Randy Pausch Quotes

112 Sourced Quotes

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, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Randy Pausch
We don't beat the reaper by living longer, but by living well, and living fully — for the reaper will come for all of us. The question is: what do we do between the time we're born and the time he shows up. Because when he shows up, it's too late to do all the things that you're always gonna, kinda get around to.

Randy Pausch
As stated in the book, the First Penguin award went to students who went out on a limb and failed! This came "from the notion that when penguins are about to jump into water that might contain predators, well, somebody's got to be the first penguin." So, even if there are failures, it brings experience. Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.

Randy Pausch
Never give up: There are certain times that you think, OK, you have beaten me down to my knees. And now the challenge is, I am on my knees and you keep on beating me down. And the question is, are you going to keep beating me all the way to the ground or will I find a way to struggle my way back on to my feet.

Randy Pausch
The great thing about working out at a gym is that if you put in effort, you get very obvious results. The same should be true of college. A professor's job is to teach students how to see their minds growing in the same way they can see their muscles grow when they look in a mirror.

Randy Pausch
Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear.

Randy Pausch
We all stand on the dart board and very few of us catch the darts. Do not think it is unfair. It is fair but you are unlucky.

Randy Pausch
Never lose the child-like wonder. It's just too important. It's what drives us.

Randy Pausch
Coach Graham use to ride me hard... "you're doing it all wrong! Go back! Do it again!" An assistant coach muttered that it was a good thing Coach Graham rode me hard, because "when you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you."

Randy Pausch
And the course was all about bonding. People used to say, you know, what's going to make for a good world? I said, I can't tell you beforehand, but right before they present it I can tell you if the world's good just by the body language. If they're standing close to each other, the world is good.

Randy Pausch
My dad was so full of life, anything with him was an adventure. [Shows picture of his Dad holding a brown paper bag] I don't know what's in that bag, but I know it's cool. My dad dressed up as Santa Claus, but he also did very, very significant things to help lots of people. This is a dormitory in Thailand that my mom and dad underwrote. And every year about 30 students get to go to school who wouldn't have otherwise. This is something my wife and I have also been involved in heavily. And these are the kind of things that I think everybody ought to be doing. Helping others.

Randy Pausch
The best way to teach somebody something is to have them think they're learning something else. I've done it my whole career. And the head fake here is that they're learning to program but they just think they're making movies and video games.

Randy Pausch
If you want something bad enough, never give up (and take a boost when offered).

Randy Pausch
It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our death bed. It is the things we do not. I assure you I've done a lot of really stupid things, and none of them bother me. All the mistakes, and all the dopey things, and all the times I was embarrassed — they don't matter. What matters is that I can kind of look back and say: Pretty much any time I got chance to do something cool I tried to grab for it — and that's where my solace comes from.

Randy Pausch
Most people who have told a lie think they got away with it … when in fact, they didn't

Randy Pausch
If I work hard enough, there will be things I can do tomorrow that I can't do today.

Randy Pausch
And be prepared. Luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity.

Randy Pausch
No job is beneath you. You ought to be thrilled you got a job in the mailroom And when you get there, here's what you do: Be really great at sorting mail.

Randy Pausch
Too many people go through life complaining about their problems. I've always believed that if you took one tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.

Randy Pausch
If you can find an opening, you can probably find a way to float through it.

Randy Pausch
Don't bail. The best of the gold's at the bottom of barrels of crap.

Randy Pausch
You don't find time for important things, you make it.

Randy Pausch
The person who failed often knows how to avoid future failures. The person who knows only success can be more oblivious to all the pitfalls.

Randy Pausch
Having been selected to be an author in the World Book, I now believe that Wikipedia is a perfectly fine source for your information, because I know what the quality control is for real encyclopedias — they let me in.

Randy Pausch
Failing to plan is planning to fail. Plan Each Day, Each Week, Each Semester. You can always change your plan, but only once you have one!

Randy Pausch