Randy Pausch left this world last week after leaving an amazing legacy of teaching and wisdom to all of us. I watched his Last Lecture months ago and wrote a post on it. Now, after his passing, I’ve seen the Diane Sawyer interview and I’ve watched the Last Lecture again with more attention to the details. It contains priceless information but for me one of the best pieces of wisdom he gives is the one about the Brick Walls.
He says that the brick walls are not our enemy, instead they serve to show how much we want something. Then later in the talk he says that brick walls are our friends because they keep the less serious people out.
What a great way to look at competition and success. The next time I get rejected or otherwise denied something I really want, I am going to remember Randy Pausch and the Last Lecture and what he said about brick walls. This is especially relevant to me since I start teaching for the new school year tomorrow.
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