Randy Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 46, when his youngest daughter was just 3 months old. As a well-known computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, he was a world leader in virtual reality training. But the focus of his last lecture to the university is not about programming a computer: It’s about how to live life. In Randy Pausch’s The Last Lecture, Randy tells his three young children what it means to be happy, despite the odds, and what it means to truly live. His words, given with his own death date in mind, may inspire everyone.

I had never heard of Randy Pausch until he passed away on July 25, 2008. My husband was watching “The Last Lecture” via the Internet, and I saw a little of it. When I saw the book this week sitting on my mother’s coffee table, I picked it up. I couldn’t stop reading it.

Randy’s trials were incredibly challenging. In August 2007, just one month before he delivered his last lecture, he found out that his cancer was terminal; he had three-to-six months to live. Yet his optimism in the lecture and in his book reveal true passion for living.

I don’t know how not to have fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there’s no other way to play it. (page 179)

Randy Pausch died nine months after he delivered his memorable lecture, three months longer than his diagnosis. His enthusiasm for life seems to have remained until the end of his life.

I’d highly recommend reading this best-seller, or at least watching his inspiring talk. Visit www.thelastlecture.org for more information about Randy Pausch, his lecture, and his Carnegie Mellon University virtual reality legacy. You can also find more information about helping fight pancreatic cancer.

If you found you had three-to-six months left to live, would you remain positive, even in the midst of the pain of chemotherapy? I don’t know how I would be. But most importantly, what would you share with your family and friends?

I don’t know how I would be. But I certainly hope I could reemphasize to my family the great things that we enjoy by being alive. That positive hope is the message I got from Randy Pausch.