RANDY PAUSCH WAS SELFE-POWERED

Remembering the author of the "Last Lecture."

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie-Mellon professor whose "Last Lecture" to his students (former and current) wife, three children and colleagues became a viral sensation on the Internet, has succumbed to pancreatic cancer. In true Randy Pausch style--and because I watched and am a big fan of the lecture--we won't get into the details of his death, but rather we'll celebrate his life. Randy taught at UVa. when I lived in Charlottesville, and while I did not know him or his family, I have friends who did and say he was one of the most encouraging, entertaining and genuine people they’ve met. He was Selfe-powered! *(A new term I'm using to describe people who care about the Great Big Small Things;-)

Randy knew his cancer was terminal when he delivered what was actually titled, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” yet, instead of being gloomy and sullen it was one of the most inspirational talks I've heard. It made me, and countless others around the world, want to live--and to live better lives.

He began by showing the audience scans of his liver tumors and explaining his grim diagnosis. "That is what it is, we can't change it, and we just have to decide how we are going to respond to it," he said. "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand. If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be . . . sorry to disappoint you!"

He went on to provide some amazingly simple, humorous and heartfelt insight into living life fully and without regret:

SOME RANDY PAUSCH LESSONS

To live well, a person must first be grateful for being alive

Being alive and living does not mean that one has beaten the Grim Reaper

What matters more are the things that a person does between birth and death

The unchanging fact is that the Grim Reaper will come for every single one of us

To beat the Grim Reaper, a person has to live fully and well

To live well, a person must follow their heart and passion, and do what he/she is excited about

If a person has not found their passion yet, continue searching

A person should never give up the search for passion

Without passion, all a person does in life in merely waiting for the Grim Reaper

Passion is not found in material things

If a person uses material things as a measure of living well, they will always find other people around who have more of those things. This will lead to discontentment and unhappiness

Passion must always be grounded in people

Passion is about the relationship a person has with other people, and how they are able to gain the trust, respect, and love of those around them

Like passion, true love is worth searching and waiting for

A person should not settle for anyone, but rather, seek the person whose happiness is more important that one’s own

When the Grim Reaper shows up, it is already too late to do all the things you wanted to do, but did not get around to doing

At a person’s deathbed they are likely to regret what they did not do, not what they did

Randy says there are always obstacles (like cancer) in life, but he believed they serve a purpose. "The brick walls are there for a reason. Right? The brick walls are not there to keep us out, the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough," he said in his lecture.

Thank you Randy, for leaving the world a better place. God speed.

***(I tried unsuccessfully to upload the YouTube/Carnegie Mellon video of Randy's Last Lecture. If you'd like to view it, please go here and watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo&eurl=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92922083)

FRED SELFE FIELD OF DREAMS

Phase One Nearing Completion

I stopped by dear ole Emory last week and was pleasantly surprised at the condition of Fred Selfe Stadium. The turf field is down and they are gluing in the numerals and stripes. The brick wall is up and they've cleverly chosen a beautiful white masonry cap for it--which looks absolutely gorgeous! The 12-foot fence was going up that very day around the entire complex. The supports for the massive new scoreboard (rumored to have instant replay capability!) are up and they were bricking in the bottom half. Earth moving equipment was furiously running back and forth from the east end of the field to the western end (Van Dyke/Brock end) to create the new "Wake Forest" effect of a grass hillside forming an angled wall as the western entrance. The massive concrete supports were up for the new lights. Giant rolls of tiny flecks of crumbed rubber--made from recycled tires--sits ready to spread atop a layer of sand in between the synthetic grass blades fiber woven into a poly fabric.

It was a treat to spend a hour talking with Coach Bob Johnson and run into Dr. Don Reichard (who was pumping iron next door.) Coach J offered to give me a brief tour and explained the entire building process (Phillipe, the French-Canadian supervisor of the company laying the field says Coach J has been on the field every day overseeing the laying of each brick and each load of dirt.) I left heading south re-energized and ready to help Coach Don Montgomery and the Wasps have a stellar 2008 season.

If you'd like to see more visit E&H's web site and take a peek. If you're in the area, stop by and see it for yourself. (Five or six cars slowed down to take pictures in the 30 mins. or so we were on the field;-)

Oh, and if you haven't donated, please do so now as we wrap up Phase One and get ready (after 2008 season) for the big Phase Two (new stands, new amazing field house.) Just drop a check in the mail to Emory and Henry's Dev. Dept. and note that you read about the excitement here and had to get involved!

Blue and gold shall reign on high!

SUMMERTIME

“Come to the edge, he said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came.
He pushed them and they flew.”

COACH BOB JOHNSON

Honoring a Great Servant Leader

Please join me and many others for a day of honoring the 27 years of blood, sweat, tears and service of basketball coach/teacher Bob Johnson. This Saturday, Jan. 19 at Emory and Henry College:

2PM--Tip-off of men's basketball game
Halftime--Special Presentation
Following the game--Reception
4PM--Tip-off women's game
6PM--Reception for Bob Johnson at Townhouse Grill in Chilhowie

Come and show your support and thanks for a true servant leader and a great friend of Fred Selfe.

CHRISTMAS TIME

Wishing you and your family and wonderous and merry Christmas! Please remember the true reason for the season and give what you can to help others. Keep others in your prayers--including your enemies--for they need it more than anyone.

On a personal note: Please keep Coach Bob Johnson in your prayers. He is undergoing cancer therapy at Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. Coach J recently resigned as head basketball coach at Emory and Henry after more than 27 years to move to Houston and he and his family need/deserve our support during these trying times. According to the college sports blog: "Bob Johnson has built a national reputation for his coaching, having taken five teams to the NCAA playoffs, two of which finished in the Sweet 16. In April 2007, the National Association of Basketball Coaches awarded him the Division III Service Award, which was presented at the NCAA Final Four tournament. Johnson finishes his E&H coaching career with 370 wins and 334 losses. He was honored three times as Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and three times as the NCAA South Region Coach of the Year."

I wish you all the best in 2008 and look forward to seeing and hearing more about your growth and good deeds!

Dale

QUICK THOUGHT TO START THE WEEK

Bird Watching

I spent Sunday afternoon at the very southern tip of Fort Fisher. I parked my car at the end of the road (literally) and sat looking across the Cape Fear Sound. I was intending to go for a run and maybe study some ideas for packaging a client's product but the sun, blue sky and quiet lapping water had warmed my soul and, perhaps, made me so introspective I just wanted to sit and let my mind go for a bit.

I sat with the forty-foot-tall mound of sand marking the last redoubt (aptly named Mound Redoubt) (thanks to roaddog from Illinois for correcting me. "That would have been Battery Buchanon you were at if you were down by the rocks, south of the ferry.The Mound battery was further to the north and a part of the main fort.." Thanks for reading and thanks for the help in making the post better;-) in the old fort at my back looking across the acres of marsh that spread out along the eastern edge of the land leading it out to the breakwater ridges of sand and scrub guarding the sound from the Atlantic Ocean. As I jotted down some notes on a recent multimedia project a shadow darkened my padfolio and I looked up to see a great white bird gliding over. I recognized it as a Great Egret; about 3-4 feet high and with a 4-5 feet wingspan. It circled the marsh for a few minutes then parachuted to the ground.

The bird touched down about 75 feet away and, after a few position adjustments, straightened its back and stared back at me. There we were: the bird looking at me thinking 'what is that thing and why is it looking at me?' Me looking back making up that scenario of the bird thinking about me. For some reason, perhaps I was tired of watching and wincing at the woman out in the water learning to windsurf and falling face first into the chest deep water each time she tugged the plastic sail up from the water, I watched the bird for half an hour.

There was a simple elegance about it. Once it had gotten used to me, it stood looking patiently out over the reeds on two long, spindly black legs. It didn't move for the entire thirty minutes. Then, without any warning, it jabbed it's long yellow beak down into the reeds and came up with a silver. struggling fish. It shook the fish once, then tossed it up and swallowed it. Then it went back to standing and staring. Very efficient, and obviously, very effective.

Again, I felt introspective. A life insurance salesperson would say that life is a long process for most. They could even show a life expectancy chart to prove it. When we want something, we usually run around trying to make it happen. How much of that running helps us achieve or get what we want? The Great Egret flew around finding the best ground, landed, then patiently stood watching until the fish came by, then WHAM! it struck with precision. Lunch, or a late afternoon snack or third meal...or whatever egrets call their eating times.

The egret proves that planning is important, patience is vital and striking quickly makes all the difference in a beak full of mud or a great lunch. This week try being the egret: plan carefully (make sure you've chosen the very best hunting ground) then wait for the right opportunity and strike quickly and with precision.

IF YOU BUILD IT, HE WILL COME

HELP BUILD COURAGE, CHARACTER, LEGACY AND A BETTER FUTURE. DO A GREAT BIG, SMALL THING AND HELP BUILD FRED SELFE STADIUM!

Fred Selfe Sports Complex, Emory and Henry College

This classic, small college design includes a ProTurf field, new attractive field house, home stands with press box, visitor's stands, and a fence that blends with the surrounding buildings. It's a wonderful new design--not too overstated and not too understated. It's simple, strong, clean, and does the job. It's Emory and Henry and a field of which Coach Fred Selfe would be extremely proud. Of course, he would fight like hell to keep his name off it, but he would beam with pride each time the Wasps swarmed onto its field.

Help us make the field a reality and break ground in early 2008.

How often do you get the chance to play a role in shaping thousands of young minds and lives? The tab for the complex is a very doable $4.5 million. You can write a check, and find others who will do the same. There are a number of naming opportunities--rooms, lockers, buildings, etc.--and your family, company or organization can show that you really care about the Fred Selfe's of the world who work, sacrifice and serve to save our culture from a certain downhill slide; people who serve with no thought of awards or spotlights or even a thank you. You can show you care about those people by helping us build this important foundation.

Do a Great Big Small Thing and build Fred Selfe Stadium.

If you'd like to help please email me directly: dalemcglothlin@ec.rr.com