He said, when you're screwing up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means they gave up. And that's a lesson that stuck with me my whole life. Is that when you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.

When Pausch spoke of "when you're screwing up and nobody's saying anything to you anymore, that means they gaveup." he was quoting an assistant coach of football coach James Graham - The Last Lecture (2007)