, you can do it' Walt Disney

As many of my readers know, I am a big fan of TED. Whenever I'm short of inspiration or relaxation, I watch another video. Lately, TED started posting videos from people that have not appeared on TED, but gave a memorable talk elsewhere. One of my favorite talks, the one by Steve Jobs I talked about here, is now also available on TED for instance.

This new feature introduced me to Randy Pausch, a professor from Carnegie Mellon University, who unfortunately passed away in July 2008 of pancreatic cancer. Before his death, he gave two one-hour long lectures; one about achieving your childhood dreams and one about time management. Both talks have truly impressed me. The topics of working hard to achieve your dreams and live with passion have interested me for quite a while, moving from Stephen Covey to Tim Ferris. Randy Pausch however gave a more sympathetic and less 'American: Yeah-You-Can-Do-It' face to it. He explains how you can achieve all that you want and be a good and appreciated person at the same time.

What I'll remember most from both talks is:
* Ask others for help or advice
* Work hard
* Delegate, but do the dirtiest job yourself
* Let people carry out a task you give them in their own way
* Only have meetings with people who want to be IN the meeting
* Thank the people who made a big difference in your life
* Spend time with the people you love
* Never give up
* Have fun (this one works out pretty well thus far)

So, if you can take the time out, watch these videos. More than 11 million people have done it already ;)

How to achieve your childhood dreams
This talk is not only good because of its content, but it's the combination of Pausch using presentation skills and aiming for emotional impact. Very smart how he points out the elephant in the room, sets boundaries on what NOT to talk about, how he tells his own personal (and emotional) story and how he gives out advice on how to live your life!



Time Management
Since Pausch only had a few more months to live, this talk may seem a bit awkward. However, since Pausch thinks these things are important enough to talk about at the end of his life, his messages certainly have more power.